Chapter 1
A void infinite and crushing spread around me. I turned my head in a vain search for a source of light to drive away my building fear. The accompanying silence was deafening, enough to drive anypony to madness in minutes. It most certainly would have if not for the sudden explosion of sound that caused my heart to freeze over. A sound that signaled the screams of countless terrified individuals.
Though the sound consumed my senses, it was easily overpowered by something far more horrifying, the mechanical footfalls of some gargantuan monster of metal. As the stomping grew louder the screams rose in pitch and volume. Finally the sound of the monster's approach ceased, though the screams never faded. Despite the vivid sounds emanating from around me the ever present darkness provided no vision of the ensuing chaos.
All at once my vision exploded with detail, a bright light causing my eyes to burn for several seconds. Once my sight adjusted I gazed upward warily, and the new sight caused my heart to stutter. Above me was a large Machine, standing impossibly tall on three long and spindly legs. The illumination's source was two large spotlights mounted on the underside of it's bulbous body. It tilted it's head downward, the gaze from it's large insectoid eyes seemed to pass right through me, their eery green glow causing shivers down my spine.
I turned my head to view the figures retreating from the monster, even in the cascading light they were mere silhouettes depicting upright standing bipedal creatures. The sound of the monster moving again caused me to snap my attention back to it. It aimed it's body skyward and let out a long resonating cry. "UUUULLLAAAAHHH!" When it's roaring subsided it tilted back down and sprang into motion. It passed over me, seemingly unaware of my existence, and proceeded to chase the fleeing shadows. After several seconds of pursuit large columns of red light began to emanate from the front of it's body. Whenever the columns would collide with the shadows they would be instantly turned to fire, their forms disappearing within moments. It continued on, erasing them from existence dozens at a time for several minutes until they had all been disintegrated.
Once all of the figures had disappeared in it's cleansing beams, it began to turn again, this time facing in my direction. The funnel on the front of it's face aimed downward at me, and I shut my eyes expecting nothing but death. But before the monstrosity could destroy it's final victim, a familiar voice cried out from the darkness. "ENOUGH!" Suddenly a beam of dark blue energy lanced out and severed the monster's right leg, and sent the hulking form whirling to destruction. I stared at the wreckage of the Fighting Machine as it's glowing eyes flickered and finally went out, it's lights following soon after, plunging me into darkness once more.
The sound of hooves on stone caused me to scramble back in alarm, but before I could turn and run my surroundings changed completely. The darkness melted away into a moonlit forest clearing. My panic immediately subsided as I recognized the environment created by a dear friend. She was now standing before me, the moon above providing ample light to see her in full detail. She stared at me for a few moments in concern, before finally saying. "We really must do something about your night terrors. We apologize for not being here sooner, it has been a very busy night."
I smiled at her. "No, it's alright. I can't expect you to clear my terrors every time they happen."
Her concern didn't waver however. "It is not 'alright', one of my duties as Princess of the Night is to clear the nightmares of all of my subjects, yet despite all of our talks, yours never do. It has me deeply concerned for your well-being."
I shook my head. "You worry too much Luna."
She snorted. "And you worry too little Cobalt." Her gaze turned skyward as if sensing something. "The dawn approaches, wake and seek me out tonight, we wish to discuss something with you."
I bowed slightly. "As you wish Princess."
Her eye twitches. "You are impossible Cobalt. How many times must I say this? I am your friend, when the nobles aren't around just call me Luna."
The surrounding environment began to fade as my dreamscape collapsed as I began to awaken, before it collapsed I managed one final jab. "Yes Princess." She opened her mouth to retort, but my dream dissipated before she could say anything.
I awoke to find myself in darkness again, and quickly snapped my curtains open with a burst of telekinesis letting the glaring sunlight cascade into the room. I let out a small sigh, and sat up extending my magic to the small notebook on the nightstand. I opened a small drawer inside of it and retrieved some ink and a quill. I opened it and began flipping to the nearest blank page. While flipping through I skimmed it's contents, that being all of my previous terrors since arriving on Equus. Most were different from each other varying in setting or contents. The one detail that persisted in all of them however was the Fighting Machine. In all of my discussions with Luna neither of us could figure out what it was, why it was the only recurring detail, or why I knew so much, and yet so little about it.
