Six days passed.
As the ponies at Camp Giddyup waited anxiously for word from Starswirl, Fluttershy and the Crusaders did their best to stay out of history's way and not involve themselves any more than they already had beyond minor chores—helping carry wagons, tending to wounded or tired ponies, assisting with the first ever Winter Wrap-Up.
Shortly after breakfast a week after their arrival, the future ponies heard a great commotion outside the mess tent. They joined a queue of curious ponies milling out into the compound. Gasps, whispers, and excited whickering filled the air.
"Oh my," Fluttershy said with a smile. "Girls, look."
Starswirl strutted down the camp's main road, two strikingly beautiful young mares flanking him. One had a shining white coat, pinkish-grey eyes, and a long pearl pink mane. A long, slender, tapered horn protruded from her forehead. The other was much younger—more a filly than a mare, really—with greyish-green eyes, a dark blue coat, and a short, pale blue mane. Her horn was the length of a normal unicorn's horn, but came to a much finer point.
Both mares had wings.
"Alicorns," a pegasus whispered. "They're...they're real..."
"Look at that horn!" an earth pony said.
"They don't have Cutie Marks," somepony observed.
King Bullion, Chancellor Puddinghead, and General Jetstream bustled through the crowd, approaching the alicorns and Starswirl. King Bullion immediately went down on one knee, bowing his head. "Your graces," he said. "It is an honor to meet members of your esteemed, elusive tribe." He looked up. "By your grace, I am King Bullion of the unicorn tribe. My companions are Chancellor Puddinghead of the earth ponies and General Jetstream of the pegasi."
The white alicorn smiled. "It is a pleasure to meet you," she said. "My name is Celestia. This is my sister Luna. You'll have to excuse us if...if we say or do anything strange, or if we have difficulty adjusting to you all. We spend so very little time amongst ponies who are not like us."
"By which she means the only pony we've ever seen who isn't an alicorn is this geezer," Luna said.
"Luna!" Celestia snapped.
"What? He's oooooold," Luna whined.
"Yes, he's very old, but please show some manners and dignity!" Celestia hissed. "I swear, this is why Mother gets so frustrated—"
Starswirl coughed. "Tia. Lulu. Not the time for this." There was some giggling from the crowd, along with some whispering and snickering.
"Ahem. Yes." Celestia blushed and cleared her throat. "Forgive me. As I said, we have rarely ventured beyond our own realm, and have little experience with other ponies."
"Quite alright, your graces," King Bullion said. "And...where is the realm of the alicorns, if I may ask? Forgive an old unicorn his curiosity."
Celestia grimaced. "We can't tell you," she said. "Or rather, trying to tell you would be useless. Only alicorns may see its borders and enter. Well, alicorns and the occasional, very rare, unicorn of exceptional magical talent."
"There's a reason Starswirl's the only pony from outside we've ever met," Luna said.
"I see," King Bullion said, sounding disappointed. He harrumphed. "Well then. Has Starswirl explained to you our situation and our request?"
"He has indeed," Celestia said. "Our Council was not fully in favor of what you requested, but..." She twitched an ear. "Starswirl's argument was most persuasive, and he convinced Mother that our own destines were somehow intertwined with this new nation you propose to build. Mother has learned to trust Starswirl's sense of destiny, and has felt the same—that Luna and I will not achieve our fullest potential if we remain among our own kind."
"Then you will lead our three tribes in this united nation of Equestria?" King Bullion asked. "You will assume the throne of Queen?"
Luna made an indignant sound. Celestia closed her eyes. "Neither my sister nor myself will accept the crown of your Queen," she said.
The ponies gasped. "B-but—!"
Celestia laughed softly, musically, and held up a hoof. "Luna and I wish to rule as equals," she clarified. "There can be only one Queen. For us to rule together, neither of us can be Queen."
An uncertain murmur rippled through the crowd. "Then...then you'll lead us as, err..." Chancellor Puddinghead scratched her head. "Princesses?"
"That will do," Celestia said primly.
"Princess Luna has a nice ring to it," Luna said, ruffling her wings. She made a face. "Much nicer than Queen Luna. Queen Luna sounds...evil."
"There is much to be done before Luna and Celestia can assume the thrones of leadership of our three tribes," Starswirl said. "A full and complete government must be established, a site must be chosen for their castle, and...well..." He glanced at the two young alicorns. "They themselves must be prepared for leadership. They are yet young and inexperienced. Among their kind, they are but children. Learned and wise, yes, and more powerful than any ten unicorns, but they will need to be prepared for the burdens of ruling a kingdom."
"More studying," Luna said boredly. "Wonderful."
"Now, Luna," Celestia said lightly, "studying is important..."
"I'm almost tempted to let you be Queen by yourself just so I don't have to study," Luna huffed.
"I will not rule without you at my side, sister," Celestia said patiently.
"Wow," Scootaloo whispered. "They're a lot different from the princesses we know!"
"They sure are!" Sweetie Belle agreed with a giggle.
"Then come, your graces," King Bullion said. "We have much to discuss..."
"Go with these ponies, you two," Starswirl said, his eyes scanning the crowd. "I have other business to attend. Once I am done, I will join you."
"Sure, leave us with the stuffy-looking ponies," Luna muttered good-naturedly. With a world-weary sigh, she turned to Chancellor Puddinghead. "Your hat looks delicious. Do you have any actual pudding? Or other tasty desserts?"
Puddinghead laughed. "We'll see what we can round up," she said.
