//------------------------------// // Flight // Story: The First Light of Dawn // by Cold in Gardez //------------------------------// “I told you, I’m fine!” Applejack gave Twilight Sparkle a dubious look. The lavender pony’s coat was beaded with sweat despite the cool night wind. She gulped down rapid, shallow breaths of air, and even from several feet away Applejack could hear the wheezing in her lungs. “Sugar, don’ take this wrong, but you look like yer about ta fall over,” Applejack said. She paused, and added, “Again.” “I was just resting!” Twilight protested. Even to her ears it sounded weak. “I can still help!” Applejack shook her head. Around them dozens of earth ponies hauled wood beams and tools from the train to a small staging area a few dozen yards from Celestia’s unmoving form. Under the direction of a pair of engineer ponies a large wood gantry was slowly taking shape over the molten crater. Four massive beams set several pony-lengths apart supported a wood scaffold high above the ground. A system of pulleys and ropes hung from the center of the structure, dangling just a few feet above the princess. Other ponies, wearing thick leather aprons and face masks, chipped and dug at the soft stone at the edges of the crater, creating channels for the still-liquid rock hiding beneath the surface to flow away. In the space of less than an hour the ponies of Appleloosa had set up a makeshift camp and were well on their way to unearthing the fallen alicorn. If Twilight hadn’t spent the past year living in an earth pony town, she would have been stunned by their industriousness. Instead she was merely impressed. She was also hurting badly. A bare spoonful of lava had washed over the rim of her hoof, but it had been enough to burn the nail-like tissue through to the pulp. A sky blue mare with a stethoscope cutie mark had shaved off the most badly damaged portions, and placed a plaster cast around her fetlock. Tiny black spots speckled her coat where drops of molten stone had splashed and eaten into her skin. The scars would likely be permanent, the mare said. “You can help by listenin’ to the nurse and gettin’ some rest,” Applejack said. “They’ll have the princess dug out of there in a few hours, tops, an’ then we’ll need you ta figure out what’s wrong with her.” An amber stallion trotted past the two, a thick coil of rope held in his mouth. He set it next to a pile of other rigging equipment being readied for the eventual hoist, and walked over to the two mares. Like most of the earth ponies around them he had an apple-themed cutie mark. It was hard to tell, given her somewhat delirious mental state, but Twilight thought he looked vaguely familiar. “Cousin Applejack,” he said, nodding to the mare. She returned the nod. “Cousin Braeburn. Again, ah can’t say thanks enough for all the help ya’ll are providin’.” “Well shoot, it was a boring night anyway,” he said. His bright green eyes slid over to Twilight, darting from her haggard expression to the charred pits in her coat, down to her hoof cast, and finally back to Applejack. “How’s your friend? Anything we can do?” he asked Applejack. Twilight opened her mouth, ready to protest. “Ah think she’ll be fine, once she gits some rest,” Applejack said before Twilight could speak. “Speakin’ of which, any chance we can git a room in town?” “You two know I can hear you, right?” Twilight asked. She glared back and forth between the two ponies, of whom only Braeburn had the decency to look abashed. Applejack just rolled her eyes. “Sug, if you’re not gonna take care of yourself, then other ponies are gonna have to do it for ya,” she said. “We’ve both been goin’ almost two days straight now. If you try helpin’ any more you’re just gonna get hurt again. Then what am I supposed to tell Celestia when she wakes up?” Twilight blinked. That was perhaps the longest speech Applejack had ever delivered in their year-plus of friendship. She tried to formulate a response, but her tongue refused to cooperate. Her eyes watered – from the harsh fumes rising from the molten stone just yards away, she told herself – and she sat back on her haunches, lowering her head so the two earth ponies would not see her distress. Applejack sighed and gently nudged the stallion. He took the hint, gave her a friendly nuzzle, and retreated back to the laboring herd surrounding Celestia. Distant voices welcomed his return and shouted new directions as their work continued. Alone again with her friend, Applejack sat next to the unicorn, and watched the recovery effort in silence. “I just w-want t-to help her,” Twilight said, her voice stumbling as she gulped in air. “I’m u-useless,” she finished with a hiccup that shook her body. Applejack draped a foreleg over the trembling pony, drawing her closer. In the yellow light of the fires and lanterns brought by the townsponies her orange coat appeared nearly white, almost ghostlike in the darkness. She sat with the unicorn until