Chapter One: A Grand Reopening
"It was just me against the world... and the world had it coming."
"...So, without further ado, I present to you, citizens of New Pegas... the long-awaited reopening of the High Roller Casino!"
With a grand flourish, the red tape was telekinetically snipped, and the large, towering casino that had sat empty since the Great War was reopened, filled to the brim with slot machines, roulette and blackjack tables, and practically overflowing with booze and the bartenders necessary to serve the influx of guests. Some would say it was overkill... but to attract tourists on the outlandish New Pegas strip, it needed to be overkill.
As soon as the ribbon was cut and the way was clear, the crowd of ponies there for the reopening stampeded forward in a desperate attempt to be the first one to gamble in the new, prestigious casino, nearly trampling the mare in charge of the ceremony in the process. As the horde of ponies descended on her with no time to scramble away, the papyrus-colored unicorn ignited her horn and disappeared with a PAF, the casino-goers hardly noticing in the commotion.
A split-second later, the mare reappeared on the other side of the street with a flash of blue-colored light, a gap in the clouds separating her and the crowd. She stumbled from one side to the other before finally regaining her balance, adjusting to her new surroundings.
"Ow, bad idea..." she muttered under her breath as she rubbed at her aching horn as it throbbed angrily at the sudden influx of magic, the scar trailing from the base of her horn along her forehead to her temple also starting to ache at the sudden drain of her magic reserves. She brushed her dark blue mane out of her eyes with a huff as she let the throbbing subside.
"What a moving ceremony, Miss Eden. It almost brought tears to my virtual eyes... if my processors had tear ducts," a mechanical voice next to her chimed.
Eden lowered her hoof and turned to see a large securitron standing next to her, watching over the mass of ponies trying to enter the new casino on the Pegas strip. However, instead of the normal face of a soldier plastered onto its flickering screen, this one was replaced with a rather cartoonish depiction of a scowling, eye-rolling pony standing on stilts. The screen flickered and glitched in random intervals, an almost hypnotic sight.
"Well, I'm glad it met your standards, High Horse. We all know you're an awfully hard program to please," Eden teased in response, sitting back on her haunches as her head continued to spin. Yep, definitely a bad idea.
"Yes, fuck me for having standards, I guess," the securitron quipped, the sarcasm detectable even through the mechanized tone. "To be quite honest with you, that speech of yours nearly put me to sleep."
"Well, it's a good thing you're a computer and you can't fall asleep then, huh? You'd probably let all of New Pegas crash to the ground if that wasn't the case," replied Eden with an amused snort, always happy to return the computer's banter. "How's the city doing today?"
High Horse beeped. "Awful, just awful. Morale is low, distrust is high, Enclave refugees are flooding into Applewood and filling it to the brim faster than we can vet them, raider groups have moved in to fill the power void left by the collapse of the Enclave and Somber's Legion and are disrupting our trade routes... but hey, we reopened a defunct casino, I'm sure things are gonna turn out just fine."
"Hm, I'm glad to hear things are going so smoothly. It's not like you to be so positive, High Horse. What's gotten into you?" Eden chortled, giving the robot a playful nudge on its metal arm with an alabaster forehoof.
"I hate you, miss," was the monotone reply.
"The feeling's mutual," Eden said before her voice dropped, suddenly getting serious. "How about this... we have a lot of available securitrons on idle now that the war is over. How about we send them out to conduct daily patrols along the major roads and to guard the larger settlements in the Badlands? That'll help clear out the raider problem, and it'll give us a good defense if the Legion remnants ever try something in the future."
High Horse was silent for a few seconds as it processed her requests. "...If you insist. By the way, you've got a few important visitors looking to talk to you. Official city business. Better you than me, I guess."
"Got it, I'll be on the lookout then," Eden reassured with a nod, standing back up onto all four hooves as her throbbing horn faded to a dull ache. "You coming?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, the face on the securitron's screen flipped from the High Horse caricature to the normal pony-faced soldier, the computer program clearly wanting no part in more conversation with her.
