The door to the house was already hanging in splinters when I alighted at the home Starlight had managed to track down. I walked in slowly, a shield spell held tightly, ready to be released at the slightest hint of danger. A smell started to make it’s way to my nose, a smell I recognized from my time on the streets and in the halfway house.
Rotting flesh.
I moved further into the house, trying to ignore the smell and came to a staircase. There were trails of blood on the lowermost steps, but none going any further up. I followed the trail to a nearby room where a larger splash showed where the injury occurred. On a table I saw a picture showing four Unicorns, a pair of proud parents and two children, a colt and a filly. The filly was a younger and much happier - and more sane - Neighlin. The fire and flames flickered in my mind’s eye again, both the ones that had consumed her body and the ones that had flared to life in my home.
I sighed and continued my sweep of the house. Upstairs in what looked to be a study I found two older Unicorns, the father and mother from the picture. Their eyes were locked open in terror, their tongues swollen and purple. They looked as though they had died gasping for air. I felt anger flare as I looked at them. Nopony deserved to die like that and then be left like garbage.
I searched the rest of the house, but found no other signs of the colt from the picture or any hidden surprises. As I went back down the stairs, I looked at the blood on the steps. It ended abruptly, as though the wound had closed up suddenly or…
I lit my horn and trained a detection spell at the termination of the trail. There was a faint magic trace there, but not like any magic I had ever felt before. It felt sick, as though it was filled with illness. I had never felt anything like that before, not even from Acerak or Discord.
I stepped out of the house and headed back towards the palace. As I flew I looked down on the city of my birth and youth, seeing the damage the fires of the night had caused in the dawn hours. In my haste to find answers and prepare, I had almost forgotten to raise the sun, but seeing the gutted and blacked husks of homes made me wish I hadn’t.
My fellow ponies were being hurt, and I was no closer to finding an answer as to who.
As I landed, a guard stepped forward and saluted. “Did you find what you were looking for, Your Majesty?”
I shook my head. “No,” I replied, returning the salute so he could stand to his ease. “But send a burial detail to the address. There are two Unicorns there that should be put to a proper rest.”
He nodded and trotted off. I sighed. Only three days into the job and already I was used to giving orders with the expectations of being listened to. I headed for my study, pausing to look at the work going on to repair the damage to the main gate. I knew from experience that the palace had automatic repair spells laid on almost every stone and board, but the damage that had rocked it the night before had resisted the magic, crackling with orange light whenever the castle staff tried to activate the spells. Twilight had finally arranged for stonemasons to come handle the repairs.
Sunshine rased her head sleepily as I entered the study. Her face showed that she was fighting down the urge to race to the bathroom and empty her stomach in protest. I felt a flash of sympathy for her. Morning sickness had hit her harder than we had thought it would.
“Did you find anything?” Moondancer asked from the side, her glasses settling on her face as she sat up from the couch she had laid out on.
“Nothing I hoped to find,” I returned, pulling my crown off with my magic and setting it to the side. My shoes and chain of office followed soon after. Finally divested of the regalia, I slumped into the pile of pillows and cushions strewn about and laid my head along Sunshine’s barrel in fatigue. “Every lead ends in a burned out home or a strange magic residue.”
“Would Twilight be able to recognize it?” my wife asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I replied, eyes closing. “I’m probably just as well versed as she is on mantic traces.”
“We won’t know unless she takes a look herself,” Moondancer pointed out.
“I know,” I murmured. I was starting to fall asleep to the sound of Sunshine’s heartbeat. “Can you ask her when she wakes up?”
I heard hooves shuffle across the floor. “Of course, Your Majesty,” Moondancer’s voice carried softly. “Sleep well.”
“Dun call me tha,” I slurred, but the rest of the protest never made it out of my mouth as I fell over the precipice to sleep.
A fire burned ahead of me. Shadowy forms moved back and forth, shrouded by the backglare of the flames. Or were they made of shadow? I couldn’t tell.
“False Ruler,” a voice said, causing me to wheel around, horn lighting with an angry red glare. “You cannot stop the march of entropy. I will not be swayed.”
“Show your face,” I snarled. “Stop hurting all these innocent lives and face me directly!”
“No," the disembodied voice replied. “Your time is not yet here.”
“You will face me now!” I shouted, spreading my wings. “Armis…”
Before I could complete the phrase, a blast of air slammed into me, knocking the wind from my lungs and dazing me.
I surged to my hooves, horn flaring up and wings flying open with a shout of anger as I was shoved forcefully into a waking state. Sunshine twisted beneath me, eyes wide in concern at my angry state.
“Sunny!” she called, reaching up with a forelimb to touch my side.
I stood there, taking shuddering breaths. As my fear and anger subsided, I laid down and draped my head back over my love’s side.
“You ok?” she asked softly, shifting so she could stoke my mane.
“No, I’m not,” I said, closing my eyes for a moment. “Homes being burnt, everypony looking to me, trying to run this nation even for a week…It’s more than I ever wanted. I just want to go back to our condo and never look back sometimes.”
“You can’t,” Sunshine admonished. “You’re an Equestrian princess and you have your responsibilities.”
“And how many times have I been called to exercise them in the realm I was tasked to defend?” I returned wearily, raising my head again. “Twice now I’ve been called into service in Equestria, and the only time things in our world were threatened, we were powerless thanks to the Conjunction. There are times I think we should just move here and be done with it.”
“What about our friends?” she whispered. “And my family?”
“I’m not saying we shut the portal for good,” I said, leaning over and nuzzling her. “I’m just tied of never getting more than a few days of peace to enjoy with my wife at home, where we belong.”
A giggling laugh rose from outside the window. My office overlooked one of the garden courtyards, and as I rose to go look, I saw my sister playing with Ebony as Hue laid out some food for an impromptu picnic. My eyes immediately spotted the guards standing inconspicously around the door, protecting Dew’s family on my orders.
“Not long and we’ll be doing the same,” Sunshine said as she came up next to me.
“Nine or more months is not a short time, Twi,” I said softly.
“No," she said as she leaned into me.
“I’m sure it will fly on by.”