Prologue

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They never saw it coming. They never saw the pain and suffering approaching their shores. They never thought they would witness a blood bath and live to tell the tale.

Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle has both witnessed it and fought in it.

Psera, the home for what could be accurately described as Mature Pegasi, more commonly know as Pserateps. Pegasi with longer wings, faster speed, and maximized intelligence. In the past, no one knew they even existed. Thanks to a law that deemed Psera's large and luxurious land be cut off from the rest of the world that was written and printed by their great creator Narmeelah, and enforced by Her Majesty Molten Ice.

That was until Psera was nearly uninhabitable thanks to a Changeling invasion that to this day had no clear motive. They needed help. They needed a miracle to get this land back to its former glory. They needed Twilight Sparkle.

After a disagreement with Equestria, Twilight Sparkle ran away and encountered upon their large and expansive world. A world she and the Pserateps were so happy she stumbled into. Using what is known as "magic," Twilight rebuilt their secluded land from the literal dirt into what it is today: The strongest nation in the entire known world. With a mass of new technology, knowledge, arts, sciences and transportation.

And that was where she met her husband. King Shimmering Madun. Many mares on this continent would do anything to be his lover. To be his wife and mother to his child. But all Twilight did was show up. And some would say show off.

Her beauty and love, and his strength and loyalty gave birth to their firstborn, the first naturally born Alicorn-Pseratep in existence that could be an exact copy to her mother if it weren't for the red hair. Her birth—and after an attempted assassination by an Equestrian pony—was followed by their wedding. And Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle's coronation as Queen to Psera. Her show of loyalty, leadership, honor, and a legacy that can never be overdone put her on the throne. And what years they have been.

Until new struggles arose. The great God of Chaos Maheera Dark awoke from the rest Narmeelah put her in and attacked any unsuspecting nations that forced Psera come out of the dark and play hero. The final battle between Maheera Dark and Queen Arcadia put them both into a prison made of the Queen's own design. A prison they could not find until ten years later when Princess Fresh Veola Dawn and her friends stumbled upon it.

After foreign rulers were notified that they required their assistance to get her out of the prison, they wasted no time and quickly rushed across the sea to Psera. But a huge mistake was made.

A Zebra—an enemy of Psera—was invited. Her Majesty Molten Ice believed that the Zebra had changed. That a hundred years of no contact would have opened a brand new and shiny door to a bright new yet peaceful future.

But that decision brought all available Pserateps to the Fire Family's Private Mausoleums in Lavender, Psera's headquartered military base. They had plenty all over the country, but this was the only one holding all top weaponry and the Office of Defense, Psera's five floor command building.

A marble statue of Queen Arcadia spreading her wings over a rendition of Psera towered over the tombs underneath the gray skies. But only one was occupied: Molten's son and Queen Arcadia's husband.

The funeral had long ended. Yet Madun's family stayed while the mass of Pserateps left to their homes. The sky was crying that day, raining upon the umbrellas held above their heads by honorary soldiers wearing vests.

Twilight's violet coat couldn't have gotten anymore darker. Her ethereal mane covered the right side of her face. Her black dress was simple and less complicated. A crown sat upon her head made for a king. A new one that resembled the old from so many years ago. It felt like two months since she's been awakened. She knows now it's been ten years.

The pony on her left was Gardeen, her loyal assistant and practical unrelated daughter. Arcadia's taken her underneath her wing since the very beginning and has always been there for her. Hopefully she can return the favor. The attack left Gardeen with a burned right rear hoof, but her white coat, silver mane and tail—and long wings—still shined like a beacon of hope. Her light green eyes glowed bright through the storm raging above them.

Gardeen's attitude had always been hopeful and on the bright side. However, even she couldn't brighten up the sadness in the air.

Next to her sat Merry Fire, sister to King Madun. Merry had a light green coat, a mane and tail colored a gradient of orange and red like the rest of her family, and eyes the color of fire. Her attitude normally, but not present, was exactly what everyone needed right now: Excitable. The crowd that was here packed full of Pserateps before... Twilight's Magical Aura felt no energy. It was dead here.

On her right was Molten Ice. Mother to the late King Madun crying into her hooves. Twilight's been let out all of her tears. Especially when she had to close the casket and shut the doors to his mausoleum, and light the flames of her daughter's.

Molten's coat was a gradient from head to hooves of ice blue and fire red. Her red mane and tail were flat ironed to match her dress theme. A veil was placed on the top of her head to cover her face. A veil she needed to have to cover up the streams of mascara running down her fur.

This was it. Them, along with Psera's generals and respected VIPs burying the last of the attack's victims. Many tears were shed and graves dug. But now it was finally over with their last victims going out with an honorary send off. The other victim unfortunately couldn't have a burial. There was nothing to bury.

Princess Fresh Veola Dawn. Queen Arcadia's fifteen year old daughter. In front of her mausoleum were pictures, candles, flowers, sports jerseys, tools, toys, all types of things that Psera knew she enjoyed. Psera wasn't just a country, it was a family.

