//------------------------------//
// Chapter 53 - The Stripe 
// Story: Twilight Daylight: Psera, The Legend of Legends 
// by thedarktome 
//------------------------------//

Twilight was ready to go. She's been ready to go. Based off of her prancing in place in the middle of the room. Madun decided to enjoy the anxious show with a cookie he had grabbed from her lunch. Huffing and puffing, Twilight started pacing before someone knocked politely on the door. Madun cleared his throat and ordered, "Enter!"

The door burst open and scared Arcadia's already frizzled nerves. She jumped in place and glared at the pony who is more than responsible. The only one who actually bursts through the door with the most excited eyes she's ever seen.

Merry Fire stood up on her hind hooves in the doorway with a huge grin and yelled, "There she is!!" Then rushed into the room and pulled Twilight into a menacing yet loving squeeze. "I knew you weren't dead, I knew it!!"

Twilight kindly patted her back and greeted through grunts. "Mmm, nice to see you too, Merry. Now... Let me breath so I don't die?"

Merry pulled back but glared at her through angry orange eyes. She grabbed Twilight's shoulders and yelled, "No more underground laboratories! There were so many creepy things in there! Why were there two of you?!"

"Ohh, you met my personalities?"

"Your what?"

Twilight pushed Merry's hooves off and walked around her to see the twins and Blazing. "I'll tell you later. Hello, Blazing."

Blazing Fire still looked the same. Sporting that red goatee, red coat, and red mane. He smiled and pulled Queen Arcadia into a hug.

"The Great Queen lives," he calmly cheered. He ended their embrace and asked, "How are you feeling? When the news spread about an underground laboratory, I honestly wasn't surprised. I've been expecting a film about 'Queen Arcadia's Lair' for a while now."

She scoffed and playfully hit his chest. "I'm a little stiff, but nothing an obstacle course can't fix. How's the senate feeling?"

"Not sure, but Molten was meeting with them earlier. She has more information."

"Great. And are these the twins? Lightning and Daisy?" Twilight trotted over to Lightning and Daisy peacefully waving in sync with plastered grins by the door.

Merry sighed and walked over with the smile of a partly proud mother. "Yep, these are my spawns."

"Ohh, they've gotten so big!" They were dwarfing over Dawn. These girls certainly have grown up. "Lightning looks like you Merry."

"She has no green on her."

"Daisy does too."

"They're twins."

"Exactly." Twilight giggled at Merry's annoyed expression and patted her face before looking to the twins. "Are you with Dawn at school?"

Lightning waved a hoof and answered, "Every now and then, whenever she's around."

"I'll have to visit her school sometime. Anyone else here?" Merry shook her head and hoofed her a folder she pulled from under her wing. "What's this?"

"These are your discharge papers. I just picked these up. They knew I was coming over here, so they asked me to give you these."

Twilight used her magic to place the folder under her good wing and smiled back up to them. "Where is Molten anyway?"

"She's handling business at the castle," Madun answered from behind. He walked into view and asked, "Are you ready to go? Where's Dawn?"

That was a good question. Twilight raised her head and used her magic to track a large source of Dark Magic around her. "She's with Gardeen around the corner... Now she's here." Twilight looked down and watched Dawn nudge her way through into the room.

"Okay, okay, I'm here," she greeted breathlessly. Then looked up at all the faces staring down at her with wide eyes. Specifically Aunt Merry's. "...what?"

"Wh-what are you wearing?"

"Who cares!" Dawn trotted behind her mother and started using her head to push her out the door. "Let's go home already!"

Twilight laughed and allowed herself to be moved. "Okay, okay, I'm going, I'm going."

Madun laughed and walked out behind his two girls. One was already anxious, and the other has been anxious for quite some time.

They met up with Gardeen and a few more ponies in the hall waiting for her. Including the Guard. The one at the front was the same pony who helped all of this happen.

Captain Smalls saluted and greeted, "Your highness. Welcome back among your living ponies."

"Private... Captain Smalls," she corrected. That prideful rank on her vest didn't lie. "You're my escort?"

Captain Smalls lowered her hoof and answered, "Yes, ma'am. I'm in charge of the escort team to the castle. Are you ready to move?"

