Twilight Daylight: Dawn of Equus

by thedarktome

Chapter 34 - Eris

They say that one's thoughts keep awake the mind. It's basic logic, true, when one's brain constantly runs, it keeps you awake. Maybe that explains why Twilight couldn't sleep. Why she instead chose to spend the next few hours before the sun rose on the horizon staring down the beam of light from the safety, silence and security of their tower.

That's where she was. The Goddess of Creation. Narmeelah. No doubt she, too, was anxious for their arrival. Ready for the zenith of her plan.

"But what is your plan?" Twilight muttered to herself. "What do you want, apart from destruction? Why?"

The door to the entrance of the tower clanked and opened. Twilight's ears flicked in their direction.

"...can leave the Lieutenant in charge here with her Captains," Dawn ordered upon walking inside with Secretary Manny, Admiral Shooting Star, Princesses Celestia, Cadance, and Luna, Queen Novo, Sunset and Starlight. "We can then assess... Oh, morning, mom."

Twilight looked over her shoulder and smiled at Dawn. "Good morning, my babies. Did you sleep well?"

Celestia walked over to the table and eyed Twilight's many notes and theories stacked upon their work station.

"I believe the real question is did you get any sleep at all?" She picked up a document and read the top line briefly. "It seems you were struck with a case of the all-nighters again."

Twilight lost her smile and faced the window again. "Out of all the things I've uncovered about Narmeelah, the schemes, the manipulations... I have yet to uncover how she plans to power the Central Rune. Let alone her true motivation for doing so."

Twilight reached out towards the glass. "It's funny. I feel like the answer is within reach. A spread of my wings away, a breath from my very existence."

Twilight lowered her hoof and turned around. "But I can't even see it."

"Maybe it's too obvious," Dawn suggested. She morphed into First Light. "Morning, mom! And I agree with Dawn. It's so simple that even you can't recognize it."

Twilight hummed and walked towards the table. She nuzzled Dawn and Light behind the ear.

"Well, whatever it is, we'll find out soon enough. What's our status?"

Secretary Manny saluted. "All soldiers are aware and accounted for. We are prepping the Pods now for the trip. We also managed to locate an army's worth of comm blocks in the warehouses for communication."

Dawn added, "Secretary Manny will be staying here to command Operation Skyfall and observe through the cameras."

Admiral Shooting Star pointed to the table around Twilight's notes. "The Front Lawn and four more Aquatas are two-thirds from Psera now. Weapons are hot and ready to fire at our command."

Then they were almost ready. Just one more order of business.

"Have we figured out a path yet?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Secretary Manny answered. She shifted Twilight's studies to the side and turned on the map of Psera.

"Wow, it's so much bigger than I thought," Celestia stated out loud. The country really did look like a snowflake. Celestia took a note out of Psera's book for later when they'd begin rebuilding Equestria. Their take on design was always beautiful. Even their chariots were... Well, they certainly couldn't be called chariots.

Secretary Manny pointed at SERL. "This is us currently. Marker."

One of SERL's technicians passed her a pen she caught in her teeth. "We'll be traveling from here all the way into Snow. Expect a lot of destruction and obstacles."

"Snow was the headquarters for all major corporations and businesses throughout Psera, and, at one point, the world," Dawn clarified. "You thought Cop was impressive? Cop is where Psera's government lived. Snow was the root to all of Psera's greatest accomplishments. Everything you see around us has to get past Snow first before it even reaches Cop, then the world after that."

Secretary Manny drew lines and roads through Snow on the map. "We'll be taking a caravan through here, all the way into the outskirts of Cop."

"We thought about sending in some scouts to give us a better reading on what we would be dealing with. But we all agreed to wait until we're actually there to make that decision."

"Why?" Arcadia asked.

"Because we may encounter trouble along the way. Narmeelah's daughters are still out there. They'll be watching us as much as we'll be watching them. We'll plan as we move, because their strategy will change as much as theirs."

"Once we reach Cop," Manny continued. "Then—"

"I will confront Narmeelah directly," Twilight interrupted. "Our army will deal with their army and we begin engaging the weapon from here. Once it fires..."

Twilight looked to Dawn. "I assume that's when..."

