Around Earth and Equus, the portals snapped shut. Some were noticed by wizards, witches, and the creatures of Equus, others disappeared without so much as a mention of their passing.
On Earth, magic began to wither faster still. A large amount of magic users had departed the realm for another, but there was still far more in the way of magic users, items, and creatures that consumed the fading resource as a matter of daily life.
In the immediate time frame, a witch and a wizard—their bodies consumed and gone already—could find nothing left to burn. The grass, the tents, and even the various monsters they'd given their lives to fight were gone—and with all the fuel burned, so too was the fire gone.
On Equus, what had resulted was several locations now playing host to various creatures from Earth—not the least of which being some humans.
In the Dragon Lands, Charles Weasley had his hooves full trying to negotiate the stay of the Bent-Twig family with Dragon Lord Torch, to say nothing of finding food for two hungry Earth dragons.
In Abyssinia, a group of Australian witches and wizards found their law enforcement career swerving toward resistance fighting and protecting a land they had never known existed.
In the far reaches of Equestria, in the city-state known as the Crystal Empire, a large group of witches, wizards, and regular humans found themselves stranded in a friendly nation.
Yet others found themselves in various friendly and not-so-friendly locations.
Princess Luna woke from her dream and sat up in her bed. She was used to the many hundreds of thousands of ponies twisting their dreams around the night sky and even the spicy mix of the children and teachers of Hogwarts supplying their own hazy patterns for her to examine, but now there was so many more.
"S-Sister?" Luna's voice was soft. She'd seen what many of those witches and wizards were dealing with. Flashes of changelings, huge dark shapes with glowing insignia, even dragons—all of them still circled in her head like a bad dream.
The rush of Celestia's magic as she ripped a hole through space to reach her sister left the burning imprint of a golden glow. "What is it, Luna?"
"There's more now. I mean, there were a lot of new p-ponies here already, but in the last day there's so many more. There's the ones having dragon dreams, the ones having dreams of sand and airships, and there might be some that got found by Queen Chrysalis." Luna's mind raced as she tried to put together her thoughts. Pulling her logbook from her bedside cabinet, she began writing furiously to ensure everything was recorded.
"The dragons concern me, but Torch has been a cautious ally for many years now. If he had ponies in his lands, he would see them to Equestria. Sand and airships… There is a land, far away, that plies the sky with airships loaded with cargo. Their home is a desert. Neither of those I fear for, sister." Celestia's face drew into a frown as the thought on the last. "Changelings, however, are another matter entirely. How to handle the situation will require more heads than mine."
Finished with her notes, Luna looked up at her sister. "I need a—" White wings wrapped around her, and Luna pressed her eyes against Celestia's neck, then sobbed.
"Thank you, Luna." Trying not to cry herself, Celestia clung to her sister as much as Luna clung to her. "Without you, without your work, we wouldn't know these ponies need our help."
Lifting her head, Luna bumped her snout into her sister's jaw and let out a sigh. "Nightmares hurt. They're too far away to chase down, and I know these are only reflections of what they're dealing with while awake because they're so vivid."
"Do you feel a sense of urgency?"
Luna nodded. "The changeling ones. There's a lot of them—so many." She looked up at Celestia still with tears coming from her eyes. "We can help them?"
"The hardest thing in the world is usually finding who to help. I will speak to the captain of the Guard, we will put together plans." As soon as she said it, Celestia watched Luna's tears stop and her whole body go limp. She slumped back down onto the bed.
Taking a moment to tuck her sister in for what should be her normal daily rest, Celestia left the royal quarters with less fanfare than she entered it—but no less of a rush. Outside stood two guards, both of which looked surprised to see her. "Fetch acting-commander Stiff Peaks. Have him meet me in the planning room as soon as he's able." Celestia didn't play games when pony lives were on the line, and her sister's portents hinted that there may be a lot at risk.