"I wouldn't mind a nice strawberry chiffon cake if you can manage one," Celestia said lightly as she fell into step with the others. As they wandered up the broad road, Starswirl weaved through the gathered ponies, homing in on the Crusaders and Fluttershy.
"I was able to procure some white time truffles," he said. "I would have returned with them sooner, but apparently somepony suggested to the leaders of Equestria that we needed an alicorn to guide the new nation." His mustache twitched.
Sweetie Belle scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. "Aheh..."
Starswirl chuckled. "That your future home is ruled by the very same alicorns tells me this was meant to be, so you have done little except perhaps prevent months of disastrous and tiresome bickering." He nodded in the direction of the group's tent. "Now, if you will follow me, we can prepare to speed you along your way."
"Thank you, Mr. Starswirl," Fluttershy said meekly.
* * * * *
Over the next hour, Starswirl performed complicated arcane equations, with Fluttershy's assistance to pin down the exact slippage of time, to determine the precise amount of white time truffle each displaced pony (and pig) needed to return home. Once he was reasonably satisfied with the accuracy, he and Clover cut, measured, and prepared the truffles for their wayward guests.
As Clover placed the prepared truffles before them, she smiled. "I...I just want you to know, it...it was a pleasure meeting you." She swallowed. "I—I had my doubts this 'Equestria' of ours was going to work. Having met ponies who live together in harmony the way you do—now I know it's all going to work out fine."
"There'll always be dangers to face, enemies to overcome, and friendships that need saving," Fluttershy said with a smile, "but what you've started here? Not once has it fallen, not even during the worst of what's to come." She looked from Clover to Starswirl. "It was very nice meeting both of you," she said. She giggled. "Twilight Sparkle's going to be so jealous when I tell her about this." Her eyes twinkled. "She's a big fan."
"She is, is she?" Starswirl asked, his moustache twitching.
"That's hardly a surprise, considering how legendary Master is even in our time," Clover said.
"Oh, she's a big fan of both of you," Fluttershy said. "She's even played Clover the Clever in the annual Hearth's Warming Pageant!" Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hooves. "Oops. You, umm...didn't hear that." The Crusaders giggled.
Clover blinked, blushing. "I...I'm a character in an annual pageant? W-wow..."
Starswirl chuckled. "Well, I believe it's time you were on your way. Your lives in your own time await!"
"Y-yes, of course." Fluttershy, the Crusaders, and Bumper dug into the white truffles. After they finished eating, Starswirl and Clover bid them farewell and left. The group quickly grew sleepy...
A loud boom of thunder woke them. Jumping to her hooves, Fluttershy looked around wildly. "Whuh, where..." She gasped. "Girls. GIRLS!"
"Huh?" Scootaloo muttered drowsily. "Are we home?"
"Ah don't think so," Apple Bloom said nervously. Sweetie Belle looked around and shrieked.
They were in the Whitetail Woods...probably. What was left of them, anyway.
As far as the eye could see, jagged, blackened, uneven stumps of trees stood like silent gravestones amid dusty, dark grounds speckled with sparse, unhealthy grass. A hot, arid wind blew through the ravaged forest. Heavy, dark clouds overhead rumbled with thunder and spat stark forks of jagged purple lightning.
"Oh my," Fluttershy whimpered. Her ears flattened as she looked up at the clouds, then around at the trees. "What happened here?"
"We musta missed th' mark," Apple Bloom said worriedly. "Not gone far enough forward. Maybe there was a fire or somethin' in th' woods we don't know about."
"Has to be," Scootaloo agreed uncertainly.
Sweetie Belle gulped. "M-maybe we could ask somepony over th-there," she said. The others followed her shaking hoof. A sparse collection of grubby tents and patched lean-tos stood among the dead trees. A few worn, haggard pony and donkey faces peered out curiously at them, then withdrew into their tents.
"Oh...oh my goodness," Fluttershy whimpered. "When are we? What happened here?"
"Fluttershy?" a weak, reedy voice called out.
"Eep!" Fluttershy's wings flared out in alarm as she turned to the source of the voice. Her eyes widened.
The thin, ragged blanket covering the entrance to a lean-to was pulled aside, and Discord limped out on his mismatched legs. He looked faded, washed-out, and beaten-down. His wings were limp and unresponsive, his jaundiced eyes had deep bags underneath them, and his eyebrows and beard were mere tufts. Patches of his coat and mane were missing entirely, and the tip of his tail was gone. His goat horn was broken off and filed down to a stump. He approached them, wild disbelief in his wide eyes. "F-Fluttershy?" he called out desperately, hopefully.
"Discord?" Fluttershy whimpered. "Wh-what happened to you?"
Discord stumbled, but steadily approached, his eyes never leaving her. "Where have you been the last two hundred years?" he wheezed.
Fluttershy's irises shrank to pinpricks. "T-two...hundred...years?"
Thunder crashed overhead. Somewhere in the distance, an urgent alarm clanged out.
Discord's eyes widened. "Inside, quickly," he said urgently, rounding Fluttershy and the Crusaders up as best he could. "It's not safe out here."
"Not safe, what—Discord—what's going on?" Fluttershy whispered as she was ushered into the lean-to.
Discord looked out into the dark sky with troubled eyes, then drew the sheet over the entrance. "Can't let her find you," he muttered. "Can't let her find you..."
"Can't let who find us?" Scootaloo asked.
"The Shattered Empress..."