"Yes, I am." Twilight, Madun and Dawn walked in between their group of four soldiers while the others trailed behind them.

While they moved, Madun looked down slightly to Twilight and spotted something twinkling on her chest. It was hidden deep underneath her fur. He reached over and lifted whatever it was into their view from her coat. Their wedding ring. He's never noticed it after all this time. "You never lost this," he whispered.

Twilight smiled and whispered, "Now why would I? It reminded me of what I was fighting for." He and Twilight shared a loving nuzzle. One Madun could swear made a tear leak from his eye. Then focused once again on their destination. The elevators.



When they arrived on the bottom floor, Twilight was rather surprised at the rest of the rulers waiting for her down there. Was the open border command still in play? She'd have to ask. The Princesses of Equestria of course, and other rulers she actually didn't see. Strange how much she missed them. Queen Novo, Madam Singe, Thorax of the Changelings, Ember of the Dragons and more Twilight couldn't remember.

There was a direct path to the front which would allow them access to their pods parked directly outside. She could see everything beyond the glass doors. The Press of course were ready and doing their thing. It was really strange how much she missed them too.

Twilight smiled and walked over to IHT in slow steps. Just so she didn't hurt anything. Her hoof was still sprained and her wing was still broken. The first pony she greeted... "Queen Novo."

"Your Majesty," Novo replied. They bowed to each other then rose and shared a hug. "It's been so long since we've seen you. Welcome home."

They pulled away and stared at each other. Twilight nodded and stated, "It feels like it was only yesterday that I was fighting Maheera... I'm sorry I left you all here without a notice, but I knew what I had to do."

"Don't apologize," Shining ordered. But did walk up and add, "But at least warn me next time, okay? Mom and Dad were devastated." He grabbed Twilight and pulled her into an emotional hug. "Just imagine their faces when you see them. And your friends definitely."

She could already see Pinkie Pie squeezing her life out in a deep hug. Let alone her own mother. Twilight smiled and kissed Shining's cheek. "I'm happy to be here." He patted her back and allowed her room to go to the last two faces she'd expect to see. "Sunset? Starlight?"

Sunset Shimmer pounced over the smooth hospital floors and pulled Twilight into a hug with Starlight. "Don't you ever do what you did again," she warned. "We lost you, Twilight. Not this time."

"Don't worry," Twilight replied. "It won't happen again."

Starlight yelled, "It better not!" Then grabbed Twilight's face and smooched her right on the cheek before burying her face in her neck to cry. It made Twilight realize how much she was missed all these years. Better get used to this.

After a few more greetings, Twilight used her wing to scoot Dawn closer to her side. And all eyes went straight to her outfit in a tense silence. She sighed and declared, "Okay, I get it! I didn't have enough time to change back, alright? Jeez, sue me, will ya? Marshapa cala miko ezra mara terkilo engardem elrah meekah..."

Twilight giggled sweetly while Dawn ranted in a language none of them could understand. She nudged her forward and proceeded to walk with her for the entrance. Twilight was tired of living in the hospital now. Yes, it's been one day but one day was enough.

Before they stepped out, Twilight looked Dawn over and transfigured a napkin to hover in front of Dawn's face. Then started wiping off her makeup. "Ack! M-Mom!" Dawn cried. When Twilight pulled away, Dawn was just wearing a black dress, a leather choker and huge surprised eyes.

Satisfied, Twilight tossed the napkin in a bin nearby and continued walking. "First lesson? Everyone will make assumptions of both you and I together if they saw your makeup."

Dawn scoffed and asked, "Are you saying I can't do makeup? I am a guru."

"And I am your mother. You can guru on your own time." The smiling Guards at the front pushed the doors open for them and allowed them out into the brisk welcoming air of Psera. A very welcoming line of all of Psera's military branches had made a path up to the Royal Pod for their family. Twilight wanted to wave first though.

She stopped at the front and waved elegantly to the cheering, clapping, and stomping crowd of ponies out front. And there were a lot of them. Twilight could wave all day. Well probably not, her hooves would get tired. Queen Arcadia smiled down to the ponies nearest to her and started moving with the rest of her group for the Pods. Waving and greeting all the while.

Dawn never understood how she could do it. Indulge in the attention. Her father could do it too. She however chose to stick to the side and just watch. She wasn't scared of them. Nope, not at all. They just made her uncomfortable.