"Yeah," Dawn confirmed. She smiled sadly and nodded. "Then Light and I will fight Narmeelah."

The rising sun did little to bring warmth to the situation. Dawn would be going up against Narmeelah, an enemy none of them have faced, but whose power they have all seen.

"Your highness..." Dawn turned in the direction of Secretary Manny. She bowed slowly. "Your safety will always be my priority. We will get you there safely, and you will have all the technology and weaponry we have at our disposal, shall you require. You will not be fighting alone. Not if your kingdom can help in the fight."

"You have the sworn magic of Equestria," Celestia added as well.

"Light, and Dark," Luna agreed.

"The science of SERL," Teek inputted proudly.

"...and the wisdom, magic, and protection of your mother," Arcadia finally finished. She stepped closer into Dawn's personal space and raised her wings confidently. "No one will lay a hoof, talon, claw, or wing on you. Not while I'm around."

"Which leads us to your security." Secretary Manny lead them over to the windows looking into Serl, specifically a large steel pod, bigger and thicker than anything Dawn has ever seen. With eight wheels so thick it could be mistaken as boulders. It towered over the rest of the convoy. "Arcadia, we managed to uncover your Black Box."

"Black Box?" Dawn asked.

"It was invented for what would have been our family," Arcadia admitted. "Your father and I were thinking, at one point, having more foals. We weren't sure how the public would react to such a large royal branch, and with Psera out of the shadows, we envisioned multiple threats. Not just from Psera, but from all over the world. The more foals we'd have, the more vulnerable the crown would be. So, with paranoia being my driving force for the safety of my family, I designed and developed the Black Box. A vehicle capable of withstanding not only a blast from Railer One, but even a blast from my horn, Luna's, Celestia's, Cadance's, and the power of the Crystal Heart combined. It's outfitted with runes able to absorb any spell. The steel is so thick that it would take days to melt and can only be locked and unlocked from the inside.

"It has direct contact with Lavender, The COTG, and SERL, and weapons on the inside just in case external security does not work."

"The only windows on this machine is the windshield," Manny added. "Which, unless I'm mistaken, is also spelled to reflect both matter and magic."

"You are correct," Arcadia confirmed.

"...wow," Cadance muttered.

"That would have been nice to have when I first returned to Psera after all of that," Dawn muttered.

"We never used it because it was too heavy to transport along Psera bridges," Manny stated. "Inside of the Black Box you will have four Arcadian Elite Royal Guards, and two pilots. You will have ten Elite in front, behind, left side, and right side. Directly in front of the Pod you will have Arcadia Nova and Odega. Behind you will have Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. The others will choose. The Black Box will be the fortieth vehicle in the caravan. Here."

She passed Queen Dawn a Comm Block. "Inside of the Black Box will be a visual feed and monitor that will allow you to communicate with us here at SERL. This block is connected to all commanding officers. I doubt you will need it. But if you do, you will have it."

Dawn sat down and slid it onto her hoof. Felt like the old days. She smiled softly. "Anything else?"

"Yes. If you have to use the bathroom, I suggest you do it now. This is going to be a long ride. Snow is hours away by land. The pods aren't slow, but they're also not fast."

"What about our rules of engagement?" Twilight asked.

"For Narmeelah and her daughters, shoot to kill on sight. For citizens, we want to stun and detain them first and foremost. Narmeelah has their minds, not their souls. Anymore questions?"

They all looked among each other before Cadance asked, "When do we leave?"

"O'six hundred. It's five twenty-one."

"Then let's not waste any time." Dawn turned and left with four of her captains. "Begin rounding up our army. Brief and run."

"Yes, ma'am," they replied.

---

Look at them down there. Frolicking. Cuddling up. Braving through this same as if there was no storm at all. But from Kia's vantage point, atop this hill of dirt, she could see the entire world ending. The fall of Equestria, the washout of Psera. The freezing of the Crystal Empire. It was all coming undone.

Why should she care? She never really had a place in this world. Just a standard construction worker sliding beneath the radar. Heck, to prove a point that her existence didn't even matter, she trotted to the top of this hill, away from everyone else.

Not a single pair of eyes noticed her. Notice the dirt she kicked up by running up this hill. Stars above, sje could even make out Dusty down there, sleeping with his parents.