"ENJOY YOUR STAY IN LAS PEGASUS," the now-normal robot drawled before rolling off to break up a drunken hoof-fight happening outside one of the other casinos.
Eden smiled as she watched the robot for a few moments before walking back towards the front entrance of the High Roller, her hooves sinking slightly into the cloud roads beneath her. As she crossed the bridge spanning the gap in the clouds that separated the two sides of the street, the unicorn took a peek over the edge at the ground below them, the ruins of Applewood visible directly underneath the shadow of the great city, with the wasteland continuing on to the northeast and the badlands to the south. Even though the city had been lowered down from the cloud layer to allow ponies to enter from the ground, the drop was enough for her head to go dizzy once again, prompting her to step away from the edge.
If I'm gonna be running this place, I better get used to the heights... Eden thought with an involuntary shudder. Another idea crossed her mind... magical barriers along all gaps. Faust knows there's enough drunk ponies around here, she doesn't need anyone stumbling off the edge in a salt-induced stupor.
After hurrying off the bridge to the other side, the High Roller now towered above her, the most easily noticeable and recognizable building in the city. It was shaped like a large spire, with a narrow shaft and a bulbous observation deck on the top, with a needle sticking out of the top pointing towards the heavens. The bottom floor contained all the gambling stations and bars, while an elevator ride up to the top would take you to the large dining area as well as the luxury suites. It had been the home to the de facto rulers of the pre-war city, which explained its rather... phallic appearance. While the other casinos on the strip reopened, the High Roller remained dormant, and Eden took it upon herself to restore it to its former glory. The city deserved that much.
The crowd waiting to be admitted into the casino was growing rapidly, threatening to overwhelm the guards at the entrance as they confiscated each pony's weapons before allowing them inside. The mass of ponies had ballooned out to obstruct every pathway to the entrance, all the way to the gaps in the clouds on either side, so Eden was forced to push her way through to the entrance, drawing lots of annoyed glares from impatient gamblers.
"Hey, no cuts! We're all waiting here!" an impatient stallion growled as she tried to push past him, his foreleg sticking out to block her advance.
Eden placed a hoof onto his foreleg and calmly pushed it down, staring into his eyes with her bright blue hues. "I own this place... and the whole city too. A little respect would be appreciated."
The stallion scowled, but allowed his hoof to be lowered, letting Eden slip past him and make her way up to the entrance. With a nod, the guards there recognized their employer and just waved her through, allowing the unicorn to trot right into the casino floor of the High Roller.
Inside, the festivities were already in full swing, the playing area filled to the brim with ponies sitting at slot machines and poker tables, gleefully throwing their caps away for a chance at maybe winning them back. The bar scene was equally as lively, the bottles of pre-war booze collected for the occasion freely flowing, the liquid courage loosening the ponies' inhibitions and inspiring them to go gamble away even more. It had everything a casino needed to belong on the strip... with the notable exclusion of escorts and prostitutes, which was a line that Eden was unwilling to compromise on.
While not quite as fancy as the Soyeux, the interior of the casino looked as impressive as the exterior, with shimmering chandeliers overhead and silk carpets underhoof. The signs of rust, mold, and age were still visible along the walls, floors, and appliances, but most of it was hidden away as carefully as possible, trying to recreate the pre-war look as closely as possible. One couldn't completely escape the passing of time... it was just part of the wasteland charm now.
Eden found an empty stool at the bar and slid in, catching the bartender's attention. "Sparkle-Cola, please."
The stallion nodded and grabbed one from below the bar, popping the lid off and sliding it to the unicorn mare. She caught it with a hoof and took a long swing, letting the fizzy, carroty taste wash over her taste buds with a long sigh. It wasn't quite the same feeling as downing a shot of alcohol, but it was better than nothing.
"Quite the impressive place you've set up here, Eden," a voice behind her said suddenly.
