Restoring a wasteland.

by Aiwhisper

Ch1. First plan.

“So…” I said awkwardly. Sunset and I had found a guest suite that was still in decent condition with fully functional cooling crystals keeping out the heat.

Sunset took a deep breath. “Let’s start with who you are.”

“Well that’s a bit of a story so just hear me out ok.” She nodded before I explained. “I’m a human. Not like the ones you know of but a third world.” It was strange what I could and couldn’t remember but now wasn’t the time to dwell.

“I was brought here by Harmony to help you after my death.” I rubbed the back of my neck after explaining the meeting.

“So let me get this straight you died and were sent to help me but don’t know anything else?” I could tell she was struggling not to yell as I nodded. “Fucking great. I finally return home and the first pony I find isn’t even a pony let alone an actual alicorn, just a human who knows nothing about Equis.” She covered her face with her hooves.

“Hey! I’m just as shocked as you are but I do have some idea as to what might have happened!” I was a bit upset she thought so little of me. It was bad enough I had apparently died I wasn’t about to be belittled.

Sunset sighed. “Sorry, just… explain.”

“So I think Starlight Glimmer happened.” I explained what I knew about the timelines and how things should have gone. When she asked how I knew what I did, I blamed Harmony.

“So Starlight prevented a few friendships, big deal. How could it lead to this?” She pointed towards a window. When I looked outside at the blazing afternoon I felt a strange sensation telling me that it should be night time.

“It wasn’t just any friendships, it was Twilight Sparkle’s friendships, my counterpart on this world. Without her friends she never found the elements, never saved Luna, and who knows what happened after that.” I exclaimed with spread wings.

“Makes as much sense as Harmony dragging you here I guess.” Sunset rubbed her temples the stood up to think. She paced the room a few times then stepped over towards the window. Without a word she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and lit her horn. The sun slowly descended in the sky making way for the night.

Watching her, I felt a compulsion to stand by her side and do the same with the moon. Lighting my horn I reached out towards the heavens and coaxed the moon to rise. It almost feels relived at my touch.

“Well that just happened.” Sunset looked outside into the darkness. The room slowly felt cooler as we just watched the stars. She eventually asked, “What do we do now?”

I looked up towards the moon, my moon. “Well, how long is the portal still open?” I knew it could be kept open but that required the journals.

Sunset pulled out her phone, no signal but the clock worked. “Well looks like I’ve been here just a few hours so another few days, why?” Sunset didn’t ask how I knew about it, she probably assumed it was because of the ‘Harmony’ creature.

“Well we have a few options then from what I can see. First we could just leave Equis through the portal and never return, go our separate ways and live with humanity.” Saying this caused some pain in my flank as my mark began to itch so I quickly continued, “Or, we do what Harmony wants. We take over as the new rulers while rebuilding this world.”

Sunset gawked at me then laughed like a mad mare. “You want to…” she took a breath. “How the fuck are we supposed to do that?!? You and I may be the alicorns of the sun and moon now, but what about the land? It’s been baked for Celestia knows how long!” She listed off other reasons staying would never work then finished with. “And even if, big if, we could restore the land there’s no ponies and while you’re handsome I will NOT give birth to that many children.” She took a deep breath to finish her rant. She had no idea where that last line came from and blushed heavily.

“Well I was more thinking we bring stuff through the portal. I may not remember everything about my last life but I knew quite a bit. If you really want to stay, we could start by trading gold for money to buy enough supplies to last until you get the portal to open when we want. Then we bring seeds and maybe even volunteers to move here.” It was an insane plan. I knew it, Sunset knew it, Harmony probably knew it, and yet she didn’t say no.

“How would we keep it open?” She narrowed her eyes a bit.

“Your journal, if we can find the matching set you could force it to stay open. We could also move the gate on the other side to someplace a bit more secure. It would be a start.” I finished with a shrug of my wings.

“You could do that?” She looked impressed then crestfallen when I replied.

“Oh not a chance.” I shook my head. “I know it can be done but my magic knowledge is limited to basic skills. And moving the moon apparently. But!” I placatingly held my hooves up. “But, I could do most of the other tasks like fixing the garden up for food, cleaning up the castle, and investigating what happened around here.”

Sunset resumed her pacing of the guest room mumbling to herself. She would flutter her wings now and then or pull out her phone to look at a picture. As she paced I checked the room for anything useful. Surprisingly I found a small fridge which still contained a few cold drinks. The convenience of magic.