She had no such luxury.

"It's hard, isn't it?"

Erikia gasped and stood up. Sitting next to her was another pony. An Alicorn she had yet to meet. Well, she's seen a lot of Alicorns. There was an entire continent dedicated to them, and they all flew here. Of course she's seen them.

But this one... She's never seen her before. She had a pearlesque white coat, light gray eyes, and flawless beautiful wings. Her mane was long. Glowing with power and beauty. But her stare, it was filled with sadness, watching the scene before her eyes unfold.

Erikia swallowed and asked, "What?"

"It's hard. Being out here alone while the world ends. Isn't it?" She shifted her sight over to Kia, peering deep into the darkness that was her soul.

Kia felt more at ease. She sat back down and stared into the storm clouds off the coast.

"...yeah," she finally answered. "Everybody has someone they can count on to be there even at the end of the world. I... I don't have that."

"Neither do I."

Erikia turned back to her in surprise.

"Really? I'm sorry, but I find that hard to believe."

The Alicorn chuckled before rising and turning around. She began to walk away into what was left of the Everfree Forest.

"I'm flattered. But my life never allowed me to settle down, start a family, make friends, all of those lovely luxuries. I'm always on the move." She stopped and smiled back up to Kia. "In the process, I discovered a much more beautiful world. Or worlds, I should say."

Kia tilted her head before rising. She followed her down the hill, out of the sight of the rest of Equus.

"Worlds?" She repeated. "What do you mean worlds? Who are you?"

"Eris," she answered. "My name is Eris. I'm a traveler."

"Of worlds?"

She chortled again and began walking once more. "I'm a traveler of sorts. Not just worlds."

Okay, worlds sounded a lot better. But whatever, Kia could roll with the punches. Not the first time she's heard of something crazy. Her best friend isn't even flesh and blood. She could take this.

Kia trotted closer to Eris' side. "If you're a traveler of worlds, then why are you here?"

"Good question, my young star," she answered. She stopped and faced Kia. "I'm here... Because of you."

She booped Kia's nose, whose eyes crossed each other briefly before angling back up to Eris' in confusion.

"...me?" She scoffed and shook her head. "Why me?"

"Because you have a lot of potential."

"You sound like my therapist."

"See?" Eris pointed down to Kia in excitement. "Like that! Why do you have a therapist? Or, rather, why did you?"

Kia was beginning to have second thoughts about Eris. She took one step back.

"Ummm... My—"

"Parents. They died. Right? Yeah, that's what the others said."

Kia's eyes blinked wide. "Others? What are you talking about?"

"The other versions of yourself. What if I told you that you, Erikia Malnoro Torue, have a place in this coming new world? When this is all over... You can be the most powerful pony there ever was?"

Kia looked down to the ashes beneath their hooves whilst she continued.

"What if I told I've met you before; In countless lives, through countless worlds and events?"

She reached out and tilted Kia's eyes up to meet hers. Wow. They... They were filled with stars. Colors. Galaxies.

"...I would say...that's insane," Kia answered. "I'd say... It makes no sense."

"Yet, here we are. Look around us."

Kia averted her gaze to the landscape of destruction; to the sky above glowing a deep purple. To the storm clouds in the distance flashing violet. Stars, she couldn't even see the sun anymore.

"Wh-what's your point?"

"My point is that you can save them. You can stop all of this, and change Equus for the better."

"If it—"

"You won't have to hurt anyone," Eris interrupted. "Not if there's another way. Sometimes, though, a little slight of hoof will be required. But it would be for the benefit of ponykind."

Kia walked back up the hill to see all the ponies facing away from her. Watching the action unfold. As usual, she would be in the background, struggling to fight. Wishing she could do anything to help. Alas, she always stood on the sidelines.

Eris creeped up behind her. "You can save them all. You can help make Equus even better than it was before."

"Can't they do it?" She whirled around and sneered up to Eris with hate. "The princesses, the Kings, the Queens?"

She whispered to herself, "Queen Dawn?"

"They can, they do, and I think you and I both know they will." She walked past Kia and stood tall on the hill. "But what if I told you... It's not in this world?"

Kia's face of hate morphed into curiosity. "...what?"