After pondering it again for a moment I moved on to writing the details of this newest terror. I frowned as I wrote about the bipedal figures. Normally the settings included places I'd been, Canterlot, Ponyville, even Appleoosa, this time however it was an empty void. The real enigma however were those shadows. What exactly were they, and why did they seem so familiar? All of my terrors featured the inhabitants of each location, though in the case of Canterlot The Royal Sisters were noticeably absent, at least until the real Luna showed up. I mentally shrugged and decided to ask her about them later.
I quickly finished my written account, and placed the journal and my writing instruments into a saddlebag on the opposite side of my nightstand. I climbed out of bed and proceeded with the rest of my morning routine. After a quick shower I began to comb my silver mane and tail into my normal spiky style. I also brushed my cobalt blue fur to smooth out the knots from tossing and turning all night. My gaze fell to my flank, it noticeably lacked what most other ponies my age had, a cutie mark. One more of the many mysteries surrounding myself it seemed.
I glanced at the clock and realized I would be late to work if I didn't hurry. I rushed into the kitchen and scarfed down my regular breakfast of a protein bar and some milk, after nearly choking a few times I grabbed my saddlebags and ran out of my house. I was greeted by the ever busy streets of Canterlot, thankfully my home was on the very outskirts of the city so it wasn't too bad. The location itself wasn't bad either, other than the sheer drop off the edge of the city. It wouldn't normally be a problem if I had wings, or fine enough magical control to save myself before impact. Remembering that I was going to be late I shook away my daydreaming and began a hurried gallop to the train yards.
I had arrived in Equestria about a year ago, and while I initially struggled to find work. Mostly due to my lack of training with magic. After I received some lessons, from Luna no less, I discovered my talents lay in engineering and I found a job repairing and maintaining steam locomotives. It paid decently and every now and then my boss would allow me to take a few of the extra or broken parts for my tinkering. Luna says I would do better inventing on my own, but I'm happy with the stability. Besides I wasn't confident enough in my abilities to attempt freelance work just yet.
Even at a full gallop it took half an hour to reach the yards, and I received a decent chewing out for almost being late. Normally my days were slow, just checking the boilers for malfunctions or replacing worn out parts. Today however was extra slow. A new locomotive design had been delivered and we spent most of the day picking it apart, putting it back together, and studying its's schematics. The thing that surprised me the most about this new line of trains was the inclusion of magicite based mechanisms.
Magicite, I'd read, is an uncommon form of crystal, while they may look unremarkable they actually respond very easily to magical stimuli. Back when The Crystal Empire was still around their main export had been these crystals, this had led it to be one of the wealthiest nations in the world before it vanished. In olden times they were mostly used for storing mass quantities of magical energy. With the disappearance of The Empire, use and research of magicite had dwindled significantly.
In modern times however there had been a slight resurgence in the development and use of the crystals. It was found that magicite could be charged with enchantments and spells and then paired with other similarly charged crystals or standard machinery to create highly powerful and efficient magic based mechanisms. The problem with the system is the requirement of unicorn spellcasting abilities, not only to create them in the first place, but to also maintain their magical energy charge. A solution was found by The Andromedus family, a Ley Line that was discovered in the caves underneath Canterlot, near Equestria's largest source of magicite crystals. Ley lines are like rivers of pure magical energy, and dedicated magicite capacitors in the machines allowed for the recent popularity of these kinds of mechanisms.
Due to their expensive nature magicite was primarily used in highly important systems, such as the newest form of city power grids and generators. Seeing it in something as small as a train engine had, until recently, been unheard of. The engine used very few of the crystals, mostly as energy storage. The primary crystal was quite large and bright crimson in colour. It was fitted to the underside of the boiler, and apparently acted as a heating substitute to coal, far cleaner for the environment and safer for the conductors.
I was strangely mesmerized and inspired by the design and it's other possible applications. Sadly my knowledge on enchanting, and magic in general wasn't enough for me to think on anything beyond very basic ideas. I made a mental note to check the royal archives for books on enchanting. I also hoped that I could speak with Luna about the possibility of more lessons, provided whatever she wanted to talk about wasn't too urgent.
Even hours into the incredibly boring work of studying these things, my mind was still buzzing with thoughts on how to use them in different ways. The current way they were using the crystals was so boringly simple. I couldn't shake the feeling that it was somehow...primitive despite being far more advanced than anything I'd seen in Equestria thus far. After what felt like days my shift at the yards was over, and I began the fairly short trot to Canterlot Castle. I'd made this trip so many times that even in my highly distracted state I managed to make it there without much difficulty. I approached the guards standing on either side of the main entrance expecting to be let in immediately, instead they crossed their spears and barred my path. One even addressed me as if I'd never been inside of the castle. "Halt, state your name and the reason for your visit."