Dawn didn't have much time to think about it when she was pulled up once again by her mother's magic to walk with her. Queen Arcadia leaned over and asked, "Isn't this exciting sweetie? You, me, and your father together again. Oh we're going to have so much fun together! And so much to catch up on!" Twilight reached out and let a pony strangely kiss her hoof while her father took over. He was less than enthusiastic in Dawn's mind.

He leaned down and whispered, "Just know she means well, okay? She hasn't seen you for ten years and seeing you all grown up has made her ehh... A little protective."

A little? Dawn thought. When they finally reached the Pod and their escort, Queen Arcadia lifted Dawn up and dropped her inside. Then quickly strapped in her seatbelt. "There we go!" She said. Dawn deadpanned her expression straight ahead while Arcadia stuffed her long wings in on the other side.

Once they were settled in, Dawn blew a strand of red mane out of her face and grumbled, "Great."

Twilight smoothed Dawn's mane back and immediately started making checklists. "Ohh, you need a haircut too! We both need haircuts, we can get Merry to book us an appointment. Then we need to get some new clothes immediately afterwards. Probably make that a nine-fifteen. Then we can..."

Dawn sighed and leaned back to enjoy the ride as much as she possibly could. Because it was going to be a long one.



The sun bathed Twilight in happiness. Drenching her body in loving warmth. It felt good to move limbs again. Their little parade was speeding towards the castle now. And Twilight didn't want to be surprised.

After she finished her mental checklist, the Pod finally descended into silence. Only the sound of Pods passing by on the other side of the highway that was one hundred feet above Psera's ground. EVeryone was getting where they needed to go around Cop. Pserateps could fly, but if everyone was flying at once, there would be some serious injuries. Pods in the sky were much better. Twilight could see the castle from here. Then again she could see it further back. Her castle. Her home.

Twilight looked over Dawn playing sleep and asked Madun, "So what changed?"

"Not much really," he answered. He smiled when they turned into the gates and added, "Your side of the room is very tidy, your office was only disturbed when Dawn was doing research—which reminds me. A theory is running around that you wanted Dawn to find you."

Dawn wanted to know that too. She popped her eyes open and trained them on Twilight's face, then asked, "Did you?"

"Well..." Twilight tried to think of a better way to explain it. But could she really? There were enough clues to push Dawn in the right direction. So in the end she sighed and admitted down to Dawn, "Yes."

"I knew it!" She turned to her father and jabbed his shoulder playfully with the biggest grin in the world. He was immune to things like that. "I told you! Aunt Caddy and I were right!"

Twilight rolled her eyes and admitted, "Okay, okay, I wanted Dawn to find me. But there is always a reason behind my complex decisions. It's a lot deeper and... I have to remember it." They deadpanned her a look. "Hey, I'm Twenty-Six with responsibilities."

"Thirty-six, baby," Madun reminded her.

"...right. I'm thirty-six now." Dawn sighed when her mother's ears flopped down and her excited expression flipped to a despondent one. She was clearly upset with her time skip. She's missed so much. Birthdays, parties, celebrations, events, school sports, Psera's growth, all types of things. It was surreal that she was here now.

Dawn patted her hoof and cheered her up. "Hey, it's okay," she cooed. Twilight looked and perked her ears up. "We'll just have to catch you up. I think sis has like a record of things in the past. Or you can go around and try a few things out."

"...yeah," Twilight whispered. Sis probably meant Gardeen. And she definitely held records. Twilight's smile beamed down to her daughter. "I'd like that. I'd like that very much."

The Pod pulled into the back of the castle and entered into the garage, just as Twilight remembered it. Full of fancy pods and military pods. Getaway pods for emergencies if they couldn't take the air. All backed up into a space and ready to move at the first sign of trouble.

Once parked, the drivers in front helped the Great Queen out of her seat to cease any possible stress to her body before it could begin. Dawn and Madun could easily get out on their own. Although Dawn needed steps to get down from the Pod to the concrete.

Arcadia had to get her wings out and the Guards assigned to assure her health helped her step out carefully. She shouldn't even be out of the hospital right now, but Triage assured them she'll be doing daily home visits.

