The air was filled with settling dust. Lungs were plagued in minutes. All across Equestria, task forces scoured the land. They zoomed through the sky, covering the same path Sunset, Starlight, Snap Seed and Lead Harvest were taking back to what little remained of civilization. With a cart of equipment, they had what they needed at every turn, destruction lied in their path. But they would reach ponyville soon. They just had too.
Sunset's hooves were tired. Walking through this haze of fallen rock, trees and stones thrown about proved to be more difficult than walking through any other forest.
"How much further?" She asked.
Snap looked back. "Not too far. Maybe twenty minutes."
That's a lot better than before. Before that it was fifty-six, and her hooves were aching by that point.
Sunset turned to Starlight. "How's your head?"
Starlight reached up and felt a small bump under her mane. She flinched from a brief sharp pain.
"It's better, but still not good," she said.
"An improvement on how it was before, I assume."
Starlight could neither agree or disagree. Alas, her headache would remain for days, preventing any reasonable answer. Why is it that she's always getting hurt during these adventures? During Maheera Dark vs. The World, she was incapacitated for the entire journey from Equestria to Psera. Now, her own home was turning against her.
"How close are we to Ponyville?" She asked their oh-so fearless team leader.
Snap Seed jumped over a fallen tree trunk and onto the other side. "Just a little further. We should be back in Ponyville in twenty minutes at our current rate of speed."
"Or what's left of it," Lead Harvest murmured.
"What was that?"
"Look around you, Snap." She jumped over the trunk and faced Snap Seed directly. "Look at what just happened. The entire forest was wiped out. There's nothing left standing apart from us."
Snap Seed took a gander across what remained of the Everfree Forest. Despite its obvious contamination, the forest held up pretty well during Maheera vs. The World. But now... Lead was right. The Everfree Forest was gone, and whatever dark grotty secrets it may have held. They were no longer walking on soil. Instead, their hooves treaded a thick layer of wood and pine, gifting them moonlight into this usually dark and moldy environment.
Snap sighed and acknowledged the situation. "I am very aware that all of Equestria along with many others may have been affected by Queen Arcadia's final belt. But, as I mentioned before this journey even began, there is more to this mystery than we see. We must keep pushing forward."
She walked around Lead and continued moving. But Lead wasn't done. "What did we even get from this? I feel there are more questions than answers."
"You'd be correct to come to that conclusion, Lead. However, some of these questions are worth answering."
"Like what?"
"Questions like why are these here? Why did the strongest Alicorn-Pseratep to ever exist plant these things to encircle the entirety of Equestria?"
"All good questions." Sunset jumped over the log and continued her journey back to Ponyville. "Questions we'll answer later when we get to Canterlot. There's only one pony who can answer those."
"Who?"
"Arcadia herself. You two don't know her like we do. If she's alive, she'll show up soon, one way or another."
Dawn remembered when mother used this office. She would sit behind this very desk made of wood and write away. Its texture was smooth to the touch. She could see her reflection in its glossy finish. Across the desk lied a table mother and Gardeen would sit at and talk. She'd be held in either Gardeen's hooves or Arcadia's, innocent, worrying when she and mother could play again.
Oh how time has passed. One day, she trotted out those doors under father's guidance trying to gain control of her newly acquired ability to walk. The next, she walked back in alone with a plan in mind to fight against Narmeelah, the purger of worlds.
Dawn closed her eyes and breathed. In. Out. In. Out. Her consciousness left her body. She dropped on the desk, asleep. one would think she was dead were they to intrude. But floating above her body was the manifested form of her consciousness. A ghost, a shadow.
So that's what it looks like. Dawn flew away from her body and higher through the Aquata. Through the deck she flew unseen while the Guard continued their operations. Into the night sky, she angled among the stars en route to Equestria. She had a plan, and she needed help.
Flurry had been barricaded inside of her room. Ugh, of course. Mom always had to overreact. Guards were stationed right outside her door, leaving her to witness the action from her window. She had a full unfiltered view of the Crystal Empire from the top of the castle. So far for them, the crystal heart was still rotating, and motion was still active. All was peaceful.
Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for the rest of Equestria. As much as she's heard, the other regions of Equestria have been totaled. Canterlot was the first to collapse followed by Manehattan, then Ponyville before the remaining cities fell. Leaving the Crystal Empire as Equestria's only standing property.
Flurry could hear the voices through the door traveling up the stairs. Mom was upset, that much was obvious. Dad was out there in the streets rounding up troops while she remained vigilant for possible threats. No chances were to be taken. But wasn't there anything she could do, instead of staying cooped in this room playing watchdog?
Flurry groaned and flopped back on her bed to try for more rest. A shame all of this is happening while sleep prickled at the minds of Equestria. Some of their ponies would never wake again.
Flurry closed her eyes and turned over, missing the duotone figure of Fresh Dawn standing in front of the window watching her nonplussed.
"Flurry."
Flurry gasped and sprung out of bed to the other side of her room to face the voice at a safe distance. Dawn, more or less, occupied the space. Without her tiara and clothes she was a normal Alicorn-Pseratep. Save for the ghostly light blue making up her figure. She floated in front of the window, casting a blue glow around the room.
"Dawn? How did... What..."
"I can force my consciousness from my body and travel long distances." Dawn brushed her coat with a pleased look on her face. "One of my first skills, albeit lesser-used."
Flurry climbed back on her bed and wafted her hoof through Dawn's ghostly figure. It was as if she wasn't there.
Dawn giggled and slapped her hoof away. It did no such thing. "Stop that, it tickles."
"Quite the weakness."
"It's not my fault. Look, I'm here on business."
"Is this in regards to the end-of-the-world business, or am I missing something?"
Dawn floated over and sat on Flurry's bed. "No. It's end-of-the-world. Mom got her magic back."
"So I hear." Their attention wavered briefly to a flurry of commotion reaching their ears from beyond the door. "Mom and dad are freaking out."
"My ponies are as well. I have bad news. Psera's been disarmed."
Disarmed?! Flurry gasped and rose on her hooves. "What? No weapons?"
"We had to evacuate Psera entirely. It's a wasteland out there. Psera held most of Arcadia's magic. What Equestria is experiencing doesn't hold a candle to what Psera has. A majority of our newer range Aquatas have either sunken or been torn apart by Arcadia's pull. The same for our weaponry. We still have some of the old stuff. But right now, we're defenseless."
This is the first time Flurry has even been given a firm clue as to what's been going on in the real world. She knew it was bad, but if Psera can't even fight against it, then they were all in trouble.
Flurry sighed and walked to the window. Thanks to that cursed winter storm, she couldn't even see into Equestria. Whatever was occurring beyond that winter storm, they were cut off from assistance.
Flurry shook her head. "There's nothing we can do either. Our only method of transportation was the friendship express. If that was created by Arcadia's magic, then that means that's gone too; and we can't remove the crystal heart. It's extremely vital to this kingdom."
"I know." Dawn trotted next to Flurry and sat on her haunches. "Just deliver the message. I can imagine the princesses already have their hooves full. Tell them we're on our way to assist as soon as we can."
"And in the meantime?"
"We have a few military personnel en route to Canterlot now. In the meantime..." Dawn's gaze steeled. "Stay on edge. Tell the princesses exactly what I say. 'Mom's most greatest fear...has finally come to light.'"
"Greatest fear? What are you..." Flurry whipped around to face Dawn's resting place. Instead, she found herself alone once again in the dim lighting of her room, under the light of the room, hidden behind a haze of snow. A sigh escaped her lips.
She grabbed a letter and pink bow from a nearby dresser along with a pen and inkwell. She had a letter to write.
Dawn woke up a short time later and rubbed her eyes. All sounded the same. Their fleet creaked along the ocean undisturbed. Good. Less problems.
"I think I know what mom wanted us to do," First Light said.
Dawn slid out of her chair and onto the floor. "Which was what?"
"To reveal me. She knows something."