"Uh. Cobalt. I was summoned by Princess Luna? Come on guys I know there's a lot of you, but surely you all know me by now?" I said in confusion. This was strange, normally the guards would let pretty much anypony pass, especially since I visited almost every night. Now that I looked though they seemed to be on edge, as if something had spooked them.
"Er, right. Sorry Cobalt, new protocol. The Princesses instructed us to ask the name and intent of everypony coming to the castle." One answered sheepishly.
"It's fine, not that big of a deal. May I head in?"
They immediately retracted their weapons. "Of course, apologies for the delay. Princess Luna is with her sister in their study. They told us to inform you to head there as soon as you arrived."
I passed through the large doorway, waving a hoof as I went and giving my thanks. As I made my way to The Sister's study I pondered as to why both of them would want to talk with me. I didn't have anything against Celestia, nor did I suspect she had anything against me, but we rarely talked beyond our first meeting. Oh well, no point worrying about it, I'd know soon enough.
The interior of the castle was as lavish as ever, large marble columns and stained glass windows detailing Equestria's history adorned the throne room and adjacent hallways. I made my way past it's open doors to one of the many side doors leading into the deeper portions of the castle. A few flights of ornate stone stairs later and I found myself before a large wooden door with a carving of a half moon and sun intertwined, with stylized depictions of The Sisters orbiting it. I raised my hoof and knocked on the door. It opened almost instantly, giving me clear view of the two sisters sitting around a small round table with a steaming tea pot and cups between them.
"Ah, there you are. I hope the guards outside didn't give you too much trouble?" Celesia asked.
I looked at her with slight confusion, then remembering myself I quickly bowed and said. "Uh, no Princess. Not too much. They just acted like they didn't know me at first, then apologized and said it was some new protocol you instated."
She sighed. "Yes, the new protocol. I have received news from someone my sister and I trust greatly. It's not good I'm afraid, and we can't be too careful now."
I raised myself to full height. "I suppose this is what you both wanted to talk to me about?"
Luna starts to look nervous and waves a tentative hoof towards a cushion on the other side of the table from them. "I am afraid so. You may wish to sit down, we have much to discuss."
I make my way to the cushion and sit down. I swivel my head between them and notice that they both seem uneasy and are actively avoiding looking at me directly. "So what does this news have to do with me?"
Luna finally looks me in the eyes. "Everything."
Celestia turns to face me again as well. "We lied to you."
I look at them in shock. "About what?"
Both of the sisters look guilt ridden hesitating for a few seconds before Luna continues. "We know how you got to our world, and why."
Before she can say more I shout. "You knew!? You've known this entire time and didn't tell me anything!?"
They both flinch at the outburst. After they recover Celestia continues where Luna left off. "Yes, however we were asked, nay, instructed not to say anything to you."
My anger gives way to even more confusion. "Wait, instructed? Who in Tartarus could possibly boss you two around?"
They look at each other for a moment and face me again. "Our mother."
I was glad they hadn't offered me any tea, else it would've ended up in their manes. "What?!"
They flinch again, and Celestia says. "Please don't shout so much. The guards are already on edge enough as it is. Yes our mother, Faust. She helped to create Equus, and everypony on it."
I look at her. "So she's a goddess? Then why the buck doesn't anypony know about her?"
Luna answers this time. "She doesn't like many ponies knowing of her existence. Unlike the gods and goddesses of the other races. She only ever intervenes directly if there is no other choice. Which should-"
Before she could finish I found myself in another void. "What the buck?"
A calm, motherly voice emanates from seemingly everywhere at once. "Such language. Although I suppose I should have seen that coming."
I twist around looking in every direction attempting to pinpoint the voice's origin. I give up soon after with a shake of my head, and ask. "What is this place?"
The voice answers almost immediately. "This is my domain, where I watch over the world below. My world."
I look up and ask. "Faust?"
The void starts to swirl, morphing into a cavernous room not unlike the throne room in Canterlot Castle, but missing the stained glass windows and the large dais that holds the two thrones. In it's place was a simple cushion with an Alicorn that rivaled Celestia in stature sitting upon it. She had a pure white coat, with a light brown mane and tail, her cutie mark was that of an ink pot with a large quill sticking out of it. She looks at me with a serene expression. "I apologize for bringing you here so suddenly, however I wished to explain myself before you placed unnecessary blame upon my daughters."
