The sun dipped below the horizon. Long shadows cast from the trees, painting the world beneath their treading hooves in the colors of anxiety and dread. Sunset figured that if Twilight's magic would return, it would be late into the evening, just to the point when all ponies would bed themselves for the next day. That time was really close, and they have been walking ever since they left ponyville, about two hours ago.
The smell of nature and the humidity of the forest that would blanket any creature walking through in a comforter made of serenity now blasted Sunset in the face with dread and anxiety. They didn't have nearly as much time as they suspected to research.
They were nearing a hill, too tall to see what was over.
"How much further?" Starlight asked.
"Seriously," Lead subconsciously agreed. As if in a trance she merely followed behind in a trot of trust. Bustling her way through brush and heat for merely a suspicion.
Snap Seed smiled over her shoulder. "No further, my friends. For we have arrived."
Snap Seed bounded over the hill and into a darkening clearing, aglow with only the faintest of violet. Sunset and Starlight's hooves ceased their movement, standing stock still. A cool winter breeze flowed into their faces. It's origin unknown; whether it originated from the elements of nature, or from the massive rune-embossed stone monolith standing before them, circled closely by small particles of violet light and magic.
"Stars above," Sunset whispered. This was real. This was actually happening. She could feel the magic tickling her horn. A small orb passed across her features. Her eyes failing to move off this form of hidden luxury.
"We have to hurry." Snap's voice brought Sunset back to the present. She was pulling out familiar tools and equipment from their bags. "Lead? How much do we have?"
Lead popped open a case hosting a large device. "Less than an hour."
"Then we have to hurry."
Yes. Yes, hurry. Sunset broke from her trance and walked through the field of circling orbs. Straight off the bat, she could already tell one thing.
"It's holding a lot of magic." She pointed to the balls of neon floating around. "There's so much magic here in this thing that it had to force some outside of its form to hold anymore."
"Is it possible that this is Equestria's magic?" Snap asked.
"That depends on if Equestria actually has its own magic." Starlight looked to the starry sky. "If what I am hearing is true, then all of what we see, all of magic, all of nature, all of our materials we received after Twilight gave up her life to serve in Narmeelah Vs. The World, all of that is her magic."
"Yes, but what about this monolith?" Snap trotted up to it and tapped against its surface. A violet ripple appeared briefly.
"If the magic in the monolith and the world are connected..." Sunset walked forward and pressed her hoof against its surface. "There's only one clear way to find out. There's nothing we can do, Snap. We'll have to measure and compare events."
They had to wait until the inevitable. Sunset tilted her head back to face the sky. The time was near. Twilight's magic would soon return to her; and only time would tell what that would entail.
Dawn had to act quickly. Under the light of the setting sun, she took off away from the castle, soaring from the balcony and out into the air on the same level as Psera Skies. Hidden by a housecoat the color of her mane, she graced the skies with her presence and rode the wind in the direction of Capita. The lights of the night were slowly showing their heads. She, merely a dot in the sky, watched them pink the land below with their beauty, shall it last evermore.
Dawn pulled out her document and read the lines. Based on the address, she should be near the Main Hospital in all of Psera. The biggest building here. At least in the city. History was never her strongest subject, especially if it never involved her.
There. Dawn angled downwards and landed in a dark alley. Two ponies, loud and uncaring walked past the entrance. She waited until their voices faded before moving. Sticking to the shadows, Dawn cautiously approached the front of the alley and peeked out.
"Are we there yet?" First Light queried.
"Almost." Dawn jumped into a shadow and out of another alley further up the road. Thank the stars grandma didn't put that ring around her horn. It would have been the end of this mission before it even began. A radwood Pod was driving up the roads with a few ponies sitting in the bed. The headlights passed over her form before moving along. She pulled the map out of her coat and unfolded its contents. Just around the corner. Suite two-forty-seven. That was the second floor. She would need to get to the roof for this one.
Dawn flapped her wings and flew up to the rooftop of an adjacent building. From here she would be able to see where she would need to go, and get there easily. But she was also exposed for all eyes to see. At least she had her eyes on the target. The building next door. It looked like an office. She knew it was anything but.
Brick and mortar, a shared home. The inhabitants inside have seen enough of that for a lifetime. Careful not to be seen, Dawn glided over to the nearest window and landed softly on a ledge belonging to a brightly lit room. Infiltrating this facility was going to be a lot harder than infiltrating SERL, that was for sure.
"Teramera!" Someone shouted inside. "Get away from my stuff!"
"It's not yours, its the orphanage's'!"
Thank the stars Dawn was an only child. Almost.
"I heard that."
"I know," Dawn murmured. She teleported from one window to the next. This one had its blinds open, allowing the room's occupant to stare out into the night. Well, would be were the filly inside not admiring her vanity in the mirror. Dawn saw her reflection. So did she.
With a gasp, she whirled around to see a vacant spot where something just was. She trotted to the window and stared out into the night, missing Dawn's figure embossed, frozen to the wall above the frame. With a shrug, they turned around and walked back to the mirror.
