Twilight Daylight: Dawn of Equus

by thedarktome

Chapter 33 - Planning Session

Author's Note:

I'm so sorry for the lack if communication, friends. I've been really busy with my new job. I hope this chapter will appease you for the time being.

Thank you for being such loyal readers of the Twilight Daylight series. I love you all!

The weapons were safely secured within the walls of Serl. Enemy eyes and ears would have no clue where they were being held. Of course with their current track record obliviousness wouldn't be on their side for too long. It was beat to stay prepared. Arcadia Nova once again suited up in the best gear she had. The cameras watching Psera were still connected. This would be their post for operations.

If Narmeelah would attack again, they would know.

The scientists left behind in Serl were informed about the situation to the fullest. That Narmeelah was behind it all all along, that they had a plan of action, and that Twilight's daughter was the key to defeating her. Then, with much persistence by Cadance, Twilight was once again put under her daughter's heat lamp for the Final Switch weapon she created.

"Mom!!" Dawn scolded. "Really?"

Twilight held her head high and strode through the ponies surrounding her to the glass windows facing Psera. Uncaring to the stares following along.

"The moment I was crowned as Queen, my goal has always been to protect Psera," she admitted. "The weapons I create would only be used to fulfill that goal. This specific weapon would only be used if we have exhausted all other options."

Twilight faced her daughter and the team again. "I'd prefer it stay back in my laboratories, but that wouldn't be wise given the severity of the situation. I wasn't going to use it, but it's better than to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. For now, it will remain in Serl."

Dawn took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "As long as it is secure, and away from all hooves, I don't care where it is. Commander?"

A soldier wearing a white uniform strolled forward and saluted.

"Grab a team, and secure the Final Switch in Level Z," Dawn ordered.

"Yes, ma'am."

She turned back to her mother. "Mom, no more secret weapons, jeez. I'd be embarrassed if I wasn't so impressed."

Twilight giggled and pulled her daughter under her wing. "Okay, okay. I promise this time, there are no more weapons stashed. This is the final one, hence the name 'The Final Switch.'"

She looked out the window and observed the desert landscape before them. Her smile dropped. Tomorrow morning, they would be rising and finally facing what became of their home. Most of the ponies here have already witnessed the aftermath of their own worlds going up in smoke.

Psera was the center of it all. The source of the destruction. Everything started here, so it will end here.

Twilight let her gaze drift down to Fresh Dawn. No doubt the same thing was going through her mind. Jeez, look at her. She had her father's focus and her own eyes, filled with steel and determination. Would things have been different if she never sacrificed herself for Equus before? Would Dawn still be here?

"Your father would be very proud of you, my little Veola." Dawn shifted her sights up to her mother, staring down upon her with pride. She's seen her mother smile before, but this time there was something different behind it. As if she was being draped with a warm blanket in a cold room.

She faced her fully. "You think so?"

"I know so." She leaned down and placed a loving kiss on her horn and guided her into a hug beneath her wing. "The entire family's proud of you."

"Thanks, mom," Dawn mumbled into her coat.

"Let's get back to the table." Twilight let her go and escorted her back to the group conversing plans over the map of Psera. Likely this meeting would take many hours.

One of their commanding officers saluted. "I just received word that The Cleansing Project has been secured."

"The Cleansing Project?" Teek asked. She referred to Arcadia. "I thought it was locked away years ago."

"It was," Arcadia confirmed. "However, we're going to weaponize it against Narmeelah."

"We'll use it to weaken her temporarily," Queen Dawn explained. "Then we'll be giving it our all to defeat her."

"What about the ponies there?" She turned to one of the screens spotting the room, showcasing the images of all the Pserateps under Narmeelah's control. "What happens to them?"

"If they're controlled by Narmeelah's magic, then the only way to free them... Is by defeating Narmeelah."

"We don't want to stop them permanently," Celestia iterated. "But we are aware that Narmeelah doesn't value life like we do. If she wants them to kill us, and one of them gets close to doing so, we will have no choice but to stop the threat by any means necessary."

"Does that include the foals too?"

"Including the foals, yes."

"So, say we weaken Narmeelah," Singe assumed. "What then?"

Twilight looked down to Fresh Dawn. "Then, my daughter will engage with her."