A million questions start buzzing around my head, but before I could choose one to ask she continues. "There is a great danger that Equestria will face in the near future. One that if my daughters cannot stop will spread to consume everything on Equus. I brought you to this world as a means to help them combat this new threat."
One of the questions finally wins the battle in my head and I simply ask. "Why?"
She sighs. "You come from a world of pain and strife, such an environment has made you strong in ways that not even my daughters can match. It is a form of strength Equestria will need if it is to survive."
"I came from a different world?"
She nods. "Your world is called Earth. A world where there is no magic and instead machines are the tools with which your kind shape the world. Your original species, humans are an odd bunch. So full of contradictions and yet they are incredibly adaptable and oftentimes honorable. While I am weary of their tendencies towards violence there is no mistaking that they are incredibly skilled warriors." She looks me right in the eyes "Which is why you are here, this world needs a warrior of such caliber."
I sit down and shake my head. "Why me then? If my whole world is filled with that many ponies skilled in combat, why not pick somepony who knows how to fight? I don't have any memories of Earth or humans."
Her horn begins to glow a pleasant auburn colour. "Allow me to explain." The room fades and twists again however me and Faust don't move at all. Our surroundings reform into a grassy plains with the sun just hovering over the horizon. A large river forms in front of us and small but dense patches of trees begin to materialize on either side of us. "This is the kingdom your world calls Great Britain. It suffered a major attack from an enemy that, by all accounts, you should not have been able to defeat on your own. Yet human ingenuity and sheer stubbornness managed to drive away the invaders. I think you may recognize these, Martians."
As soon as she finished speaking a trio of Fighting Machines appeared on the far bank of the river. They all stood in silent vigil until a squad of other smaller machines roared to life behind me. I turned around to see, Lorries, the word just seemed to pop into my head. They were covered in boxy armour plates and drove forward at amazing speed on small wheels, they looked like advanced versions of the self propelled carriages I'd heard so much about in Manehattan. Atop their armoured bodies were small funnels, autocannons, strange, the word just appeared again. They screeched past us in a blitz and proceeded to the closer bank, when they reached it the cannons began to spit fire and emit a cacophony of deafening noise. The lead Fighting Machine reared back as several small holes appeared in it's eyes, smoke billowing out of it's back and moments later exploding into flames, crashing into the river bank below.
The remaining two Fighting Machines began moving swiveling their heads to face the Armoured Lorries, and two red beams, heat rays, leapt from them. Two of the Lorries instantly melted leaving the remaining three to flee in the opposite direction. The Machines gave chase but were too slow to catch them, the river slowing them down considerably. Just as they reached the shore there was a heavy explosion and gusts of smoke erupted into the air, I turned around again to see even larger vehicles this time. They were much bulkier, almost like a small steam engine. They rotated on large treads under sloped plates located on either side, and the bigger cannons, which were mounted on top of the armoured cabin, spoke again decapitating a Fighting Machine. The final one tilted it's head upward a let loose a deafening war cry. "UUULLLAAAHHH!" It tilted back down and charged the formation of human vehicles. The Lorries, which had been lying in wait on the other side of a large hill, rushed around it and let loose a volley into it's rear leg. It severed from The Machine completely and it toppled forward crashing into the dirt below. The Self-Propelled Cannons fired at the corpse, sending it to oblivion.
I looked over at Faust to see that she had a solemn expression. "It is not over yet." Her horn lights up and with a hum of magic we appear in a different location. We now sit atop a large hill, the one that the human machines were hiding behind to avoid the heat rays, providing us with a greater view of the surrounding area. Across a line of forest on the other side of the river sat a large building. It had a cylindrical center with a tall tower that tapered to a point at the top, four elongated sections stretched from the central cylinder, each had four doors all slowly opening to reveal smaller martian war machines inside. Each of the sections held a bipedal fighting machine, it walked in manner similar to a chicken and like the Self-Propelled Cannons had a huge funnel mounted under an arch above it's head, with a smaller funnel mounted on the chin of the vehicle.
They moved with surprising speed and grace, lining up just in front of the colossal structure. The Bombardment Machines tilted their heads upward in perfect unison and began to open fire upon the unsuspecting human forces, the funnels emitting a strange clanking sound as fairly slow projectiles flew towards the human vehicles in a wide arc. The Lorries took the brunt of the hit, with all three of the remaining machines exploding into shrapnel. The Self-Propelled Cannons began backing away in a desperate scramble to avoid the same fate, however before they could get out of the martian's range they fired again and destroyed all five of the human machines in a massive explosion.