Once they were moving, Celestia pranced over with Novo and sang, "You're home, Twilight! What are you going to do first?"

The Guards pushed the doors open and let them step their hooves onto the massive home of Royalty and the offices of executives. The halls were still glossy and flawless. A little dirty, but this single hall did lead to the Garage after all. Guarded as usual. Their hoofsteps bounced off the walls and reverberated down the hallway. The air smelled of cleaning products, which let them know the Housekeeping Staff has been busy. The Suite may not have any, but that's only because they preferred to do their own cleaning.

Queen Arcadia answered, "Well I would like to take a nap, but I also need to see Molten first. I need to talk to her for a moment."

Sunset strode forward laughing and corrected, "Oh, you just want a Maphito."

"Well... I would like one of those actually," Arcadia bashfully admitted. In truth she could go for a lot of sugar right now. She hasn't had any for ten years. And Maphitos were so customizable, they could go with anything.

It took them awhile, but they finally made it up the stairs to the third floor of the castle. Extravagant, beautiful, wonderful. Packed.

The second Queen Arcadia stepped out on the floor, the ponies under her staff in the past started clapping their hooves and bowing in respect. "Welcome home, your highness!"

"We missed you!"

"We love you, your highness."

Queen Arcadia waved their way and gave her own forms of greeting while they moved past. Talking, conversing, hugging. Dawn just had to ask. She pushed her way up to her mother and queried, "How can you enjoy all this attention? All the waving, hellos and annoying hoof smooches."

Queen Arcadia stopped her waving and looked down to Dawn to answer, "I don't enjoy all the attention, actually. Nor the waving. I'm enjoying the reason why."

Gardeen walked up next to Princess Dawn since she gained that common expression of confusion and commented, "And the Queen becomes vague once more. Whenever she does that, that means she wants you to figure it out."

"Gardeen!" Arcadia lightly scolded. "That's not what I meant!"

"Of course I'll grab your Maphito, your majesty." Gardeen playfully stuck her tongue out at Queen Arcadia, who returned it in kind and took a nearby stairwell back down. She knew her too well.

Arcadia sighed and looked back to Dawn's curious eyes. "You'll figure it out one day. I promise. It's better for you to experience first and grow into it than for someone to tell you. I want to show you something in my office later."

Dawn asked tiredly, "Is it your magical elevator that leads us down into your massive library, because I've already seen that. I can't read any of it."

Can't read? Dawn can't read?! Twilight immediately stopped their procession at the corner they were about to turn right in, the center of an intersecting hallway and faced Dawn with an look of concern. "Can't read it?" She repeated. "What do you mean?"

"I can't read Ponish."

"Can't read—" Twilight flipped her gaze up to Madun. "Why can't our baby read Ponish?"

Oh, Madun was not looking forward to this conversation. Nor the ponies behind them watching. Sunset and Starlight shared a look then directed it back to the two parents about to go at it. Same with Celestia and Luna.

Madun glanced around with unreadable purple eyes and answered, "Well she lives on a continent where the only texts printed in Ponish are directed to you, or written by you. That and the need to learn Ponish isn't even existent considering not many ponies write Ponish here in Psera."

"I still think she could benefit learning Ponish."

"I'm not sure if it would be a wise investment of time."

"It would be, considering one half of her family line only reads Ponish."

"Her Majesty lives!" The King and Queen turned their irked gazes to the front of their path. To the Supreme Court Judges walking over with a smile. "We simply must—"

Twilight raised her hoof and interrupted, "Hold that thought." Then turned back to Madun clearly irate. "As much as she lives in Psera, a small but equally as important branch of family is in Equestria. Knowing both languages would benefit her." The Five Supreme judges all slowly glanced to each other. Looks like they were interrupting something huge.

Madun deadpanned, "It would be a waste of time, Twilight. She's only been to Equestria once since you disappeared and that was this week. Reading Ponish would be a ridiculous skill that would take a lot of time and effort for null reasons." Madun walked over to Dawn in front of the Judges and placed a wing on her back. "She's already intelligent without her knowledge of Ponish. She doesn't need it, Twilight."

Dawn raised a hoof in the midst of their argument and asked quietly, "Don't I get a say in this?" They looked straight down into her eyes. "I wouldn't want to learn Ponish, it's too much anyway."