"We're playing a dangerous game," First Light whispered.
"No, I'm playing a dangerous game. You're hiding in plain sight." Dawn crawled along the wall, passing over the bedroom onto the next one. Please let this be here. Or at least near it. She peeked in and scanned the space.
This room was darkened. No lights on. Good. Dawn slipped into the shadows and came out the other side into the bedroom. The first thing noted was the smell. That was most certainly a prolific perfume. A very familiar one. The second thing noted was that the occupant had their own bathroom. She didn't see the rest of the rooms with this. Must've been nice.
The bathroom light was on. Waves of harmony flowed through the cracks with the sound of splashing water. The shower. Just to be sure, Dawn checked around the bedroom and found exactly what she was looking for. A picture of her, Dusty, and Kia. This was Kia's bedroom.
What was she doing taking a shower so late in the evening? Was this normal for her?
The rushing water stopped, but the humming continued. Dawn ducked into a corner on the same side of the bathroom and kept quiet. There she was. It's been so long since she's seen her that Dawn's almost forgotten what she looked like. But now, it was nearly impossible to forget. The way her white coat shimmered with the sheen of moisture. The way her hair stuck to the side of her face, her walk of purpose. Was this what Gardeen found enjoyable about the feminine figure? Was it wrong to fantasize what it would feel like to...
"You choose now to question your sexuality?" First Light asked incredulously.
Right stay on flank. Track. Stay on track. How to get her attention? Dawn could do this the old fashioned way by just calling out. But knowing Kia, she would scream or make a loud noise that would attract attention. Then again, she'd do that anyway. That left only one option. They would have to go somewhere else.
Dawn lowered herself down into a predatory state and slowly stalked out the corner. Kia grabbed a towel and wiped her face. She batted her yellow eyes in her vanity's mirror and stroked her mane back from her face, flashing it with a pearly smile. No hoofstep was heard, no shuffle detected. Only when a towel was thrown over her head did Kia freeze in fright.
Dawn wrapped her hooves around her neck. Then, before she could shriek, teleported away with Kia in her hold. The only place she was sure they would never be found would be the last place she would ever set hoof ever again. But like a beacon in the night, this was the only location she knew of that would be invisible to any interested eyes. The timing was perfect. In the middle of the night, the Everfree Forest was just about abandoned. Whether these Equestrian woods were dangerous or not had yet to reveal itself.
However, if they were, Kia's shriek certainly would bring some kind of attention.
"Get off of me!!" Dawn teleported to the side. Kia bucked at the air in a circle, fighting wildly against the bond of her captor. "Don't you buck with me! I'll put you in the ground personally!!"
Ugh, eyeroll. "Kia, take the towel off your head."
That voice. Kia stopped fighting and yanked it to the ground. Her eyes met the mare of her dreams and nightmares filled with disbelief.
"...Dawn?"
Dawn smiled and waved. "Hey, Kia."
"Dawn!" Kia ran up and pulled Dawn into a hug so tight, she was lifted off of her hooves and into the air. Her face was squished into her chest. Relief flooded the both of them. A family broken apart by war was once again forged by love. Dawn needed help in many things. Having and sustaining a friendship was one of them. Oh, if only mother were still here...
After a time, Kia let her go and circled her.
"Are you okay?" She asked. "Were you hurt?! I saw everything!"
She grabbed Dawn's face and looked deep into her eyes. "When you came back those crazy ponies were shooting at you! Psera has lost their minds!"
Ugh, leave it to Kia to throw reality back into her face. But Dawn couldn't help but smile at Kia's rather overprotective nature.
"Kia, I'm..." Dawn slid Kia's hooves away. "I'm fine. It's been a long ride; and this trip isn't over. I need your help."
What? Kia pointed to herself. "You need my help?"
"Yeah. This is going to sound a little nuts. But I promise all of this is the truth. Think they'll check up on you back in the facility?"
She waved her hoof back in the direction of what she assumed to be the orphanage. "Nah. They don't really look in on the older kids and give us our space. They'll probably poke in at around ten."
"Make it sooner. I have no choice but to make this quick. It all started with me melting..."
Ten Minutes Later
Dawn needed water. After a story like that even Odega's throat would've been parched. Through her recollection of events spanning from losing consciousness up to this point, Kia remained silent. Choosing only to listen rather than comment, despite the many questions floated through her mind.
Narmeelah's return, Queen Arcadia being setup from behind the scenes... There was just so much to cover.
Once Dawn stopped talking she stretched her wings and looked to the starry sky of Equestria.
"Now, we have to worry about mom's magic," she said. "It's supposed to return sometime tonight."
Kia followed her face up to the night. "Is there anyway to stop it?"
"It's inevitable. With mom gone, her magic is sure to follow. She can't even stop it."
Dawn sighed and rose back to her hooves. "And with Narmeelah on the prowl, that leaves all of us unprotected. But I have a plan."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Narmeelah's Diary; she's looking for it. I'm sure Narmeelah could do without it, but if mom is right, then there would be information in there about where to find these Wells."