That's a very tall order coming from her. After everything that's happened, she was the last pony anyone needed to be taking orders from. She attacked about IHT, she was admittedly a bad mother, and, finally, her magic has rendered waking world to dirt, dust, and fire. If anything needed to be taking orders, it was her.
Dawn yawned and walked towards the door. "How do you feel about that?"
"Scared. Ponies... I haven't really spoken to them before."
Dawn stopped at the door. "You spoke to Night Light, Lucky, and the other creatures from Founder's."
"That was different. They were really really old. The only enemy they truly faced were themselves. They had no idea how to take me. But the princesses, Psera, everypony else... I'm born from Dark Magic, Dawn. The term alone is a taboo. But for a living pony to be created by it?"
Dawn stopped at the door. "Hey, the princesses already met you. They were cool about it."
"I only met them once and it was for less than ten minutes. All they saw was a pony made of Dark Magic. Even grandma doesn't know about me. But if I reveal myself now, all of it will finally settle in. And this time, mom isn't here to vouch for us."
"We'll take it on together. You know I'll never leave you behind. Now, let's get out there." Dawn used her magic to open the door and stepped out into the Aquata. The soldiers stationed at her door immediately saluted. Taking example of her father, Dawn acknowledged it with a simple nod and continued on her way to her destination. She needed an update on the situation.
Her journey brought her out onto the busy forward deck of Aquata Zero, where she was met with a cease of operations and a shout.
"Acting Queen on Deck!" All military stopped and saluted once more.
"Ah, yes, this can be quite annoying," First Light commented.
Dawn sighed and continued her journey. The stars were slowly glittering out of sight. They were nearing early morning. How long had she been out? She contacted Flurry then took a nap. Alas, the nap wasn't long enough, for the moment she stepped into the bridge, she locked attention onto a clock reading four eleven. Gardeen wasn't present, but her assistant sure was. Commanders and Generals were discussing something around the map whilst assistants stood by. At her presence, they bowed and were ignored.
"What's going on?"
All voices looked to her. Secretary Manny bent low. "Queen Dawn. Everything that you wanted is noted down. Unfortunately, we're capped out on food at one hundred and forty-eight thousand sixty-five rations."
That wasn't nearly enough for all of them. There were millions of Pserateps out in the ocean right now. Even if they cut each ration in half it wouldn't be enough for all of them. It most certainly went without saying that this would be only a one time thing.
Dawn sighed and asked, "Communications?"
"No direct response."
"It's alright. I made contact through dreams with one of the princesses. We're not alone. So far, Equestria is in a much lighter boat compared to us. As for other's, I can't tell for sure until we dock. How far from Equestria are we?"
"Not too far, ma'am." Neon Lighting pointed down to the map. "We're here right now, and this is Las Pegasus beach."
"Distance?"
"Five hundred and forty kilometers. Thanks to the time, we can't see the beach, but that'll change soon. We should be docking within three hours."
"Which brings us to our next order of business," Secretary Manny spoke up. She gestured to around the map. "Arcadia Nova. If she's back, she'll be close by within the seas. I have all branches on standby and watching out for her. So far, she hasn't been seen."
Dawn scoffed and shook her head. "Don't even bother, withdraw your troops."
Withdraw? Secretary Manny and the commanders exchanged looks. "What do you mean, Queen Dawn? With all due respect, we need every last asset we have to defend against this threat."
At that moment, Secretary Gardeen walked in stretching her wings and over to Dawn. Smacking her lips, she offered her a cup of something sweet smelling.
"There lies the problem," Dawn reported. She took the drink. "The threat isn't Arcadia. This was going to happen whether it was next week or the next century. The second mom falls into bad health, her magic was going to return whether we had a say so or not. The threat of destruction was always there, so no, I'm not concerned for mom. Instead, I'm concerned about that rune."
"This here?" Gardeen reached into her wing and pulled out a printed black and white image of the rune.
"Yes." Dawn held the image in her magic and set it on the map before them all. "I fear it greatly."
"I assumed it was Arcadia's," General Mack Land said.