"Queen Dawn?" Teek asked.

"Fresh Dawn's primary magic is dark. Dark magic has a cancellation affect on normal magic. Each hit will cut through her like a knife through butter. But Narmeelah has stronger defenses, thus the reason we have to weaken her first with The Cleansing Project."

"Once we weaken her and we begin to secure all of the Pserateps, and nothing goes wrong in the process, we can hit Narmeelah with everything we got, and she's gone. For good this time."

Teek looked down to the table. "But with an enemy like this, you and I both know, Arcadia, that a plan such as this will not be so easy."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Arcadia addressed the rest of the room. "We've already come across two of Narmeelah's daughters and Molten Ice. There's no doubt in my mind that there are more of them waiting for us. The closer we get, the likely we'll come in contact with them."

"But now that we have weapons that can also do considerable damage," Sunset spoke up. "We should be able to combat them affectively."

"That's what I'm hoping for. So, here's the plan for tomorrow." They gathered around the map Twilight began pointing at. "We'll be leaving a full front here to secure The Final Switch and warm The Cleansing Project while the rest of us journey for Cop. We'll have air visuals and ground visuals while we move. It will take up to two hours to arrive at Snow. At that point we'll slow our speed for caution. No doubt we'll run into someone there.

"Afterwards, we'll reach Cop and confront the army there waiting for us. While we travel..." Twilight swiped the map off of Psera all the way back to Equestria. "We get three of our ships moving back to Psera so they can provide offshore assistance."

Dawn looked to her counsel. "Admiral, I want those ships moving now, full speed ahead."

He saluted. "Yes, ma'am."

Dawn referred back to Arcadia. "What else?"

"We reach Narmeelah and the remaining Daughters. I will be confronting Narmeelah personally while the rest of you confront the army. Princesses?"

She looked to Celestia, Luna, Cadance, even Queen Novo. "You will be protecting Dawn and Light until The Cleansing Project fires. Narmeelah will then be weakened, Dawn and First Light can fight Narmeelah—"

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on!" Starlight interrupted. "Sorry to cut you off, but this cleansing project is made to stop magic right? So, how will Dawn defeat Narmeelah? Dawn is nothing but magic. Won't the Cleansing Project stop her too?"

Oh, yeah! Wait... Fear struck the place where Dawn's heart would be. Starlight was right. If there was no magic how would she fight Narmeelah?

"Because The Cleansing Project doesn't affect Dawn like you think it does. Dark Magic has a different polarity compared to Light Magic. They're reversed. The waves that travel out of the weapon have the same polarity as Dark Magic."

"Wait... That means that The Cleansing Project... Is Dark Magic."

Twilight smiled and nodded her head. "Correct." Dawn released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "The cleansing project is on Dawn's side. If anything, it gives Dawn more power. She'll likely have a headache afterwards, but that would mean it's working."

Luna raised her hoof. "With all that being said, how exactly are we going to fight without magic? The weapons that you have given us are lethal and made to kill. Unless I'm mistaken, we're just trying to incapacitate, not kill."

"Correct. Our light magic may be gone, but there's another form of magic we can use. One that won't be broken. Remember that book I gave you?"

Sunset's eyes snapped open. She plunged her hoof into Luna's bag of things and yanked out Twilight's black textbook. She urgently flipped it open and... The pages were lined with words! It was empty back on Equestria!

"This book only works on Psera," Sunset whispered.

"Correct. I couldn't risk having that information falling into the wrong hooves. Equestria, unfortunately, has a bit of a reputation attracting the wrong kind of individuals."

She glanced over to Sky Duster, Tritanium, and Sun Waves. "No offense to you three. There are many others."

"None taken," Sky Duster acknowledged.

Luna swiped the book from Sunset's hooves and held it up. "Twilight..." Luna whispered somberly.

"I know, Luna." Twilight trotted over in her direction. "I... Understand how this makes you feel. But trust me. I made these weapons with not only my daughter in mind, but my friends and allies as well. Using these spells... They won't bring her back."

Luna gazed at the book oddly. "Are you certain? Without a doubt?"

"The spells listed within this book won't be enough to do so. These spells will just be enough to incapacitate."