Around her mother's neck were two necklaces. One was the wedding band Madun gave to her so long ago. A silver ring with a small golden chain sized to a choker. And the other was a silver chain holding a small golden ball. Twilight would never forget where this came from.

Dawn had collapsed in her hooves after they saved her from the Zebras and... Broke down into gold dust. Right there in front of her. Twilight witnessed her daughter's last breath. Her daughter's final stand. She witnessed Dawn's scared death. Scared murder.

Odega—a pony made of fire and a friend of Narmeelah with the stamina of a young foal—had the dust swept up and condensed into a small metal ball. That ball was pierced and a chain was strung through that she gave to Twilight. To remember her by. So that Dawn was always with her.

Arcadia could not have hugged Odega any harder that day.

Now that the burials and memorials were done, the time has finally come. The time for justice and retaliation. All Pserateps knew it was coming. Before the topic could even be discussed Pserateps from all over the country were signing up to join the military. Ponies from overseas who received word of the attack returned under the radar as requested for instructions to join the military.

Force Guard, Aerial Guard, Royal Elite Guard, Aqua Guard, the Border Guard, and the Arcadian Elite Royal Guard if you were big enough along with other special military programs that required specific body builds. Psera has never seen an influx of military recruitment in all their years.

Psera was going to war.

Safe Haven was the safehouse for Psera's Royalty. A mansion held behind Rayray within the woods. Three floors, ten bedrooms, six bathrooms, marble floors, and eighteen acres of flat grassland secured with Elite Guard, weapons, and a fence. A securely guarded stone home full of press ponies being checked in at the gate. There was going to be an announcement today by the Queen and Defense of Psera.

Airspace near the Safehouse was strictly prohibited. And anyone entering the gates had to be checked for any harmful items. Perfumes, colognes, anything with a sharp edge like sewing pins, promotional pins branding ponies from different press organizations, none of that was allowed. All pods had to be parked outside the gate and equipment carried inside. And all equipment was sniffed and checked by trained animals for anything suspicious or explosive.

Twilight could see all the action from her windowless office in the middle of Safe Haven. The lights were dimmed, save for a single lamp on the table in front of her basking her body in a warm glow. Her room was painted with shadows.

Centered in the office was a large wooden ornate desk with an electronic desktop hosting a touchscreen Comp System inside of it. She had access to all the cameras in the whole building. Hanging over her head were more expandable displays that would allow her to see even more all at once. A great workspace for an unimaginable workflow.

The floors were velvet and soft to her treading hooves. Pacing the space in front of her desk with anxiety and anger. The anger that's been building up ever since taking control of the throne alone. Psera needed a ruler and all they had was Queen Arcadia. So she put on a pair of black slacks, a white shirt, a black military dress suit complete with all of the badges she's obtained through the years she's been in office, and looked herself over in her bedroom mirror.

Only one half of her purple face was now visible. The other half was hidden by her long glowing and flowing mane to hide the burn and eye. Twilight could see Madun in herself. Not the masculinity, but the strength, power, and ferocity of a ruler. The fearlessness. Her face held no smile. She could barely remember the last time she did smile. Oh wait, yes she could.

When her family was still alive and here with her.

That alone was all the motivation Twilight needed to get that boost. That feeling that made her straighten her posture and manipulate her crown to be more intimidating. She took a deep breath and calmed her nerves. Then turned around, grabbed a stack of notes from her soft and comfortable, yet still lonely bed, and made her way for the doors into Safe Haven's halls.

This would be the first time since the attack that Queen Arcadia would be addressing the nation about the consequences. She first reassured her curious citizens through Gardeen and her Press Secretary that a solution and plans were being debated. Plenty of talk shows were zoomed in on Queen Arcadia's hidden mental and physical state. She was much stronger now. More furious.

The bedroom doors pushed open and Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle stepped off from the carpet of solitude onto the firm marble of leadership. The Guards stationed at her room saluted when she walked past.

Her hoofshoes clinked their way down the hall for the service elevator at the end of it. A stainless steel beauty with two doors reflecting sunlight bearing the crest of Psera. After she stopped she was met up with Madun's previous advisors and Gardeen, her head of them all.

Without looking away from the doors, Queen Arcadia greeted quietly, "Good morning, everyone. What is my agenda?"

One of her advisors, a mare on her right side answered, "The press conference this morning at ten, a meeting with the Aqua Guard at one-forty concerning a weapon perfect for the job, lunch with Her Majesty and Merry Fire at twelve, and... A meeting with your husband and daughter at two thirty."

"Sounds like a perfect day," Arcadia responded. After the elevator slid open, Arcadia entered and turned around first followed by her much taller assistants. The next time the elevator opened, it was on the first floor at the back of the press room. She could already hear the chatter emanating from those doors across. She could see Secretary Manny in there right now speaking to the cameras and journalists about potential opportunities really soon. As well as the recruitment rate and exponential military growth.

The ponies backstage listening bowed when they spotted Queen Arcadia, including Molten Ice. Then straightened up and created a path through their gathering that allowed her easy access to the stage.