"No. For one, runes are used to activate a preexisting spell. This rune isn't at all related to what happened, because if it were, it wouldn't have shown up after the event it was supposed to cause."
"Then what caused it?"
Dawn and Gardeen shared a glance before turning back to the military. "All theories will be revealed once we convene with IHT. Then we can properly explain the situation to its fullest extent." Dawn pointed through them towards the bow of the Aquata. "Until then, we stay on course. Have we sent out an ambassador in the name of Psera's arrival?"
One of the captains saluted and answered, "We're working on that now, ma'am. We're sending out Lieutenant Smalls and a large unit of Elite Royal Guard for communication." They walked over to a device sitting out in the open. "If we send them out now, we'll be in contact with Equestria within ten to fifteen minutes rather than the hours it would take. The sooner, the better."
"I like it. Deploy and monitor in ten minutes."
The captain saluted. "Yes, ma'am."
"In the meantime..." Dawn jumped back down from the map and trotted to the door with Gardeen and her assistant on her tail. "I want all of our rations split. It's not much, but it'll feed as many of our citizens as possible."
Well that was going to be a lot of work. They saluted and Dawn walked out the door with gardeen. The night was cold, and she was already tired. Dawn's felt worse but this was slowly rising to be the greatest responsibility she's ever felt.
She walked over to a rail and stopped to watch all the Aquatas. There were twenty five on this side she counted alone. Each one holding over three thousand Pserateps. All of which were her responsibility.
"When we dock..." Dawn spoke. "Because we know Equestria will say yes, I want to speak directly to all of these ponies."
"I'll have a feed prepared," Gardeen replied. She laid a wing on Dawn's back. "How are you doing?"
Dawn sighed deeply. "They're going to learn a lot about what the Royal Family's been hiding. From Narmeelah's return to First Light's existence, and even more."
"Do you think they're ready?"
"Even if they're not, it wouldn't matter." Dawn stepped away from the railing and walked towards the bow. "Because everything we know could help stop this war, including the true location of the Diary."
"What?" Gardeen quickly caught up with Dawn. "What are you talking about, I thought it was in Serl."
Hot Stop glanced over to Dawn. "It was before. But after mom returned from her imprisonment with Maheera, it was moved and replaced. The real one is a lot closer. Leaving an ancient artifact in a top secret facility after all of that, it wasn't enough. Mom was given written permission by the department of defense and the council to hide, to bury it so deep that only she would be able to find it. All they needed to know was that it was safe."
"Is it?"
"Very much so. Only one pony to ever exist could ever access it." Dawn faced Gardeen with a smirk very similar to her mother's. "First Light."
Blankets, torches, and small rations have been passed out to the many stranded citizens of Equestria. Ranging from Appleloosa to Las Pegasus, all the way to Manehattan. Scootaloo was now officially in the middle of a magic-stripped world. So close to death. Under the morning sky, where the sun barely pecked at the stars and an orange gradient filled her vision, she was able to obtain a full visual of Arcadia's reaping of magic. There was nothing left. How they would bounce back from this, no clue was given.
She sat down and stroked her dirty face. A majority of their refugees were sleeping, but word came in that a migration of creatures were descending upon Equestria. This country would soon be crowded.
"Hey, Squirt." Scootaloo glanced back to Rainbow. Covered in dirt. Funny. She's never seen her so vulnerable.
"Can't sleep?" She asked.
"I can't find a cloud." Rainbow sat by her sIde. She smelled of smoke and ash, the remains of their humble town that now lied in rubble. "I was going to use it to evacuate Pegasi. But there's none in the sky."
Scootaloo looked to the stars. Sure enough, as far as the eye could see, only stars dotted her vision. No fluffy white clouds anywhere save for Cloudsdale. Strange. Did the magic evaporate them? What science could account for such an event?
"It won't help us," she said. "There's no food."
"What?"
"The magic uprooted and destroyed everything. We're about to starve. Hopefully, the Princesses are working on something or coordinating with IHT for assistance. But the last I heard, they were all heading here to Equestria. I don't know if we even have enough space for them."