Eden set her bottle down onto the bar and turned on her stool to see a glamoured-up stallion approach her, flanked by two bodyguards. He looked old enough to be going through a midlife crisis, which was a rare sight in the wasteland, which usually shortened life spans quite a bit. He had dark navy fur and a shimmering silver mane with streaks of white running through it, as well as magenta eyes that stared into her own light blue hues. All three ponies were dressed in black dress suits like they were attending a funeral, yet their smug, uptight aura showed that they were not mourning anything.
Eden bowed her head respectfully as he approached. "I'm glad you agree, Sterling. More reasons for tourists to visit is good for all of us, isn't it?"
Sterling declined from returning the gesture, instead glancing around the interior of the High Roller with an air of contempt, silently judging everything his eyes touched. "Yes, of course. But rumors going around the strip have ponies worried that you'll be cracking down on New Pegas's biggest draws."
It took a second for Eden to realize what he was referring to, and she let out an exasperated sigh. "...For the last time, no, I won't do that. I just opened up a brand new casino, for crying out loud."
"You did," Sterling conceded. "But your religious views tell another story. Who's to say you won't go back on your word in the future and try to make us fit your worldview?"
"I've given the casino owners my word, and I'll do it again, if it makes you feel better," Eden said as she leaned forward and pressed her forehooves together. "I'm only concerning myself with the security and continued well-being of the city and its citizens. How you and the other ponies run your casinos is none of my business. Happy?"
Sterling turned up his snout. "Good. Because our blessing is the only thing keeping you in power here. For your sake, I hope you remember that."
Eden bowed her head again. "I understand. Enjoy the party, Sterling."
Sterling just scoffed and turned on his heel, immediately leaving the High Roller as quickly as he had entered, clearly wanting to spend as little time as possible in such a "low-class" casino. As the owner of the Soyeux, he had a bit of a superiority complex, which masked his ever-present paranoia that someone would best him, or show him up. He had built quite a lifestyle on the backs of sex workers and unfair odds at the blackjack table, and he was terrified of losing it, especially to a mare like Eden.
There was nothing she wanted to do more than to clean up the city and shut his smug face down... but as much as she hated it, Sterling was right. Crime and vice kept this city running, a fact that Eden despised, but there was little she could do about it. Ponies came to New Pegas for the gambling, for the booze, for the prostitution... without that steady flow of caps, there was little to keep the cloud city afloat. A mare of religion like her had no place in the City of Sin, but fate or prophecy had put her here, and she was determined to do her best.
Eden watched Sterling and his guards all the way out of the building before turning back around on her barstool, facing her bottle of soda once again. She carefully tried to activate her horn and grab the bottle in her telekinesis, but the effort only resulted in a few dim sparks flying out of the tip, the glass bottle remaining in place. Still drained... even a short-range teleportation spell would leave her magical resources depleted for the rest of the day at least, a few days at most. Eden's special talent was defensive magic, and a teleportation spell just barely qualified as part of her skill set, but it still was a very, very advanced spell that few ponies could pull off, and one that she just barely learned how to do. It was definitely not something she could cast willy-nilly, and she needed to be more careful when she used it.
"Mayor Eden?" another voice behind her asked.
Eden sighed and turned around once again, only to do a double take as she saw that the pony who had drawn her attention wasn't a pony at all. It was a griffon... a species she was familiar with, but a rare sight in New Pegas; given their rivalry with the pegasi, they usually steered clear of cloud cities and the cloud layer in general. This one was a male, with a multitude of scars detailing his green and brown plumage showing his lifetime of service to a Talon group. His yellow, predatory eyes searched her as he waited for an answer.
"Y-Yes, that's me," Eden responded, suddenly very aware of how she had been staring. "How can I help you?"
"My name is Gannon. I'm an ambassador from the New Canterlot Republic," the griffon introduced himself, along with a short bow before straightening back up. "Is this a good time for us to talk?"