She took the book from Luna's hold and passed it back to Sunset. "These spells will be optional. As always with magic, this is a choice."

Twilight walked back to the table and faced everyone else. "Regardless, the fights we've had against each other, Discord, The Storm King, even the fight against yours truly... None of those will be compared against the one we will be facing tomorrow. It's our official Day of Judgement. Either we win and rebuild Equus, or we lose, and... Well, you get the gist. With that being said, are there anymore questions?"

None of the room spoke. "Then let's get those Aquatas back here, train with those weapons SAFELY, and prepare for the morning. It's a big day tomorrow, every creature. Remember to get your rest. We may not have another chance to do so."

---

Night had fallen on Psera, flooding the desert beyond Psera's wall in darkness. At least most of it as far as Dawn could see. But there in the distance, far away from her sitting place on the wall, she could see a hazy beam of light strobing into the sky.

Her mane danced gently with the wind. In her hooves, her helmet, free from blemishes. But how long would that last?

"Queen Dawn?"

Dawn turned her attention to Sunset Shimmer, watching her with a smile. She must've climbed the ladder without her hearing.

"Ambassador Shimmer," Dawn acknowledged. "How can I help you?"

"Just thought you could use a little company." Sunset sat next to her and let out a long held sigh. "This is crazy."

"Completely," Dawn agreed. "You know, ponies my age usually have to worry about going to college, driving their first Pod, moving out on their own. Me?"

Dawn scoffed and shook her head. "I have to worry about not getting killed, keeping my mom from blowing up things, learning magic, and... Saving the world."

"Your life has been one for the history books, that's for sure."

"Yeah." They both stared out to the light in the distance, letting silence wash over them. "Think this plan will work?"

"Well, the plan is rough. We don't have eyes on their defenses nor any intel on the remaining daughters. All we have to guarantee an effective strike are weapons, Arcadia Nova, and The Cleansing Project."

"Then let's hope that we can come up with something before. First Light and I have been trying to split our bodies."

Sunset looked back to Dawn. "Split?"

"Yeah. Mom said that the power to give Light her own conscious form lies in us. I just don't know how to do it, and we're almost out of time."

"It'll happen. If there's one thing I know about your family, it's this: Anything is possible and it will come. Especially if you push yourself hard enough."

Huh. Well, she wasn't wrong. They studied Arcadia Nova like she was the goddess of Equus in almost every year in high school, and she accomplished almost everything she put her mind to. This would be the last time she did such a thing. Dawn was sure mom would be retiring for good after this journey.

"Thanks, Sunset."

"You're welcome."

Silence overtook them once more before Dawn asked one final question. "Hey, umm... Do you know where they buried my dad?"

Sunset hummed and shook her head. "I have no idea. But I do recall Arcadia telling us years ago that all of the Fire Family have private mausoleums somewhere on Psera for when they do pass away already prepared."

"Right. Yeah, I almost forgot about that place in Lavender." Dawn sighed deeply and stood. "When this is all over, and if it's still intact, we'll pay him a visit. Thanks for the talk, Sunset. Make sure you get some rest too, okay?"

At her nod, Dawn spread her wings and flew back down into Serl. Tomorrow would be the true start of their war, the true battle for Equus.

Comments

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

The beginning of the end.

[King of Kings]

Regarding this part in the short description: Arcadia's been arrested, the last hope against a coming storm. Narmeelah has returned

So...would you say that Arcadia has fallen?

[thedarktome]

11657548
I would say that Arcadia's power has been replaced, instead of Arcadia has fallen. The term/name Arcadia implies her influence has now been transferred. She has lost trust with her family and kingdom and now has to kind of work to get it back.

Instead, most of her power and influence has been placed on her daughter(s), the combined knowledge and national security between Psera and IHT, and Arcadia herself whom now serves as a guide between them. Arcadia distributes her knowledge between them all and lets them plan around all of it instead of acting directly like she typically does.

[King of Kings]

11658207
I was trying to make a reference to Doctor Who. Specifically, the part of the Time War where, while keeping track of how close to Gallifrey the Daleks had managed to get, one of the Time Lords yells out that Arcadia has fallen.

[thedarktome]

11658371
Never seen it

[King of Kings]

11658483
Eh...I would say that you should, but the quality has tanked in recent years.