the hiccups and shivering stopped. “Sug,” she whispered, her warm breath rustling Twilight’s mane. “No one thinks you’re useless. Yer as strong as Big Mac, as loyal as Rainbow Dash, and smarter than anypony I’ve ever met. But you don’t have ta do everythin’ yerself.” Twilight was silent for a while. The wind shifted to the west, and a draft of fresh, cool air replaced the harsh sulfur tang of the fires. Above them the gentle moon broke through the pall of smoke for the first time that night, bathing them in a faint silver glow infinitely cooler than the hellish glare of the lava. “Really?” she finally asked. Her voice was quiet, full of equal parts hope and fear. “Really,” Applejack replied. She hugged the unicorn tighter. Around them the camp continued to bustle. More ponies arrived on a second train, bringing with them additional lumber and heavier tools, as well as camp supplies like tents, water and food. Applejack watched with an approving eye as they hopped from the cars and leapt into action. The weight against her side slowly grew heavier. When she finally dared a glance at her friend, Twilight’s eyes were closed and her mouth open, allowing a slight trail of drool to escape. Applejack smiled and gently lowered the unicorn to the ground. The lavender pony mumbled something unintelligible before drifting back off to sleep. For the first time since the day began, Twilight knew something like peace. *** Trixie’s mood had improved somewhat over the past few hours. The numerous empty cider glasses on the bar in front of her may have been responsible. Big Mike was back, collecting glasses from the empty tables and carrying them into the kitchen. Aside from Trixie she was the only pony left in the saloon. “Hey,” Trixie called, her voice slurred despite her best attempts to sound sober. “Where’d everypony go?” The bright yellow mare snagged the last empty glass from a table near the door and carried it with her behind the bar. She dropped it in the sink with its brothers before turning to Trixie. “Home, I guess,” she said. “Or out to see Celestia. That sounded pretty exciting.” She grabbed a fresh towel with her mouth and dropped it on the bar. Trixie snorted. Or she tried to, at least – what emerged was more of a choking sound accompanied by a toss of her head that would have appeared elegant, were she on stage and not drunk. Big Mike glanced at her in concern, then returned to wiping down the bar. “S’not exciting yet,” she mumbled. “Wait ‘til she finds me tomorrow! That’ll be exciting.” “Oh? She came all the way out here, just for you?” Trixie nodded. Big Mike just rolled her eyes and returned to her wiping. Drinking with just hooves and mouth was harder than it looked, Trixie decided. The first cider of the night had been an adventure – subsequent glasses had been met with more success, until she could drink most of one without spilling any down her chin. It was progress. Humiliating progress, to be sure, but still progress. For the hundredth time that night she tried her magic. The glass of cider on the bar refused to budge. She groaned and laid her head on her crossed hooves. “I think that’s enough for tonight,” Big Mike said. She snagged the glass with cruel ease and pulled it behind the bar before Trixie’s flailing hooves could catch it. “Trixie really needs that drink,” she pleaded. Big Mike was unmoved. “I’ll pay extra!” She pulled out her last bits and shoved them across the counter. She wouldn’t need them in the morning, after all. The barmare pushed them back with her snout, and returned to wiping down the polished wood surface. Trixie cursed under her breath. From outside the faint sound of hoofbeats intruded. More ponies rushing to meet the princess, Trixie figured. After they passed, the stillness of the bar returned, broken only by the steady wiping motion of the cleaning bartender. “Is it always this empty in here?” Trixie asked. Big Mike shook her head. “No, we closed two hours ago.” Oh. That would explain why the chairs were on top of the tables rather than beneath them. Trixie pondered that with muddled thoughts before turning back to the other mare. “So why are you still serving Trixie?” She had long since given up on hiding her real name. Something as simple as a pseudonym wasn’t going to save her from Celestia, particularly when the evidence of her theft was glued to her chest. Big Mike shrugged. “You looked like you needed it. Besides, when else am I going to get to see a drunk unicorn?” “Unicorn!” Trixie cried. Even drunk and about to be stepped on by an angry god she couldn’t help but infuse her words with the melodrama of the stage. “I don’t deserve the name!” Tiny flecks of cider flew from her lips onto the bar, prompting a frown from the other mare. “Are all unicorns like you?” Big Mike asked. She put down the rag and seemed genuinely interested in the response. Trixie waved a hoof dismissively. “They should be so lucky!” She stumbled away from the bar and attempted to strike a pose, one leg extended dramatically into the air. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is the greatest and most powerful Trixie!” She paused. That hadn’t sounded right. “Unicorn!” she corrected. “But you just said you didn’t deserve—" “I know!” she wailed, and broke down sobbing. It was long night for Trixie. *** The landscape below her was a uniform blur as Luna flew west. Individual trees and hills appeared on the horizon and were behind her faster than she could blink. Larger landmarks like rivers spooled out beneath her like spilled thread, visible only as silver reflections of the moon high above. No normal pegasus could have reached such speeds, though Rainbow Dash might have put in a respectable showing if they were to race. It wouldn’t have been a fair contest, of course; Luna cheated, using her magic to propel her faster than mere wings ever could. The terrain changed as she flew, slowly shifting from the stately forests surrounding Canterlot to a mix of fields and woods, then to grassy plains broken only by the occasional tree. By the time larger mountains began to appear the endless grasses gave way to the scrub brush of the desert. The only unchanging element was the scar Celestia carved in the world. A black sear hundreds of yards wide arrowed its way to the west. Tiny fires still burned around the edges, particularly in the grasslands, and filled the air with reeking ash. Luna banked around the larger towers of smoke, unworried about losing track of her sister. Even if she were blind she could have followed the path of destruction with her nose. Eventually the scrub gave way to the gentle hues of the Pastel desert. The streaks of color were visible to her eyes even in the monochrome of night – darkness had never been a barrier to her sight. The stars overhead were a thousand searchlights lighting her way. The rose tint of morning was creeping into the sky behind her when she found the end of the scorched trail on the side of a large mountain, nearly a hundred miles inside the desert. An irregular, broken ring of fire hundreds of feet across circled a brightly lit camp, around which she could barely make out the tiny shapes of ponies working on some sort of scaffolding. At the very center, surrounded by a pool of glowing stone… Luna’s eyes widened. Her wings doubled their effort, and she fell like a shooting star down to her sister. *** Twilight Sparkle slept uneasily. The trials of the day haunted her dreams. She watched in horror, again and again, as Canterlot died in a wash of flames. The stately marble buildings of her home became the city’s pyre, the pall of smoke its funeral shroud. The sun set forever, surrendering the world to a night without moon or stars. Only the loveless, ravenous fires remained. She stirred in her sleep. Her eyes cracked open for a moment before she fell back into unconsciousness and dreams. She chased a tiny, floating star through a maze of shattered buildings. Crumbling, derelict ruins rose on either side, squeezing her within narrow streets that twisted and turned without design. The flickering light darted into an alley, and when she followed she found it hovering in a city square not unlike those of Canterlot. As she approached the ruins collapsed into dust, revealing a barren, desert wasteland stretching for miles around. The dream shifted again, and she stood on a tiny island of stone, surrounded by a field of lava. The molten rock bubbled as it slowly rose, eating away at the island until nothing remained but the ground beneath her hooves. She lifted one hoof, then another, and finally attempted to balance on a single leg. Her outstretched hooves reached for the silent stars as though begging them for aid. The lava rose again and… A strangled scream escaped her throat as she fully woke. Her hoof throbbed beneath its cast in time with her pulse, like some inconsiderate pony was stomping on it several times a second. Sweat drenched her coat despite the chill of the desert night, and she started to shiver again as the memories of fire and lava fled. Applejack was at her side a moment later. The orange pony wrapped her arms around Twilight in a gentle hug, and held her until the worst of the shaking passed. “Easy sug,” she whispered. “Was just a dream.” Twilight drew a trembling breath. “But it wasn’t,” she said. “Canterlot is gone, Celestia is…” she trailed off, looking at the fallen princess. “Celestia is fine,” Applejack said, her voice filled with its usual confidence. “We’re all gonna be fine.” Twilight didn’t answer. It wasn’t polite to call a friend a liar. Still, she didn’t object to the earth pony’s comforting presence beside her. Together they watched as the herd of ponies readied for the difficult job of cracking the stone around Celestia and lifting her from the earth. “They’re almost ready,” Applejack said. “Once the sun’s up they’ll start usin’ the heavier tools and tackle to get her