"Yeah, sure," Eden answered, taking another swing of her Sparkle Cola before sliding out of her chair, motioning for the griffon to follow her as she took a walk away from the bar area. "What's up?"
"I bring a message from Junction R-7," Gannon started, his talons starting to click on the tile floor as the two of them moved off the carpet. "President Grimfeathers says she's disappointed that you've declined her invitation to join the Republic, but she respects your decision and hopes that we can still be allies in our mission to bring peace to the wasteland."
Eden nodded as she walked along the outside of the gambling area, flinching as bells started to ring from one of the slot machines, the excited whoops of joy signaling jackpot. "Yes, I'm up for that as well. Our two cities can become great allies and trade partners, I feel... but this city and the ponies here have been independent for centuries. They're not quite ready to relinquish that freedom." Or the casino owners aren't, to be more accurate... she thought to herself with an internal eyeroll.
"Yes, I'm sure. You can consider the invitation to join the Republic to be a standing offer," Gannon said, stroking his downy chest with a claw. "I also bring a request. Would you be willing to allow the NCR to establish an Embassy in New Pegas, in order to improve relations between the two of us? I would most likely be the ambassador stationed here, if that is okay with you."
Eden's muzzle scrunched slightly as she contemplated the question. "...Sure, I see no problem with that. There are plenty of empty buildings on the strip that you could convert into whatever you're looking for. However, can I ask for a favor in return? I know you griffons love paying off your debts as quickly as possible."
"Depends on what it is. Let's hear it," was Gannon's measured response as the two of them reached a more isolated part of the casino floor, in the corner with not many ponies nearby, allowing them to talk freely.
"We have a bit of a... refugee problem on our hooves," Eden started, glancing around briefly to make sure no pony was eavesdropping. "Ever since the Enclave collapsed and the skies opened up, pegasi have been flocking to our doors in droves trying to get in. We're the last great cloud city left, and the pegasi feel like they belong here, which I can understand... but there's just too many of them to properly vet and house. We've had to turn them away, and they're filling Applewood to the brim. Would you be willing to accept some of these displaced ponies, if they agree to move to one of your cities?"
"Hm..." Gannon hummed softly, rubbing a talon underneath his beak in thought. "...We've got a bit of a crisis ourselves, given the continued fighting between us and the remnants of Red Eye's forces in Phillydelphia... but we can take on a few of the displaced ponies, I'm sure."
"Alright, that's all I ask for," Eden replied, with an internal exhale of relief that she was careful to not let show. "Soon, Gawdyna and I should have a formal meeting and hammer out a trade policy. And make sure to let her know that NCR citizens are always welcome on the strip... as long as they have the caps, that is." The last sentence was added with a sly, teasing smile from the unicorn mare.
"Yes, of course," Gannon said with a smirk of his own, a rather strange sight when formed on a beak. He reached out with one of his talons. "Let this be the start of a long and prosperous relationship between our two great cities."
"And let our alliance bring forth a long and prosperous era in the wasteland," Eden responded in kind, placing her hoof in his talon and giving a firm shake. "Feel free to stay and enjoy the party if you like, Gannon. There's plenty of drinks and casino chips to go around."
"Oh, I definitely will. I'll probably take the time to explore the rest of the strip as well... one has to get acquainted with his future place of residence, right?" he asked with another sly smile, along with a little wink. "I'll leave you to it, Mayor."
"Good travels, Gannon." Eden replied, giving him a nod before he turned to walk away, leaving her alone in the corner of the expansive room.
Her attention turned to one of the unused slot machines next to her, a hoof running along the buttons and causing the screen to light up with a triumphant encore of music. She had to admit, the urge to play was very tempting... just insert the chips and pull the lever, over and over, the possibility of a big win behind every play... but she had sworn herself off the gambling, and the booze, and she wasn't going to walk back on her promise now. She enjoyed playing blackjack or caravan in a fun, no-stakes atmosphere... but anything else was too addicting for her to risk.
