//------------------------------// // Everything After // Story: The Darkest Hour // by Anemptyshell //------------------------------// "So, everyone's here." I looked around the table. The sun was shining as the whole of Equestria bathed in the golden rays. I couldn't believe it had been almost a year since the day broke. It was almost funny looking back on it. So much work, just to get saddled with even more. But here we were in Canterlot Castle. It had taken a lot of doing, but it was all worth it.  Thirteen chairs, each taken around the most oversized table in the oldest wing of the monument to Equestria past, present, and future. The castle had taken quite some time to fix up. Some areas were still ongoing, but it was far and away leagues better than last year.  "We're all here, yes," Blueblood answered. "Faust knows it's been a reunion in the makings," Spade added.  "No kidding. Chryssie and I barely have time to think most days. Then there's the foal on the way. Gah," Shining Armor, for all his guard training and running a rebellion, was on the cusp of insanity. Ever since he'd learned Chrysalis was pregnant, he'd gone bonkers.  "Calm down, you. How many times are we going to need to discuss this?" Chrysalis asked, slapping her husband on the back of the head.  "Right, sorry." A soft giggle drew the attention of the group. Pink mane billowing in its own breeze set the white Alicorn in an exquisite way. The laugh only added to it. Fatherhood suits you, Captain. Oh, my apologies, ex-captain." "Agreed, dear sister, Shining Armor is quite the amusing fit for such efforts." Luna sat beside her sister. It was funny seeing both Alicorn sisters as being the same size. They looked more like fraternal twins now than older and younger siblings. I had been shown what Celestia looked like before her capture by Nightmare Moon. But, magic is what magic does. It took some time for Luna to bring her sister back from her banishment, but judging by the shared smiles. There was no bad blood left to fester. "Yeah, funny, but seriously. You can ask my replacement about the stress of keeping everyone safe. I mean, the dragon migration, the bout with Tirek, and reconstruction. It can get pretty taxing. Right, Captain Sabre?" Saber sat to my left. His armor was polished, sat at perfect attention, chin raised high. "I have no idea what you mean, sir. I'd rather be here than running a whole country." "Well, between Myself, my husband, Luna, and Celestia, we make do," Chrysalis said.  Then there's Sombra and his student up north. The Crystal Kingdoms's come a long way in integrating with Equestria. A stronger alliance there has never been," I said.  "Cadence has been quite the boon, yes." Sombra sat to my right, and on his other side, Cadence smiled merrily as she sipped on her tea. I couldn't help but snort. Just bang already.  "Besides, it isn't like the rest of us are just sitting on our butts all day," Bright said.  "AJ would kill me," Spade said.  "You're the one who spent months trying to reopen at least part of Sweet Apple Acres. What did you expect the family not to take you in? Besides, you and Applejack make a cute pair. Who knows, maybe you'll end up a dad one of these days." Thorax smiled across the table at Spade, who'd gone entirely rigid. When he managed to recollect himself, he leaned as far across the table as he could. "I know where you live. And if my days under Nightmare Moon taught me anything, it is how to get rid of a body." Half the table laughed as Spade struggled to reach Thorax without leaving his seat. I shook my head and leaned back in my chair.  "That aside, how goes the meetings with the other nations, ambassador?" Celestia said. "As well as one can expect. We have much to do to return any trust to Equestria. Though the travel is nice if nothing else." Blueblood whimsically looked out the nearest window. He'd taken to his new role like a fish to water. The constant travel and airships seemed gravy on the side. It reminded me of my past. Or, more my first life. I'd never bothered telling anyone I'd woken up that night after Nightmare's defeat remembering everything. Discord might know, but if he did, he'd said nothing in the end. I wasn't that me anymore now. I was happy and surrounded by those I loved. That was enough. It was more than I could ever ask for. My old life was nothing special, just another cog in the machine. I would disappear in a crowd if I wandered into the masses. I won't say it was a bad life. Just uninteresting. I even offered an idea here and there from my old home. Magic was nice and all, but sometimes, it made things needlessly complicated. But more than that, the life I left behind changed nothing. I knew who I was and who I wanted to be. Here on Equis, I found something more more than just living, here I was alive.   