outta there. With any luck we’ll be in Appleloosa by noon.” That seemed optimistic to Twilight. She was about to say so when a faint whistling sound filled the desert air, like wind rushing through a mountain gorge. “Do you hear—" she started to ask. A dark streak fell from the skies, impacting with a titanic crash that shattered rock and shook the earth for hundreds of yards around. Ponies shouted in alarm and fell to their knees; the wooden gantry swayed ominously, but the ropes and anchors securing it held against the violent quaking. The thin crust of hot stone surrounding Celestia cracked and flowed, the dark rock broken by fissures glowing with an evil yellow light. “’TIA! SISTER!” a frantic, feminine voice thundered from within the cloud of dust that surrounded the impact site. The crack of hooves against rock and the rumble of tumbling stones followed, and a moment later Luna’s dark form emerged, scrambling toward the molten pit. The regal princess of the moon was gone. To Twilight’s eyes Luna more closely resembled the Nightmare of old: her wings, fully extended, nearly doubled her size; her horn, wicked and sharp, glinted in the light of the fires. In the darkness she was a monster, a colossal raven fallen from the ancient night. The impression lasted only a moment. The alicorn half-ran, half-crawled across the broken ground to her sister. She splashed through the lava like it was water, eliciting horrified shouts from the watching ponies. “’TIA!” She grabbed the white alicorn around the neck and tried to lift her from the stone, but only succeeded in pulling herself deeper. She snarled at the impudent lava and stomped at it with her hooves, sending droplets of the stone flying. Twilight recovered first. Even as the other ponies scrambled back in fear she ran to the edge of the pit, ignoring the spray of lava. “Luna!” she shouted. “Luna! Stop!” The princess spun to face the unicorn, her eyes wide and shining in the baleful light. Her form shimmered in the heat rising from the lava now broken and exposed again to the cool desert air. “Twilight?” the princess ventured. The thin, superheated air distorted her voice, making it sound childlike to Twilight’s ears. Twilight nodded. “We’re trying to help her, like you asked.” She raised a hoof and beckoned the princess. “Please come out of there, you’re scaring us.” Luna looked down, and then around, as if noticing for the first time that she was knee deep in molten stone. She gave her sister a quick glance, but nevertheless turned back to Twilight and slowly waded out of the pool. Droplets of lava ran from her pelt in thin streams as she emerged, or hardened in place and broke off with a faint clatter that reminded Twilight of wind chimes. Although her coat was unmarred by the heat, the metal shoes she wore glowed a bright orange against the dark ground, and only slowly cooled to their normal bluish-silver. “I’m sorry,” she said. She turned back toward her sister. “I just… forgot myself for a moment. Was she like this since you found her?” Twilight shook her head. “She was still flying when we caught her. As soon as the sun set she fell. We’ve been trying to get her out ever since.” Applejack walked up beside her friend. She started to approach the princess, but shied away from the residual heat radiating from Luna’s body. “We’ll have heavier tools here by mornin’,” she said. Once they’re in place we cin drain the lava and git her hoisted outta there.” Luna stared at the pony, then turned to survey the camp, noticing for the first time the huge gantry suspended over Celestia’s still form. The other ponies slowly resumed their tasks, occasionally casting wary glances in her direction. “This is impressive,” she finally said. “Celestia would be very proud of what you two have accomplished.” Twilight winced. Applejack coughed politely. “You should thank the town, yer majesty,” she said. “They did most of the work.” And I did nothing, Twilight thought. She gave the princess a subdued bow, and returned to her silent vigil at the edge of the pool. The sky to the east slowly grew lighter. *** Celestia’s dreams were troubled. She did not have nightmares, per se. She could not have nightmares; her absence defined the night, and it held no power over her. But she could know loss, and bereavement, and it was those two hollow emotions that plagued her sleep. Fragments of memories long buried teased at her mind. Images from before she was a princess, before the stars gifted her with the torc and the new life it brought. The memories played in her mind, appearing and dissolving before she could fully grasp them. Slowly they began to fade, replaced with the unusual sensation of being trapped in a warm embrace. She was surrounded by some incredibly hot material, which itself brought back memories of the time before. Finally her thoughts cleared, and she opened her eyes to the dwindling darkness of the desert at dawn. *** “Twi… twilight?” The faint