There was a time where her resolve wasn't as strong, and her inhibitions were lost... but those days were behind her, and they were ones that she wanted to forget. Faust had accepted her back into her fold once before, and she didn't want to relapse a second time.
Then, suddenly, her reflecting was interrupted by a loud, blusterous yell from the entrance.
"EDEN! I DEMAND AN AUDIENCE!"
Great. When High Horse said she had important visitors, she didn't realize it meant every single important person in New Pegas. How did they keep finding her? If she found out that it was sending them right to her, she was gonna... hm. Maybe mute it for a night. That would give her some peace and quiet for once.
Eden looked up from the slot machine to see the cause of the commotion, and was greeted with the sight of an earth pony mare bearing down on her; the rest of the casino had momentarily gone silent at the loud outburst, and all eyes focused on the two of them. The newcomer had seafoam colored fur, though the uneven coloring betrayed the fact that it was a dye job. She had a wickedly long mane, light pink and dark purple in color, as well as a jewel-studded punk jacket with spiked bracelets that clinked with each step. Her face was hidden behind a dark veil, her turquoise eyes barely visible beneath, but Eden could tell they were boring right into her.
"Good evening, Countess," Eden greeted with a bow of her head, very aware that the entire casino floor was staring at her. "What seems to be the trouble this time?"
"Oh, you know what the trouble is," The Countess snapped, stopping just half a yard from the unicorn. "All those refugees you've been sending me? They just keep coming, and now we have nowhere to put them! These damn pegasi are setting up shanty towns in the streets, and we can't get them to leave! When I so benevolently agreed to house these Enclave castoffs, I didn't agree to this many!" The earth pony jabbed her hoof into Eden's chest. "Fix this. Now!"
Eden sighed, placing a hoof onto her own and pushing it away from her chest. "Look, Countess, we've been over this. We simply can't conduct background checks faster than they've been showing up, we're backlogged for weeks. We're going through and accepting ponies as fast as we can, but it's a process that takes time, and we can't have potentially dangerous Enclave agents wandering around the city while we do so." So much for keeping these negotiations a secret...
The Countess snorted. "Oh, so they're too potentially dangerous to be in New Pegas, but it's perfectly fine if they set up shop in Applewood, then? Applewood is my territory, not yours, Eden. It would do you some good to remember that!"
"We can't just turn them away!" Eden shot back. "These are presumably innocent ponies, Countess, sending them out to die in the wastes is no way to gain trust and goodwill with the disenfranchised pegasi. Besides, I didn't tell them to move down to your town... they went there of their own accord."
"What's the fucking difference?" The Countess snapped.
Eden put her hooves up. "Okay, okay, calm down... I just made a deal with the NCR for them to take in some of the refugees, so that should relieve some of the pressure on your town. And after that, I promise we'll work double time on getting the pegasi out of your (ridiculously long) mane. Deal?"
"Hmph. I'll hold you to it," The Countess snorted, flipping her mane to the side. "Allying with you has been very good to Applewood, I would hate for things to go wrong now."
"Yes, I agree. There is no reason for us to be enemies," Eden purred in the most soothing tone she could muster, sensing the rage starting to bleed out of the other mare. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Hm, maybe get a radio in here or something, it's way too quiet all of the sudden." She then turned and raised a hoof to the staring ponies on the casino floor, turning her accusatory glare on them now. "What the fuck are you all staring at? Get back to work!"
Now that they were called out, the ponies quickly remembered the games in front of them and went back to shuffling cards and pulling levers, the idle chatter and ambient noise starting up once again as the gamblers ignored the two mares once again.
"...That's better," The Countess decided, turning back to Eden. "I've listened to those blasted songs on the radio too many times anyway. Cons of being the DJ around here, I suppose."
"Yes, I bet," Eden blindly agreed yet again, running a hoof through her own frazzled mane as she tried to keep her cool. "Is that... all?"
"Yes... Yes, I believe that's all I have," The Countess responded, an almost confused tone to her voice, as if the rage subsiding from her made her forget why she was even here. "I guess I'll take my leave now. Good day, Eden."