Eris looked back and smiled. "What if I told you they fail, and all of you die? Including someone very important to your friend first? What if I told you something goes wrong, and Narmeelah wins?"

"N-no," Kia stammered. "No, that's impossible. You're lying!"

"Oh, but it is possible. I know, because I've seen it with my own eyes." She faced Kia again. "I told you, I'm a traveler..."

She leaned down and smiled into Kia's face. He mane draped over her face. Her eyes glowed in the shadows they created. "...of sorts."

She straightened back up and walked past Kia again. Her horn illuminated. A bright white light suddenly filled the darkness, forcing Kia to cover her face before it dimmed.

In front of them was a white portal. Filled with an intense light so bright, that she couldn't even open her eyes. Eris, however, stared directly into it. Coming from it was a light wind, blowing through their feathers and manes.

"What if I told you my real name is Eris, Mistress of Time, and that I control the way time flows, and the events that happen within it?"

Kia had no words, except one question. "...time magic?"

"Time magic," Eris confirmed. "It's never been done, or rather, not in this world. Not yet. But it has in other worlds. In other streams of time. Now..."

She faced Kia once more. "What if I told you that the only pony to ever be able to control time was Erikia Torue, the first pony to ever do it, in every last single one of them?"

"I would say..." Kia didn't know what to say. "Wait, Pserateps can't control magic!"

"Oh, yes they can. But not all of them. Narmeelah can. She's a Pseratep." Kia couldn't deny and say that wasn't a good point. "I can teach you, my young star. You can save all of them."

"How do I know you're not lying? That you're making all of this up?"

"Apart from the billions of ponies destined to perish if you don't believe me? Well... I suppose whatever you believe I possibly have to gain by lying. My goal is to protect these worlds and their timelines. Right now, all of that is at stake. If Narmeelah wins, the timeline here will collapse. All of you will die, and everything would have been for nothing. But if you come with me, and learn what I have to teach you, that future will change for the better. I promise."

This choice was a massive one. This isn't like she was offered a scholarship, or approved to join the Arcadian Elite Royal Guard. This was beyond even that. This was... This was saving all of Equus. This was helping billions of ponies get home.

Kia faces Eris. "What do I get out of this? If I go with you..."

Eris extended her hoof in Kia's direction. "You'll finally have a purpose in your life. A future so bright it would have been thought unattainable. Eventually, with time, millions will look to you for guidance. Like the millions did of Narmeelah, without the secrets. You can have your own kingdom, your own world floating among the stars."

"And... We won't have to hurt anyone?"

"Only if deemed necessary, and we've run out of options. We'll control time. There would be no need for violence."

Kia swallowed hard. Never in her life would she have thought something like this would be possible. Seriously, look at her. This small pony from an orphanage, with no other skills but to hold a hammer and nail. She was irrelevant to life here.

But this pony, holding her hoof out to her, was offering her a chance to be more. So much more.

Why shouldn't she take it?

"Will I ever come back?"

Eris chuckled and answered, "I swear to the Infinite Well, it will be like you never left. You'll be back just in time to save them all."

Kia slipped her hoof into Eris'. She allowed herself to be guided to the portal. But before she reached the edge of the ring, she stopped.

"Wait, one more question."

"Yes?"

"...how long will it take? I want to be back in time to do this."

Eris laughed and guided her through the portal before it shut, leaving the hill vacant once more.

"It will take no time at all."

Author's Note:

Oh... Wow, friends. A new character and insight into the future. What will happen next?

Stay tuned, and I hoped you enjoyed this surprise chapter!

🙏🏾

Comments

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

11658207

She has lost trust with her family and kingdom and now has to kind of work to get it back.

I think they also owe Twilight/Arcadia a big apology for not believing her with the real threat of Narmeelah.

[bkam]

[Nick_The_Savage_174]

11662036
Twilight/ Arcadia does also owe an apology to all lives she killed or hurt during and after her assault on the Zebras and almost killed both her friends and family when she went on a rampage trying to eradicate all magic in the last book. Unless I’ve forgotten, she still hasn’t apologized or seemed to show regret or remorse for either of those events.

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

11664694

Well, guess the author needs to finally address both of those issues with both par later on.