sound of her name broke through Twilight Sparkle’s moping. She looked up, expecting to see Applejack or Luna returning to cheer her up, but they were both occupied with the rescue effort. They were helping – actually making a difference. Unlike her. She turned back to the pool when she heard her name again. From within the pool. Celestia’s eyes were open but unfocused. Her head twisted slightly in the lava, though the stone had cooled to the point that it was nearly solid at the surface, and held her in place. “Twilight?” she tried again. Her free wing fluttered weakly as she tried unconsciously to fly out of the entrapping earth. “Princess?” Twilight said, stunned. “Princess! CELESTIA!” The other ponies turned toward her in alarm. “Applejack!” She spun in place, looking for her friend. “She’s awake, Applejack! She’s awake!” Luna beat the earth pony to Twilight’s side by a wide margin. She hesitated only for a moment before stepping onto the thin crust atop the lava, using her wings to support most of her weight as she walked out to her sister. She lowered her head to press against Celestia’s neck and said something, though Twilight was too far to hear her words. After a moment she pulled herself together and straightened, and spoke loud enough for the gathering ponies to hear. “This trial is over, sister. Just rest and we’ll have you out of there shortly.” Celestia’s mouth opened, though no sound emerged. Twilight leaned as far forward as she dared over the hot crust. “It’s okay, take your time,” Luna said, encouragingly. “We’re here to help. We’re all here to help.” Celestia shook her head slightly. Luna’s brow furrowed. “We are,” she said, louder. “We’re going to get you back to Canterlot and everything will be fine. Please believe me.” The white alicorn’s eyes were wide, the whites showing fully around her pinprick pupils. She tried again, and finally managed to speak. “Run,” she whispered. Luna stumbled back, her hooves breaking through the thin crust atop the lava. She stared at her sister in shock. “What? No, we’re here to help!” she said. “We’re going home, sister. Please just wait.” Twilight looked between the two princesses. Her joyous thoughts had come to a crashing halt. The other ponies murmured in confusion. “What’d she say?” Applejack asked. “She said…” Twilight started, then trailed off. She looked at the princess, then the slowly lightening sky to the east. Her thoughts flashed back to 24 hours earlier, during the Summer Sun Celebration, when Celestia attempted to begin the day. Dawn was less than an hour away. “Oh no,” she mumbled. Hundreds of ponies pressed closer, trying to get a view of their princess. Luna was shouting at her sister again, trying to make sense of her whispered warning. “Applejack, we need to get out of here!” She pushed her way to back to the front of the crowd. “Luna! Luna we need to run!” Luna tossed her an annoyed glance. “Calm down, Twilight, she’s just confused. We’ll keep digging and—" “No!” Twilight interrupted. “The sun is rising! It’s like Canterlot!” Luna blinked at her, and turned to her struggling sister. She stared for a moment, then tilted her head to the east and the rising glow of dawn. A moment later she spun back to face Twilight, understanding and panic written on her face. “How do we—" she started. “The train,” Twilight blurted. “If we leave everything behind there should be space for everypony. Applejack, can you--” “On it, sug,” Applejack interrupted her in turn. The nearest ponies were already spreading the word and rushing to the train. There were a few protests from the engineer ponies, but they were quickly overridden as the others reminded them of what happened to Canterlot. Within minutes the entire camp had been abandoned, except for Twilight and the two princesses. A steady trail of ponies led to the train, which was already being emptied of extra cargo and hitched to the conductors. “Luna, you need to come too,” Twilight said. She edged closer to the molten pit. Faint shimmers of heat were beginning to rise from Celestia’s exposed head and wing. “We don’t have long.” “I’ll be fine, Twilight.” “Princess, you saw what happened to Canterlot. We need to leave now.” “I said I’ll be fine,” Luna growled. She mantled her wings. “I can fly.” “I know, princess. But how long can you stay awake?” Luna stared at her sister in silence for a long moment, then at the brightening sky to the east. Finally she sighed. “Very well. Let’s go.” Several minutes later they were the last two to reach the train. It was crowded, with just two passenger cars for several dozen ponies, but they made room without complaint. Twilight found Applejack near the rear of the train, where the conductor ponies were settling into their harnesses. “Why are they behind the train?” she asked. “Do they need to push for some reason?” Applejack gave her an odd look. “You don’t push trains, sugar,” she said. “They’re gonna pull us east, so we’re outta Celestia’s