"Okay. Then all you need is the diary."
"Yeah. I know where it is. Mom hid and secured it pretty well. I can get it out."
Kia took a deep breath and looked around. "Where even are we?"
"...Equestria. The woods; I forgot what they were called. No Psera officials will be able to find us here. The only ponies I'm worrying about right now are the princesses. As for Psera? My worry will come in time."
They let the chirps of the crickets overcome their conversation. The smell of the night, the lights of Equestria in the distance...
"You know what's crazy?" Kia smirked to Dawn. "We came a long way since we were foals."
"I'll say." Dawn backed off and playfully slugged Kia's chest. Wow. Surprisingly hard. "Have you been working out?"
Kia laughed and rubbed the back of her neck. "No, I just lift a lot at work."
Whoa, what? Kia works now? "What do you do?"
"Construction."
Dawn grinned and winked in her direction. "I'm most certainly going to need your help in rebuilding Psera once all of this is over."
"I'm sure it won't be that bad. Right?"
"We're going up against the God of the planet, Kia, and mom's magic made up half of it. She's out of the picture now. Bad isn't even putting it lightly. Hold on to me. I'm getting you back home."
Kia wrapped a wing around Dawn's petite stature. "What about you?"
"I won't be getting any sleep tonight. The world is going to collapse soon. I'll be too busy preparing with Grandma to figure out damage control."
"At least you have a plan."
Yes. A plan. So far, Dawn only has one solution: heist the Diary and run. As for stopping Narmeelah...
Dawn stopped thinking and teleported back to Psera. They were running out of time.
With the night brings with it the recklessness nature of creatures everywhere. Where the seemingly relaxed can finally let go of all inhibitions in favor of inebriation and a good time. Of course, there was such a thing as inappropriate behavior that could get a pegasus stallion thrown out of a Manehattan Night Club.
His gray coat soiled with the bruises of assault, he landed into the abandoned streets beneath the hundreds of eyes watching from above, a forest of structures making up the city.
"And stay out!" The doors were slammed shut, and he was alone, once again, in the cool night air. He pulled himself up, and stumbled to his hooves, pointing at the building.
"You gon' need me, Berry!" He shouted. "You gon' need me soon!"
Toss him in the streets, will they? Fine. Fine! Be that way! He reached into his wing and pulled out a canteen, gulping down its remaining contents in one swallow.
"Good luck with your new boyfriend, Berry! He never gave you what I gave you! Safety, protection! He worth nothing! What you gonna do without a roof?!"
So focused was he on the club, did he fail to notice the anomalies happening down the street. Lights flickering, tree limbs snapping. Finally, an entire block's worth of power cut, bathing a section of Manehattan in shadows. Followed by another. Then another, inching closer to his position.
The stallion took another swig and began walking away. Berry'll come to her mind soon enough. Then she'll be right back. He stopped to take another sip and closed his eyes. Upon opening them once more, he met darkness and the worried calls of the club.
He rotated around in awe. The entire street and the buildings on it have lost power, throwing Manehattan headfirst into a blackout. He could hear the drops happening elsewhere, into other regions.
Ponies began filing out the club, out the towers, out into the majesty of sight staring wondrously to the sky and murmuring what lied on their minds.
"What's going on?"
"No idea."
Strange. Wasn't all of this powered by magic? So why was it going out?
Luna could detect it. From the Dream Realm she could feel their emotions, see their worry before the dream was cut in favor of reality. Something was happening. This pattern, she's seen it before.
Luna opened her eyes and rose to her hooves. From a balcony she overlooked the city of Canterlot watching the movement below. Something was wrong. A strangeness in the air.
Luna walked back into the castle with purpose, passing the stoic expressions of the guards of the night taking post among the castle's halls. She could feel the danger, urging her to quicken her pace.
"Celestia!" She called. Upon reaching her room, she barged her way in.
Celestia was lying in her bed, sleeping away the frustrations of running a country for a single moment. It was interrupted by a rapping to her head.
"Celestia, awaken!"
Celestia rose to her hooves and looked around. "What? Where? Luna, what is wrong?"
"Do you not feel that? Something is wrong."
Oh, stars above... Celestia dropped back to bed and closed her eyes. "Oh Luna, I feel nothing but the warm embrace of these comforters."
Ugh. Luna grabbed hold of the comforters and pulled them from Celestia's body. "I'm serious, sister. Something is wrong. Ponies in Manehattan are awakening following a strange behavior of clear worry. Something is happening in Manehattan."
A shattering glass snapped Celestia's eyes open and pulled Luna's attention. They were directed to the hallway where a window had burst, leading to the outside world.
Strange. Apart from that, there seemed to be no sign of foul play.
Celestia and Luna shared a glance before darkness basted over Canterlot. All at once, the lights went out. Candlelight exchanged for wisps of gray smoke. The castle was washed in the blue of Luna's moon, the homes below in shadows. A sea of black.
"Will you listen now?" Luna asked.
"...Twilight's magic," Celestia whispered. "It's happening."