Arcadia gasped and exclaimed quietly, "Dawn! It's the language of your Equestrian family!"

"Yeah, but that's Equestria, not Psera. I don't go to Equestria." Twilight hummed sadly. She had a point. And she even had a Pseratopian tongue. When a few words would curve up an octave in response to Old Pseratopian speaking habits. And Vowels were slurred almost unnoticeably at times. If Dawn was around ponies where it wasn't needed then there wasn't any reason to learn it. "And I was kind of hoping you could just teach me some of this stuff. Together. You know, your spell books..."

A simple movement that could have been regarded for a Guard stepping over from behind them pulled Twilight's attention up for half a second! Molten! Good!

But the creature she had with her made Twilight's blood run cold and muscles stiffen. Golden bangles, a few markings on her body, one eye covered, black and white stripes... Twilight switched to protective mom mode.

She gasped and used a wing to slide Dawn back over and behind her. "Hey! Mom!"

Madun looked up to Twilight in shock. "Arcadia—"

"Why is there a STRIPE on Psera soil?!" Twilight bellowed.

All sounds ceased. The hall's noise dropped into an eery sound. Two guards taking post nearby glanced in their direction to the accusing shout's source.

All eyes followed her hoof behind Madun and the judges to Queen Tarsafani's frozen form in surprise. Sunset seethed through her teeth in the back and whispered over to Starlight, "Oooh, is Twilight... Racist?" The Princesses and her brother were just as surprised. Or rather shocked!

Molten nudged Tarsafani out of her surprise and bowed to Queen Arcadia. She quickly followed. This must be the Legendary Queen Arcadia. "It's good to see you alive, Queen Arcadia." Yep.

Twilight kept her glare on the "Stripe" and moved in with her protective nature as her weapon. "It's great to be back, Molten. But I want answers. Now. Why is there a Zebra on Psera? What does she know?"

So this is the Great Queen of Psera? Tarsafani thought. Once she was on her hooves, she measured Twilight up and down. She didn't seem rather strong. Respected, yes. Racist, definitely. Strong enough to take down a dragon, no.

Molten straightened up and answered, "I needed to speak with her regarding Zebrica's current stand. They know of Psera and our power, and I was making sure she knew the results of any other... Attempt, as it were."

Twilight nudged Dawn closer to her father and proceeded to walk forward. "Could we not have sent a letter? Diplomat? Liaison? Instead of inviting a Stripe to step hoof on our country? Who even is she? Do not speak, Zebra." Her eyes glowed a bright neon violet while she slowly circled Tarsafani and begun scanning her up and down with the glare of an angry mother. Even her glowing mane seemed to be terrifying. Fear coursed through Tarsafani's being.

Molten could do nothing about it. Just step to the side and allow her access. "She's Queen Tarsafani of Zebrica."

"A Queen of the Zebras on Psera soil is not a good sign." Twilight walked back in front of Queen Tarsafani and stared her down for a tense moment. Then shifted to Molten with normal eyes. "I sense nothing but distrust. You of all ponies should know that every single Zebra who meant 'no harm' had a darker agenda in service directly to their King and Queen during The Gold Wars. None could be trusted. She cannot be trusted."

Racist bigot, Tarsafani thought.

"I could have her executed for simply coming here."

Ahhh, but a strong bigot. Tarsafani bowed and requested, "Permission to speak, your highness?"

Twilight smoldered to her with distaste. But replied, "You may."

"My kind is not of dominating nature anymore. We have settled in away from Equestrian borders and further more from Psera. Attacking would be pointless and we would gain nothing. We mean nothing but peace."

"You will be gaining a deeper grave," Twilight growled. "Psera has a law for visitors. Zebras, on the other hoof, is shoot-on-sight. The Gold Wars never ended. We are very much in a century-old standstill."

"Queen Arcadia, she already knows the penalties," Molten quickly assured. "She will not test Psera. Do you not trust my judgement?"

Arcadia ceased the glowing of her eyes and horn, and answered, "Of course I trust your judgement, Your Majesty. But you of all ponies in the world should know that Zebras have unspoken agendas. They hold secrets." She glared once more to Tarsafani. "Deep secrets. What you see and hear may not be what you actually get."