way if she keeps moving west.” Twilight thought about that for a moment. It was logical and smart, so it should have been no surprise that the earth ponies would make that decision, but something nagged at her mind. “Isn’t Appleloosa to the west?” she asked. The ponies around her suddenly grew silent. Applejack went pale beneath her coat. “Oh hay,” she mumbled. She muscled her way to the edge of the car and shouted down at the conductors. “Braeburn! Change of plans! We’re going west! And step on it!” *** Trixie woke up, to her mild surprise, on her bed in the saloon. She had half expected to wake up in a dungeon, or in chains in a paddy wagon heading back to Canterlot. And that was if she was lucky – Celestia might simply decide that swiftness is its own virtue, and rip the torc from her chest in a gory display of justice. She reached a hoof up to her breast to touch the torc. Still there. She tried her magic. Still not there. The sky outside her window was dim, though the faint tint of dawn could be seen in the east. Loud voices, the same that had woken her, drifted up from the street. Apparently ponies got to work early in Appleloosa. She got up and trotted to the window long enough to close the shutters. She was halfway back to her bed when a frantic knocking of hooves came from her door. She had known this was coming. Ever since last night, when they told her Celestia was near, she knew it was only a matter of time. The knocking repeated. “I’m coming,” she called. “I give up.” She threw the latch and opened the door, ready to surrender to the guards on the other side. Big Mike stood alone in the hallway. She gave the showmare an odd look. “That’s… great,” she said. “But we need to go. The mayor’s ordered an evacuation.” “Huh?” Trixie replied. It was not her best moment. “Something went wrong with Celestia. I don’t have all the details but apparently she’s crazy and now we need to get out of here.” “…huh?” The small mare sighed. “Look, just grab your stuff and meet me downstairs. The last train leaves in ten minutes.” She turned and trotted down the stairs, muttering something beneath her breath. Trixie only caught the word “unicorns.” Trixie stood, rooted to the floor, for a full minute. All the possible meanings and implications of Big Mike’s message and the evacuation ran through her head. Another shout from downstairs finally kicked her into motion. She grabbed her saddlebags and cloak, wrapping the latter around her chest and head to hide her torc and horn. It wasn’t a perfect disguise, or even a good one, but with any luck it would keep casual observers from realizing she wasn’t an earth pony. Big Mike was waiting for her when she reached the stairs, and together they trotted out into the gloom of the desert morning. Only a few ponies were left, readying saddlebags with personal treasures and other belongings for the evacuation. Judging by the piles of household goods in the street, there wasn’t much room in the trains for anything but ponies and what they could carry. “Come on, they’ll be waiting for us,” Big Mike said. They walked briskly down the empty streets to the last train, a simple affair with five passenger cars, the first four of which were already full. The head of the train was a bustle of activity, all of it centered on an unusually tall pegasus with a horn. Trixie stumbled as her legs locked up. Big Mike stopped a few paces ahead, looking back at her in concern. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Nothing, just tired,” she lied. The two trotted the rest of the way to the train, while Trixie studiously avoiding looking toward the indigo alicorn directing the evacuation effort. They were given seats in the final car, which was only half full, just minutes before the last ponies in Appleloosa boarded. The train pulled away from the town with surprising speed. Apparently they were in a hurry. Trixie said so to an older brown stallion standing next to her. “Ayup,” he responded. “If you’d seen what we did out there with Celestia, you’d be running too.” “I beg your pardon?” Trixie said. She and Big Mike sidled closer to the stallion. The town receded in the distance behind them, lit from behind by the gentle glow of the rising sun. He sighed. “Well, I don’t know how much of this is true, but…” he started, and launched into a description of the desert encampment. For perhaps the first time in her life, Trixie knew true fear. *** After the other ponies left, Celestia had a few minutes to herself. On the one hoof, she was glad her sister and Twilight fled so rapidly. Their chances of escape were better if they left right away, rather than lingering out of some false hope that her warning was a mistake. Thousands of years of life as the ruler of Equestria had taught Celestia a certain pragmatism and acceptance of life’s trials, but she couldn’t bear the thought of being responsible for hurting her beloved student. On the other hoof, they had abandoned her