The conversation had bled off into Bright talking about his signing tours. He'd made good on his word and turned our whole adventure into a bestseller. The question wasn't if he was a success; it was what story would come next.  "Besides, it's nothing compared to how much Thorax's medical centers are doing. I just give bits. He gives all his sweat and blood. Sometimes literally." Bright said, waving over at Thorax, who was blushing something fierce. I snorted. Competition against the Element of Kindness, when it came to charity, was not a fair game. I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder. "Those two are my OTP."  Discord laughed loud enough to draw everyone's attention. "And Discord, how have you been? Still wrapping up the few Nightmare supporters running about?" Celestia asked.  "Oh please, those goons are all batty. Especially when I bring out Bruce." Discord poofed back in full baseball attire, an oversized bat, with Bruce stenciled down the side in hand.  "I'll bet. It would explain why half of the acolytes are out cold with knots the size of grapefruits," Sabre appraised.  "Would you expect anything less?" I asked.  "He'd have to be a fool to play those odds," Sombra snorted.  "How rude," Discord threw Bruce over his shoulder to the sound of something shattering. Then without so much as looking back, he poofed back to his seat. Where Discord lazily sipped at his teacup. The cup itself, I would never understand his dietary needs. "I guess the real question on everyone's mind is what comes next? What crazy, world-ending threat could possibly hit us next? An army of zeppelins, maybe?" I asked.  "Don't you dare, don't you even dare. shut your stupid face right now!" Shining yelled from across the table.  "Oh, come on, I was just—" Sabre jabbed me in the ribs. "What?" I asked.  Everyone else had turned to the windows. A buzzing had started. A mechanical huff and turning of gears. I wrapped my face in my hooves. "You have got to be kidding me.  "Nope," Spade said, slouching in his chair.  "I hate you, Star," Shining said.  "No worries, I hate me too." Out on the horizon, intertwined with a Stormfront. The clouds boomed with thunder, and the distant streaks of lightning paired well with the black beasts that flew straight for Canterlot. Huge zeppelins, a dozen times the size of the cruiser Blueblood traveled in and a hundred times more armored. There must have been a dozen of them.  It was a curse, I tell you, a curse. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought Discord conjured those stupid things up just to drive me crazy. Well, that or Spade, though I don't think Spade had enough time for this either.  "So, I guess we know what we're doing today," Thorax said, slowly pulling his chair out and moving away from the table. "It seems so," Sabre said, following Thorax's lead.  "Oh, this will make a killer story." Bright was on wing faster than the words could leave his mouth.  "Very well," Blueblood was hot on Bright's trail. "AJ is going to kick me into next week after all the assurances that nothing was going to happen. No, you can't have any amount of peace. That's just too much to ask." Spade continued to grumble as he stood up and made to leave.    "We leave the defense of Canterlot Castle in your hooves," Sombra said. He nodded to the royals of Equestria.  "Of course, tis our duty, is it not?" Luna asked.  "First, I'll blow those zeppelins out of the sky. Then I'm coming for you." Shining said. He hadn't stopped glaring at me since the Zeppelins had come into view. I didn't blame him, really. I wasn't looking forward to whatever he had cooking in that mind of his. The Zeppelins never stood a chance.  "Best of luck, all of you," Chrysalis called.  "Thanks, I'm sure we'll need it." I stood and took in a deep breath. I could feel the headache long before it arrived. It was gonna be one of those days. If it wasn't Eternal Night, it was Dragons. If not Dragons, it was a Centaur. It was confounding. It was bewildering. It was tiring. It was life. It was mine, and nobody was going to change that.  "Good luck Chancellor. We look forward to hearing all about these zeppelins and those who dare point them at Equestria's walls." Luna and her sister smiled as I turned to the window one last time. The Darkest Hour is the one before the Dawn. And, like the Eternal Night, so too would this storm pass. A hiss answered my thoughts. The shadows danced in my periphery as I strode from the meeting hall. I could the familiar flash of cyan play across one iris. I reached a hoof up and gently rubbed my chest, a phantom pain seizing over my untarnished fur. I shook my head and looked back over my shoulder.   "Maybe, but that's a story for another day."   THE END.