"Good evening, Countess," Eden answered in kind, making sure the earth pony truly was leaving the casino before exhaling a huge sigh of relief.
What a strange pony.
The Countess... The long-time ruler of Applewood, running the earthbound gambling city for years before Las Pegasus was lowered back down from the sky... New Pegas had taken a lot of Applewood's business, but she supposed that the Countess didn't mind, the less worrying about foreign ponies in her territory the better. That is, until the Enclave blew themselves up.
Before the war, Las Pegasus was one of the premier tourist locations in all of Equestria… but it was located high in the clouds, and even with specialized cloud roads that allowed any species to walk on them, some ponies couldn't handle the tall heights or the flight up to the city. So earth ponies, funded by the Ministry of Wartime Technology, built a rival town underneath the cloud city, providing gambling and attractions for the earthbound species, especially as the pegasi became more and more nationalistic. And when the bombs fell, and Las Pegasus was swallowed up into the cloud cover, Applewood was all that remained, its strategic location connecting the Equestrian mainland with the Badlands to the south, making it subject to lots of infighting between rival gangs for its control.
The Countess was its current leader, as well as its radio broadcaster, playing songs from the previous Countesses in the Countess School of Singing and Performance. Just like there was always a DJ PON3... there was always a Countess. Controlling all the other Countesses in the Countess gang from the Countess school, broadcasting Countess songs over the Countess radio!
Eden rubbed her scar-ridden forehead with a groan. She needed another Sparkle-Cola.
Or better yet, she needed some sleep. She had spent most of the day preparing for, and fretting over, the reopening ceremony, and now the sun was starting to dip below the horizon, turning the cloud roads orange, pink, and red, one of the signature sights of New Pegas. She suddenly had to fight back a yawn, and she promptly started to head to the elevators to head up to the top of the High Roller's spire, where the suites and rooms were located.
But before she could press the call button and escape, another voice from behind her made her freeze in panic. "Miss? I have a letter for you."
Eden slowly turned, but was relieved to see that the pony was only a courier, dressed in the familiar Badlands Express uniform. She was levitating a small letter in her magic, holding it out in front of her for her to grab.
"Really? Who's it from?" Eden asked.
The courier shrugged. "No clue, actually. Apparently, it just magically poofed into the post office, addressed to you."
Eden accepted the letter from the courier with her hooves — her magic was still drained, after all — and nodded. "Alright, thanks."
As the courier turned to leave, Eden took a look at the envelope. It was completely unlabeled save for her name and "New Pegas" written on the front. The formerly white envelope was tinged brown and had a hint of mold on the corners, but that was more likely due to 200 years of age and radiation exposure than anything. She quickly made her way back to the bar area to borrow a small butter knife, slicing open the top of the envelope and pulling the letter out. After unfolding the paper, she began to read.
Eden,
You probably don’t know about me, but I’ve heard a lot about you. One doesn’t become the leader of one of the biggest cities on the continent by accident, I’m sure. I’m impressed.
I know you have no reason to trust me, but I need your help. The safety of the entire world may be in danger, and there’s no one else I can turn to. Come to Tall Tale, along the coast of the North Luna Ocean. I’ll explain everything there.
-S.G.
Eden frowned and flipped the paper over to see nothing on the back. That was it? What a cryptic letter... and S.G. wasn't the initials of any pony she knew. Yes, her reputation had probably exploded after becoming the leader of one of the biggest cities in Equestria… but not so much that she'd be getting letters like this. Something felt off about it... like-
"Wow, you got fan mail?" a familiar mechanized voice asked from behind her. "Who would care enough to waste paper writing to you?"
Eden folded the letter back up and turned to see the familiar image of a stilted pony flickering on the screen of a new securitron this time, the computer program apparently feeling nosy about her new item in the mail.
"Someone I don't even know..." Eden responded, slipping the letter back into the envelope. "They said that all of Equestria was in danger or something... up in Tall Tale. I didn't even know that city still existed."