"We should. Remember Maheera?" How could she forget? "They all managed to get here? They were camped out in buildings that time. This time, there aren't any cages. We're not restricted to walls."
Right, of course but... "What if something else comes up?"
"Like what?"
"Captain!!!"
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash diverted their attention to the remains of Ponyville, where an Earth Pony Guard was running through the desolation of Ponyville. They slid to a stop at Scootaloo.
"I need to see the Captain!" They requested.
"The captain's away from post," Scootaloo replied. "I'm First Lieutenant. What's going on?"
They pointed back past Ponyville. "Aquatas! Two hundred miles out and approaching. Bigger than a fleet!"
Aquatas?! Psera?! Scootaloo rose to her hooves. "Aquatas? Are you sure?"
"Yes, ma'am! As far as the eye could see! I counted fifty in a single row alone!"
She wasn't the only one who heard. Ponies who were sleeping before now awoke to the ruckus of rushed panicked words.
"Aquatas?"
"Why would Psera come here?"
Majority Green trotted to her side. "What's going on?"
Scootaloo didn't answer her. She faced the militant before her. "Are you sure those were Aquatas?"
Just then a rush of wind speared over their heads. A company of military personnel carrying the flag of Psera speared through the air en route to Canterlot.
If there were any doubts before, they were blown out the window now.
Without taking her eyes off the company, Scootaloo tapped Majority's shoulder.
"Get the refugees to relax," she ordered. "We're not in danger. Yet. Psera has arrived."
They were almost there. So close. The fallen trees were thinning. The feeling of comfort and familiarity were nearing closer. Sunset's never been more excited to be home after such an event.
"So!" Sunset's attention snapped to Snap Seed up ahead. "What did you ladies do before all of this?"
Sunset and Starlight shared knowing smirks. Oh, the stories they could tell that weren't common knowledge.
Sunset glanced back to Snap and Lead. "Define 'this.'"
"How about when you first met Twilight," Lead clarified. "The very beginning."
"Well, you know how life goes. Try a few things, conquer a few worlds."
The two laughed and nodded in agreement.
"The lives of all of us, I'm afraid," Snap said. She pulled out a map and shined a light from her horn. "Now, if I'm correct, we should be near—"
A crack from the left of them pulled their attention. So far, they've been entirely alone. Until now. A mare with a filly on her back were adjacently in the same direction they were going. She seemed to be in a rush, a faster pace than they were going.
Strange how she didn't notice them. No barrier lied between their views. One would've spotted the other before.
Sunset leaned over to Starlight. "That's weird."
"She has a filly, can you blame her?" True. But still.
Snap Seed cleared her throat and lifted a hoof into the air. "Yoo hoo! Hello! Over here!"
The mare walking stopped and turned in their direction. What they saw froze them to a stop. Her eyes. Her filly's eyes. They were blackened, filled with small particles of lights and stars that twinkled with the rising morning.
"What in all the..." Starlight muttered breathlessly.
Before anyone could say anything, the mare's wings expanded in surprise. She screeched and reared up. A Pseratep?! Way out here?!
"No! No no!" She shouted. The mare ran in a tight circle with a relatively calm filly on her back. "Stay away! Nonbelievers! Nonbelievers!!"
"Hey, hey, what's your problem?" Lead Writer trotted closer, but the mare jumped back and hissed at her.
"Whoa, relax. Lead, come back."
Sunset inched towards her. This was so strange. Something clearly happened to her, that much was clear. To both her and her child. Was that rune on the stone the cause of it?
"Hey, all is well, we're friends," she soothed her. The mare didn't back down. "What's your name? I'm Sunset Shimmer."
"The time is now," the mare spoke. She jabbed a hoof up to Sunset's face. "You will perish. But fear not, the allcreator will reserve a place for you in the Everlasting Sky. For all of us. She's coming, the conjurer of worlds."
Lead Writer asked, "What is she talking about?"
No. Impossible, it was only a theory. A theory with substantial evidence, but still a theory. Sunset's heard these words before. That's why she swallowed her fear and pushed forth her questioning.
"Who is coming?" She asked.