rather quickly, and now she was alone. She couldn’t be upset with them – she’d demanded it, after all. It would be rather petty of her to expect somepony to stay and provide her with company, only to be incinerated a few minutes later. But still, it would have been nice to have somepony to talk to. She realized she wasn’t thinking straight. The rays of the sun, refracted though they were through the atmosphere, were already interfering with her thoughts. She could hear it singing to her from below the horizon, now just minutes from rising. Soon she would be alive again. The torc called to her. It was close now, just a dozen or so miles away. A few minutes of flying and it would be hers; she could be whole. This nightmare would become a thing of the past. The sky to the east caught fire as the tip of the sun broke over the mountains. The first light of dawn washed over her like a gentle rain, cleansing away the complex thoughts that bedeviled her mind. Only the torc remained. She was confused, at first. Solid matter, an anathema to her nature, somehow held her trapped. It liquefied within moments and she stepped out of the burning crater with ease. A new river of lava flowed from the mountainside beneath her like an open wound. She fanned her wings, stretching them to catch the sun’s light. It filled her with power and life, and set a spark to the star burning within her breast. The princess that her subjects called Celestia vanished, and a god was reborn. The mountainside ignited as she lifted into the sky. The pitiful, oxygen-based flames quickly suffocated as the air around her superheated to a near vacuum, only to be replaced by hotter fires as the minerals within the rocks began to decompose and react with each other. Within seconds the ground beneath her was a bubbling slag of lava for hundreds of yards around. She rose above the mountains and paused. A brilliant sphere a dozen feet wide appeared around her; the rarified air literally glowed as it absorbed and reemitted her radiance. She ignored the light (it was hers, after all), and concentrated on the sensation of the missing torc, so close it practically felt beneath her. It was to the west, she eventually decided. The glowing sphere broke apart and vanished as she moved through the air. A burning contrail followed in her wake. For the first time in her reign, Celestia came to visit Appleloosa. *** “Where does this train lead?” Luna asked. Her voice slurred as the weight of the sun pressed against her mind. “Las Pegasus,” Applejack replied. “It’s a long ride, though. We’ll prolly git there after dark.” Luna nodded. “Please tell me it’s not due west of here.” “Nope. It’s quite a bit north of here, actually. As long as Celestia keeps goin’ west, we’ll be fine.” “What is west of here, anyway?” Twilight asked. She mentally reviewed the library’s maps in her mind, but as far as she could remember there were no major cities or settlements in the direction Celestia was heading. “More desert, then some mountains, then the ocean,” Braeburn said. He had joined them in the lead car as they pulled away from Appleloosa. “There’s no big cities out there. Or small ones!” “So where is she going?” Twilight asked. None of the others could answer. *** Appleloosa was mercifully empty when Celestia arrived. The wooden buildings didn’t last long enough to greet her. They began to smoke before she got within a mile of the town. The painted facades crisped to a uniform black as they ignited, sending a column of smoke high into the sky before the terrible hurricane of winds surrounding her tore it to shreds. The once-princess landed on the outskirts of the town near the rail station. The ground crackled beneath her hooves, liquefying and later resolidifying into a curious glassy mineral eventually named “Applelite,” in honor of the town’s memory. The buildings ceased to burn as she approached, and simply turned to ash. The torc was here somewhere. She could smell its magic, taste the metal bonds that held its matrix together against the furnace in her heart. It had been here just hours ago. The very ground reeked of its presence. She searched the town, briefly. By that point Appleloosa was a rapidly expanding cloud of gas, and wasn’t able to conceal much from her view. The few metal objects owned by the earth ponies, such as the anvil in the blacksmith’s shop, lasted several minutes longer before eventually evaporating along with every other bit of solid matter in the town. The torc was gone. She was so close, and yet so far. The tiny star that was Celestia rose again into the sky, circling the glowing remains of the town. Wider and wider she gyred, her senses extended to listen for the tiny bit of magic that would complete her. There, to the west. Again to the west. She angled her wings, pointless though they were, and shot through the air in pursuit. It called to her, the torc. It wanted her as much as she wanted it. Celestia flew to her birthright.