High Horse beeped. "Well, it sounds awfully like a trap to me, so I say go for it! Maybe, if we're lucky, you'll fall right into it!"
"My thoughts exactly... about the trap, that is," Eden clarified. "If this was really so important, I'm sure they'd come see me personally, or give me more information than this."
"So... you're not gonna go get yourself killed?" High Horse asked with a disappointed tone.
"Nope, sorry buddy, you're stuck with me for another day," Eden said with a chuckle, patting the securitron on the shoulder. "I'm heading up to my room for the night. Don't drink too much while I'm gone, okay?"
"Ma'am, being forced to work with you makes me wish I had the capability to drink," the robot grumbled.
"The feeling is mutual, buddy. We make a great team," the unicorn smiled. "Have a good night!" she added over her shoulder as she trotted off to the elevators once again.
Rather than respond in kind, High Horse abandoned the securitron yet again, reverting back to its default, soldier-faced state. "OBITUARIES OF THE RECENTLY DECEASED MR. GLADMANE, PRESIDENT, CEO, AND SOLE PROPRIETOR OF LAS PEGASUS, ARE STILL AVAILABLE. JUST ASK ANY SECURITRON," it beeped as it wheeled away.
Eden quickly hopped into the first elevator to come down and hit the button for the floor containing the presidential suite, quickly tapping the close button as well so the elevator slid shut, stopping any last minute visitors from taking up more of her time. As the car started to shoot upwards towards the heavens, Eden leaned back against the elevator wall with a loud groan, finally letting her pent-up exhaustion and stress out in one long, drawn out sigh. Running a city was a lot of work... but it was rewarding work, and it was worth it to see the fruits of her actions come to fruition.
She had a home that she loved, a job that allowed her to do good things,... for the first time in her life, things were starting to turn up right for her. And even if there were a few wrinkles in her to-do list, she was confident that she and Tall Tale could handle anything that the wasteland threw at them. She had driven back the Enclave and Somber's Legion at the same time... what could be harder than that?
Eden found herself standing in the middle of a vast ocean, waves lapping at her hooves, no land in sight. The water was completely opaque, so she couldn't see the bottom, but her hooves only sank a few inches below the water as she stood in place. A dense mist surrounded her and blocked her view of the sky or anything more than a couple yards in any direction; she fought the urge to step forward, for fear of losing her footing and plummeting down into the water.
"Hello?"
Her voice was absorbed by the mist surrounding her, the sound barely traveling. Was the fog getting closer? Her breathing got quicker as she felt it encircle her, a tight vice of panic gripping her chest as her heart thumped against her ribcage. She tried to ignite her horn to cast a light spell, a shield spell, anything... but her body wouldn't respond to her demands. She was stuck, frozen, in the hoof-deep water, surrounded by nothingness.
Her eyes searched desperately for anything, anything to tether her sanity to, anything to banish her fears... and they soon focused on a dark silhouette that slowly grew bigger and darker as it made its way through the mist to the trapped mare. The quick burst of relief as she realized she wasn't alone was quickly replaced with a new wave of fear and anxiety at the sight of this unidentified figure approaching her.
The mist surrounding them was so thick and dense that even as the mysterious figure stopped in front of her, she could see nothing more than a dark silhouette standing and staring ominously at her. Its eyes opened to reveal a bright, piercing whiteness with no color, no pupils, just pure energy boring straight into her soul and causing her to flinch away.
"I need your help..." a mysterious voice echoed inside of Eden's head, though the figure's mouth didn't move. "There's no one else I can turn to..."
"Help you with what?" Eden cried out. "What do you want from me?"
The dark silhouette's mouth finally opened up, but no words came out. Instead, what emerged from its maw was a long, writhing mass of tentacles, dark blood starting to leak out of the figure's eyes and mouth as the appendages descended on the transfixed unicorn. Eden couldn't help but scream as the tentacles enveloped her, wrapping around her neck, her horn, her forelegs, her torso... she couldn't move her body to fight it, she could only watch in horror as she was slowly pulled towards the mouth of this abomination.