“Alright.” Sunset declared just after my first sip of Pony Cola. “I have a plan. We are returning back to Earth and will live there as we prepare until I can find a way to move the portal and force it open whenever we want.”

I felt the itch again and had to speak up. “What about the sun and moon? We just got them moving again.”

Sunset clicked her tong and under her breath cursed the celestial bodies that couldn’t move on their own. “We. We cross that bridge last. For now we collect some stuff to trade, hunt for my journal’s pair and do some light investigating. You with me?” She held out a hoof.

I gave it a bump. “Harmony literally brought me for the job.”

---

After separating I went one way and Sunset another. The first goal was to collect some supplies for Survival. Sunset said bits would be easiest to get from the castle vault but wasn’t sure she could open it so we would check there tomorrow. I had already found some saddle bags in another guest room along with, what looked like, a maid’s diary. Read that later.

When I found another door I was unable to open I thought back to Sunset’s warning.“Now remember, do not force any doors, the wards are probably still active.”

Trying another yet another door I sighed when it wouldn’t open. It’s going to take us forever to re-key the castle to our magic.

Walking along I tested my magic by levitating a few random items I had found. At least Harmony was nice enough to give me the basic skills. Man I miss hands though.

Continuing my search I eventually located the kitchens and was unable to find anything left. Looks like the place was ransacked for food, not even dry goods are left. Wonder how Sunset is doing?

---

Sunset walked the abandoned halls of the castle and couldn’t help but feel nostalgic every time she recognized a painting or other work of art. “I still can’t believe so much is intact, glad I told Dusk not to ransack the place, especially if it’s going to be our new home.”

Sunset still wasn’t quite sure about the male Alicorn Harmony had basically dropped into her lap but he had been helpful so far. “Best keep moving.” She shook out the stray thoughts.

When Sunset reached Celestia’s chambers, she gasped then began to tear up when the door let her open it without resistance. “She never took my signature off the ward.”

Looking around her mother’s old room she found it undamaged. No one knew she had been Celestia’s daughter and it had been the primary reason she left, the fact her mother never told anyone including Sunset herself. ”Mom, what happened to you if everything here looks fine? Why couldn’t you just talk to me before I found out on my own and felt the need to run.”

Sunset walked the room and ended up at the bookshelf. Scanning the books she found her mother’s copy of their journal. Pulling out her copy from her saddle bags she touched the two together, strengthening the fading bond. “With how week magic on Earth is I’m surprised it had lasted so long.”

Putting both journals as well as a few other books into her saddle bags she took one last look around the room to return to the meeting spot. “Heh, well mom your room is finally mine.”

Before she left she spotted her mothers golden crown upon the bed’s pillow. Stealing her face she magically lifted the crown toward herself and set it upon her head. “I will fix this.”

---

Making my way back I found Sunset had already returned and was loafing on the bed, crown upon her head. “Any luck?”

“A bit, Whatever happened looks to have caused a massive famine. The kitchen was barren but I found a few oatmeal bars in a guest room. You?” I asked hopefully and passed her one.

Sunset held up one out the twin journals. “Yep, looks like mom kept hers all these years so I should be able to work on the portal. She didn’t write anything about what happened. She just begged me to come home.” Sunset sniffled. “I never even bothered reading it out of fear, until tonight. I figured I wouldn’t need to when I saw her in person or pony in her case. Heh, that will take some time.”

I hopped up onto the bed and draped a wing over her. “We could just change the language.” I thought aloud then, “I see you found her crown.” Sunset nodded then nuzzled into my neck and began to cry openly until she fell asleep.

Without moving I used my magic to cover us in a blanket as the castle was becoming chilly, apparently the weather had become active. Strong cold winds had begun to blow due too the sun finally moving again. Just another thing to deal with, rouge weather.

As the wind howled I pulled out the journal I had found. Hopefully it has some answers.

Comments

[NevianDragonPhoenix]

Well i say the interaction are comical in a good way.
Thou such silence here....

[MurderP0n7]

I now understand what you mean by ambitious, survival fics are either pretty good or they’re pretty boring, I hope with the ideas you have it’s pretty good and you give it an interesting address, especially since it seems that Sunset and Dusk are the only living pony and I am sure that many Human refugees would seek a new life in that desert world (from the good and harmonic to the bad and chaotic)

Although I have a question.... and Discord?