Before the martians could capitalize on their victory, I heard a loud whistling sound coming from above us. I looked up to see several human machines flying through the air like clumsy pegasi. Large cylindrical devices fell through the air towards the martian formation, as they struck an even larger explosion rocked the ground vaporizing the Bombardment Machines. Several towers with small heat rays mounted on their tops placed around the martian structure began aiming upwards at the flying machines. Each of the towers fired their rays with a low screeching sound, the beams collided with the Biplanes causing them to burst into flames and crash into the surrounding hillside. In moments the whole squadron was nothing more than wreckage strewn across the battlefield.
The sound of hundreds of engines roaring to life behind us caused me to whip around in suprise, the sight causing my jaw to drop. Below the tall hill we sat upon was an enormous formation of human war machines. In front of them a lone man stood atop a very large armoured vehicle, it was quite long with two large treads stretched across the whole length of the frame, a single machine gun protruded from the front plate, and two small cannons on sponson turrets were mounted on the sides. He was giving some sort of speech but the engines and distance made it impossible to hear. When he finished speaking he opened a hatch on top of his Land Battleship and the massive vehicle turned around to face the direction of the martian base, it's treads tearing apart the ground below. The veritable tide of Armoured Lorries, Self-Propelled Cannons, Heavy Trackers, and even a few other Land Battleships rushed over the hillside and approached the base on the other side of the river. The Cannons stopped at the crest of the hills and began bombarding the martian's static defenses, the heat ray towers collapsing and exploding one by one. Meanwhile the Lorries charged en masse into the outskirts of the base destroying several martian Fighting and Scout Machines that I swear weren't there before. After the Lorries finished the remaining martian units all of the surviving human forces began bombarding the martian base until it collapsed in a heap of rubble.
Faust turns back to me and raises a forehoof at the gathered human forces now seemingly frozen in time. "There were many more battles like this one, but you will remember them soon enough. I apologize for subjecting you to all of this, but it was imperative that I restore your memories somewhat slowly. Your mind may not handle the strain and it could lead to permanent damage. It is the reason I had to suppress them in the first place. There is but one more thing I must show you before I can fully restore your memory."
The landscape melted away and shifted again, this time swirling to reform into a large room. The walls were bare and made of concrete with large square lights mounted on all sides. In the center of the illuminated space sat the head of a Martian Machine suspended by large chains embedded in the roof. It was a Scout Machine, while it's shape was very similar to a normal Fighting Machine it had a much smaller heat ray with two large antennae on either side, and deep blue eyes instead of green. There was scaffolding of all kinds built around it and anchored into the metal floor below. Atop the tallest scaffold sat a human cutting into the top of the Scout's head with a large torch. As I stared at him I began to feel a droning pain behind my eyes. I quickly shut them, but the pain remained. After several moments of hoping the pain would recede I opened them again and looked to Faust who had a pained expression of her own. "I am so sorry you have to see this, but you will require quite a shock for your memories to return without the problems that tampering with your mind directly would cause. This is the moment of your death."
I felt sick to my stomach, enough that I thought I might throw up at any moment. "I-I'm...dead?"
She shakes her head slowly. "No, your human form may have perished, but I managed to save everything that makes you, you. Your soul I believe humans call it. This is not the first time you have seen yourself however."
I look to her in shock. "But the only human I've actually scene so far is-"
She nods. "Yes, that human giving the speech. That was you. That whole scene was built by me using your memories as a template."
I nod as well barely registering her last sentence, and turn back to...me. He, I begin removing panels from the top of the Scout's head to reveal a large metal sphere with several red tubes flowing from it into the rest of the Scout's internals. I turn the torch back on and begin cutting into the largest red tube, after several seconds the sphere begins to glow red as a high pitched whining sound begins screeching out of it. All I can do is cover my ears and in moments there was a blinding flash and then, nothing.
When the flash recedes we're back in Faust's throne room. I double over in pain clutching my head as an entire life's worth of memories cascade over my thoughts. I begin convulsing uncontrollably, my eyes darting in every direction and never quite focusing. After several minutes of mental agony I go completely still. I lay there unmoving as I process my old memories, and the new thoughts now coursing through my being. My eyes snap open as I rise to my hooves. I glare at Faust with all of the anger I can muster growling. "You." When it doesn't phase her in the slightest, my anger flares into a burning rage. I cast a quick spell that Luna taught me once almost instinctively. "YOU LET ME DIE?!" I shout with the full force of The Royal Canterlot Voice.