"Great Faust above!" Eden cried out as the tentacles started to burn against her skin, the saliva feeling like acid, sizzling away at her fur and melting into her flesh, another pained scream rattling through her vocal cords that was promptly swallowed up by the ever-present fog. "Let me go, p-please!"
The creature gave no indication that it heard or understood her, more and more tentacles shooting out from its ever-widening mouth to wrap around the trapped mare, lifting her out of the water now and trapping all of her limbs, squeezing around her throat. Out of the corner of her eyes, Eden could make out more shapes emerging from the fog, encircling her, surrounding her... there were hundreds of these monsters, all of them content to watch, silent, unmoving.
That was the last thing she ever saw before her face was doused with a toxic black fluid, vomited directly from the creature's unholy mouth. Blood... acidic, melting blood, boiling away at her eyes, her mouth, her mane, her flesh sizzling away from her skull. She screamed until her throat was filled with burning fluid, her skin dissolving into her bones, her whole body melting away.
Eden jolted up out of bed with a gasping breath of air, her body covered in sweat and her bedsheets thrown off her. Her forehead scar burned like hell, slowly fading to a dull thud as the horror of the dream faded away.
But was it really a dream? It felt too real to be a dream. Too relevant. What did the creature in the dream say?... There's no one else I can turn to... exactly the words from the mysterious letter she received during the reopening. As a religious mare, Eden was no stranger to the concept of visions, of deeper meanings to dreams and apparitions... and this definitely felt like a vision. A message. Something she was meant to see.
So if it was a message, what did it mean? What was Faust, or Celestia, or Luna, trying to tell her? A flooded, mist-covered area, a pony with tentacles in their mouth... it was nothing she knew or recognized. The only thing she had to go off was the letter from S.G.
She had originally scoffed at the idea of gallivanting off to a place she had never been in search of a pony whose name she didn't even know to fight some specified evil... it sounded so obviously set up and fake. But was it? What if there was a horror in Tall Tale, waiting to attack, to destroy her fragile peace she had just created for herself?
She couldn't take that chance. She needed to see it for herself.
Eden shakily rolled out of bed and stumbled over to the intercom next to her queen-sized bed, eyes scanning her presidential suite in paranoia for any foreign apparitions ready to invade her mind. "High Horse, you there?"
"Of course I'm here, you idiot. I'm a computer program, where else would I be?" the electronic voice scoffed through the small speaker in its usual condescending tone.
"I-..." Eden paused, rethinking her decision for a split second before pushing forward. "I've changed my mind. I'm going to Tall Tale to see what this pony wants."
"....Hold on, you actually are gonna go get yourself killed?" High Horse asked in disbelief. "For a second, I thought you maybe weren't as dumb as I always claimed, but I guess I was right all along."
"Get three securitrons we can spare powered up and ready to go," Eden continued, clearly in no mood for the usual banter. "I'll leave first thing in the morning, once I get some more sleep and pack up."
"Yes, fine, whatever, would it hurt you to say please or thank you? Ungrateful bitch," High Horse muttered.
Eden sighed. "Thank you, High Horse. I'll see you in the morning."
She quickly ended the call before High Horse could come up with another insult and climbed back into her bed, the sound of her mattress creaking underneath her causing her back to stiffen and her eyes to look around in panic. Her gaze searched the room before landing on the opened letter sitting on her bedside table, so innocent looking, but filled with implications and ideas that made her head spin and her heart stutter.
It was clear that she would find no peace until she found answers, that nightmare told her that much. She just hoped she had the capabilities to handle the answers she was given. She had trust in herself, and trust in the Goddess that watched over her, but there was evil in the world that was even beyond Faust's control... she couldn't expect the Goddess to do all the work.
Eden's head found the pillow, but sleep brought her no comfort from her fears.