"In all fairness, Queen Arcadia, you too held secrets that Psera held an account for. But we still trust you, even after the accident ten years later." Twilight's shameful eye twitch let Molten known she made a low but successful blow. A blow that they were going to speak on later.

"Yes," Twilight admitted. "But I made sure to make it right. In case you've forgotten I was just awoken from sentencing myself to years of immobilization, hallucinations, and psychological torture to ensure their deaths were not in vain. Waking up and drifting to sleep again, and again, and again trapped in my own creation with no source of light anywhere. To make sure my home, my family, and my citizens were safe above all from Maheera. And I succeeded. Those innocent lives can't be brought back like those families would want but I prevented any further victims by sacrificing my own existence. And I will do whatever it takes to assure it never happens again."

"Is she no different?" Molten kindly argued. "She was not born during the time of The Gold Wars and neither were you. She does not carry the burdening weight of her ancestors. You both seek peace between your countries, and it starts here."

"It starts with her leaving Psera and never returning," Twilight corrected. "Avoidance is the common factor of peace between all countries. The further apart they were before was the main cause of peace. To intermingle would cause distrust."

"You speak against your own teachings, Queen Arcadia," Molten told her. "Was it not you who spoke of friendship and acceptance during your rebuilding of Psera from the literal dirt?"

Twilight nodded and argued, "Of course. But Psera is already away from a majority of ponies with a great defense merging in their own form of friendship. We cut ourselves off to maintain our own peace. Intermingling with others created pain, greed, and suffering because of our assets. Fueled by jealousy. We were stabbed in the back. What happened when Equestria arrived on Psera soil in a search for me? I was almost executed by a pony who fell in love with me there and did not want me to marry the true love of my life. I was not scared of the country, but there are ponies you must watch out for."

Twilight walked past Molten and behind Tarsafani continuing her speech. "It made me realize that different cultures with different ponies have different beliefs. Different viewpoints on life that they believe should be forced upon. And if those cultures were to collide one would wipe the other out and... Take what they want..." Twilight stopped talking and stared ahead at the hallway leading to the throne room. Her eyes shifted up to the Crest of Psera above the doors.

To the face of Narmeelah in the middle of it. That's exactly what she would have said. A flashback of another discussion she and Maheera held pierced through her mind. During one of those hallucinations.


~✶~


Twilight was sure she's jumped off the deep end now. Because she... Was sitting in a bar. Oh no, not a bar. The lights were turned down, some loud music was playing from speakers held on wooden support columns, the actual bar itself was full of self-degrading and self-loathing ponies. And the dance floor... Full of drunken idiots. Highlighted by lasers and bright flashing lights. One of them just fell on the hardwood floors laughing for no reason.

Twilight sighed and rotated on her stool to face a white cup sitting in the middle of this wooden counter.

"Drink up, privileged." Twilight followed the black hoof presenting this cup up to the face of Maheera Dark. Grinning a mouth of sharp teeth her way and glowing yellow slitted eyes. "We're both dead, so let's get loose, alright?"

Twilight tightened her lips and was about to say no. But then again... None of this was real. She was sure of it. So, she grabbed the cup in her magic and drained it down. Screw it.

"Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!" Maheera chanted.

After it was gone, Twilight slammed it on the surface and took deep breaths. It burns going down along with some light headed atmosphere. But overall... "That was fun," she whispered.

Maheera grabbed the cup and started the process of cleaning. She was the barkeep apparently. "Buck yeah it is," she agreed. "I never thought death would look like this."

Twilight looked around her and observed their surroundings. A wild party. Everyone was drinking, cheering and letting loose. "Clubbing it out" they would call it in Psera. She shook her head and answered, "I think we're either hallucinating or we're dead. I'm going with the first option... For now."

Maheera glanced up to Arcadia but didn't say anything. Instead chose to continue washing cups. There was no telling what she was thinking. Arcadia turned back to face Maheera and asked, "So what was the deal between you and Narmeelah? Didn't you two ever just talk out your problems?"

"Of course we did!" Maheera exclaimed. She tossed the cup she was drying into the air behind her to shatter into a sink. Well she was a relative to Discord. "We tried to come up with other solutions to soothe our issues with each other. But Narmeelah was against me always wanting to bond the races together. 'Psera doesn't interact with them.' I never understood it. Why would you create all these races with no intention of all interacting with each other but one?"