This causes her to raise an eyebrow. "My daughters actually taught you that spell?"
With the spell still active. "THAT IS WHAT YOU THINK IS IMPORTANT?!" I pause realizing that the spell is draining me somewhat and I deactivate it to conserve energy. "You killed me to further your own agenda!"
She shakes her head. "Is that what you truly think? No I did not kill you. That machine did."
I shout back. "You could have done something!"
She sighs. "No, I could not. I was merely observing you at the time. Thankfully I was quick enough in my actions as to preserve you after your death. Else we would not be having this conversation. As for my plans for you, I was preparing a letter which would have told you of my situation and have asked for your aid. However you died before I could send it."
I flopped down into a sitting position and rubbed my temples with my hooves. "Then why not simply rebuild my human body instead of turning me into, this?"
"I had to react quickly. With the letter I would have had time to inform my daughters of your arrival. However since I had but seconds to decide, I made you into a pony instead. Far easier to integrate you into Equestria and give you a second shot at life. As I'm sure your memories will tell you, your new body is quite a bit younger than your old one."
I close my eyes and sigh conceding. "Yes it is, thanks for that I suppose." I open them again. "But it still doesn't excuse the fact that I lost my humanity thanks to you." I give her a half smile. "Magic is pretty cool though."
Her motherly smile returns. "I'm glad you can get some enjoyment from your new body."
I frown. "I'm still pissed at you, don't get me wrong."
Her smile disappears as quickly as it arrived. "Back to business then. I must admit that your unexpected death and need for resurrection is not the only complication in my efforts to prepare Equestria."
I tilt my head and narrow my eyes. "What does that mean exactly?"
"There was another warrior that I wished to call upon for aid. He would have arrived at the same time you did. Assuming you both accepted of course. However he's a bit...busy." She lights her horn and the room dims as a large screen materializes in front of us. On it is the still image of what looked like an adolescent dragon dressed in highly advanced armour while holding some form of rifle on his shoulder. "Weapon and armour aside he doesn't look that impressive, most dragons I've seen are far older and larger than him."
Faust chuckles a bit. "Just watch."
The image begins to zoom out revealing the chaos around him. There were dozens of thin metal skeletons all standing at attention with rifles exactly like his, the screen kept advancing revealing more and more of them until there are hundreds, maybe thousands all standing in perfect line formations. Huge walkers standing on four legs bigger than any Martian Machine loomed over the battlefield with cannons on every orifice. The dragon standing almost casually in the center looks at the army assembled around himself, he looks forward again, raises his arm, and thrusts it forward with a flat palm. The army of skeletons begin marching forward in perfect unison as small red bolts flow from their ranks like an endless tide. The massive walkers begin stomping forward as their massive cannons reverberate and send much larger bolts off into the distance. All the while the dragon stays perfectly still in the center seemingly taking everything in. He holsters his rifle onto his back and sweeps his arms to either side as magic circles take form in the dozens, rotating runes between their layers start to glow a light purple and three central circles begin to glow intensely. After a few seconds each circle launches a barrage of guided magic all cascading towards the unseen enemy. My jaw drops for the second time that day.
The screen shuts suddenly before the magical missiles could find their targets, I look to Faust again as she says. "As you can see he is quite powerful. Perhaps a bit too violent at times, but I have observed him for quite some time and I know that it is born of a need to protect those under his care rather than a hunger for it. We could have used such an individual."
My face contorted in confusion. "So why haven't you contacted him?"
She sighs yet again. "Unfortunately I cannot find him. He has disappeared from my sight. I am still looking for him, however I have my doubts about finding him anytime soon. I can only look in so many places at once and Equestria may not have that much time. If I can locate him I will inform you and see if he will fight alongside us."
I nod. "That makes sense, but I do have one question. How much time do I have to prepare?"
She shakes her head answering. "I am afraid I cannot say. I have already given you far too much, the others will be most upset by my intervention. Even those that know it to be a necessity."
I snort. "That sounds incredibly annoying."
She laughs. "Quite. Now you must return, Equestria does not have long enough for me to explain everything to you. Farewell, and good luck Cobalt." She lights up her horn one more time and my vision fades to darkness.