She slid another full cup in front of Twilight who asked, "Did she ever give a clue?" Then tilted her head back and took another swig.

Maheera laughed and answered, "Not a good one. She was afraid that everyone would start killing each other off. Distrust, disharmony. One wouldn't agree with the other and it would end in a bloodbath. All methods weren't the same, their skills weren't the same, their overall beliefs weren't the same. And if one tries to tell another Pony what's really right, then there will be problems, yada yada yada. I mean she was partly correct. Other countries have their own things and own beliefs.

"You know, Equestria has Faust and magic, Psera has Narmeelah and Advanced Science. They have different laws and expectations of the other that may cause a clash. If the events leading up to you being shot with an arrow were flipped with Equestria and you were born on Psera, Equestria would just throw the pony in prison. Because that's just how they are. However Psera was ready to blow up Equestria because of it. And Narmeelah didn't want that in her own favored Country of Psera. Any influence of that was arrested, thrown out, dead, things like that.

"Narmeelah was strict on the ponies who tried to enter or exit. There's a thin perimeter around Psera where you can go. You cross that Perimeter, you see Narmeelah's dark side."

How interesting. The scientist in Twilight wanted to take notes. But then again she was "dead." There was no point. Twilight took another sip and summarized, "So Narmeelah was afraid that everyone wouldn't agree with the other and kill one another off. And she figured the worlds beyond Psera were already lost—"

"Thanks to me."

"Right. Because you infected them. So she cut Psera off from everyone, which in turn actually influenced greed and jealousy, a major part in influencing the Gold Wars between the Stripes and the Pserateps."

Maheera jabbed a hoof and answered, "Correct. Wow, you're amazing. Bet you didn't even have to open a book." Twilight smiled and took another sip of her hallucinated beverage. "But promise me something, Queen Arcadia. If it turns out we're not dead and just sleeping or something else stupid, don't make the same mistake Narmeelah did. She's a smart pony just like you. But sometimes she thought too much. Came up with theories, assumptions, beliefs, fears. She never actually conducted a real experiment. Her decisions were based on her thoughts and beliefs. Don't make a decision based off what you think you know. Like from what you've read or what you've heard.

"Make a decision based off what you believe in and your own experiences. Psera wouldn't have put you in your position as Queen of the Greatest Country in the World if they didn't believe in your judgement. Keyword? Your judgement. Not the judgement from somepony you've read about and believe in. You're a smart pony. Use that big head of yours. It's always good to be careful and keep a watchful eye out but you also need to leave room to actually observe and learn before you make a default decision."

Wise words coming from a pony as old as time. Twilight smiled up to Maheera and commented, "You know what... You're not that bad for a pony made of Dark Magic."

Maheera winked and shook up another drink. "Dark Magic doesn't make a pony bad. As a matter of fact, Dark Magic is innocent. It's what you do with it that changes you. You used it to seal us both away. Does that make you a bad pony? No." Twilight hummed and looked around her before Maheera laughed again.

"Can you imagine if a pony, like a living, breathing, heart pumping and conscious pony ran solely on Dark Magic? Even I have to eat! Like they could survive like... Like how I infect ponies, but the subject would actually be a perfect pony? Like... L-Like if you were made from Dark Magic. You're real, but then again you're not at the same time. Like I'm staring at magic here, you know? A breathing, conscious form of Dark Magic that looks like real flesh and could actually be mistaken for flesh by anyone who sees them with a kind heart and the innocence of a newborn filly. Can you imagine that? Living, breathing, conscious magic!"

Twilight nervously laughed out loud and shook her head. "Nope! Nope, not at all! That's crazy."


~✶~


Twilight sighed unheard in shame. Away from the listening ears of the ponies behind her waiting for her next words. Was Twilight racist? Her family held no clues. Dawn too was suspicious of Tarsafani, but she didn't make it known by bluntly calling her a Stripe.

Molten cleared her throat and whispered, "Queen Arcadia?"

Right. They were waiting on her. She had a feeling she was going to regret this. Arcadia looked over her shoulder and made the decision that she knew was going to come back and bite her hard: "She can stay."