Secretary Violet Manny was an interesting character, the Secretary of Psera's defense and General of Psera's Elite Royal Guard. And she was as fierce as they come. Easily voted as one of the most scariest ponies Twilight has ever met in her life. Even Queen Chrysalis didn't hold a candle to her; and it wasn't because of looks. It was because of her mouth.

Secretary Manny was very forward with her demands. She had a do-it-this-way-or-not-at-all attitude to match with that not-so-fierce body. Underneath her suit she had a gradient coat that was baby blue on top, pink on the way to the hooves. A short cut messy pink mane and beautifully groomed pink tail that curled elegantly at the end. Better watch out, she'll snap it at anyone watching.

Her voice was rough with usage, but Queen Arcadia could still hear her. "The Aqua Guard has deployed around Psera in a Code 3 Formation," she announced. "The Third Star Infantry and Left Field Form, along with each City-State's Law Enforcement are keeping an eye out for anymore fading runes. If there are any spotted they will be disposed of safely. Now our Queen Arcadia Nova will take the stand to announce future plans of action in Psera's government."

All journalists, camera, and audio ponies rose to their hooves before Queen Arcadia took a breath and walked out into sight for the first time since the attack. Around forty Pserateps were seated in one room with carpeted flooring. The stage was at least a foot off the floor with a dark blue curtain lining it and hiding the wall behind the slanted wooden podium Queen Arcadia took a stand behind.

She straightened her notes and set them to the side with her hooves. "You may be seated," she requested. After all flanks were down, Twilight cleared her throat and got started. "On October 20th at approximately eleven forty, terrorists from Zebrica attacked Psera by taking hold of our beloved Castle of the Gods. My daughter, Princess Fresh Veola Dawn, was kidnapped and replaced by a Zebra taking her form that began the attack by detonating a bomb in the throne room.

"We lost exactly two hundred three Pserateps in the attack including our brave men and women defending our country. Along with..." Twilight covered her mouth and blinked away the incoming tears for a moment. Talking about this was never easy. "Including our fair King and beloved Princess. Ever since then, Psera's government has been debating whether to declare war or seek financial restitution. After an extensive process, Psera has decided that a few 'Hearth's Warming Presents' will be launched overseas into Zebrica. Hopefully they will get the message that we are, in fact, declaring war on Zebrica."

Shutters were snapped and microphones inched closer. Arcadia felt that all too familiar burning within her. The anger and strength that pushed her to allow their weapons to be launched upon this country. "Psera will strike back at Zebrica with the might of thirty tactical projectile weapons holding chemical compounds made to destroy their land and to kill anyone wishing to push Psera's limits. As the strongest country on Equus, Psera will send a single message:"

Twilight narrowed her eyes and growled with the might and anger, "We are not to be tested."

Equestria. The land where practically every disaster, attack, and action has occured over the years. Home to loving ponies such as Twilight Velvet, mother to Queen Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle. Home to her friends and all of her extended family.

The land of Equestria was always perfectly taken care of. The grass was always green and busy with playing foals. The trees were constantly tweeting with birds, the sky retained beauty.

Towns like Ponyville were rampant with simple business ponies running along dirt and cobblestone paths in winter wear to finish what needed to be done, whereas cities like Manehattan and Las Pegasus had roads for the casual suit-wearing stallion who would wave down a taxi after purchasing a last minute Hearths Warming present for their little colt or filly. The skyscrapers were always flashing lights and ponies were always on the move, whether it be day or night

Directly in the center of Equestria sat a gray mountain with a golden city on the top of it. Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle's true childhood home. Expensive, rich, full of haughty ponies stuck up their own flanks but still trying to make it in this world of pressure. There were only a few parks and less than enough nature. The streets had paved over what was left of any here save for the front expansive lawn of the Canterlot Castle. Home to the two pony sisters Celestia and Luna.

Four spires were placed at the four corners of the castle where directly in the middle of it all was the castle itself. The building was a light bronze with lazy Royal Guard at every entrance that needed to be guarded. The inside of the castle at this time was spotless with only a few if at all office ponies. Another slow day with barely any clopping through the halls. A perfect visiting day.

Queen Novo had wasted no time heeding to her Princess' call when summoned. Now here she stood, treading up the red carpet of the Canterlot Castle's throne room. The stained glass windows bathed the room in multiple layers of colors. The vines of flowers around all of them added a lovely scent to the air. A romantic atmosphere that had Novo once again acting silly.

She skipped up to the throne, right up to Celestia, and placed a loving kiss on her lips that had her spouse giggling. Celestia squealed and placed her hooves lovingly on Novo's face. These two made their courtship official after a month of actual dating. When Novo finally asked if Celestia would be the girl for her.

A strange relationship. The Hippogriffs were birds with long tongues, claws, and beautiful coats and wings that made the Pegasi here look silly. Novo's beak couldn't be any shinier. And as hard as it is to actually "kiss" her, the feeling and love were always there.

Celestia's body had been perfectly sculpted to take on the role of Princess of Equestria. A coat so white, it was the sun itself while the mark on her flank told all who saw it who this pony was. The pony with the lusciously flowing ethereal mane and tail, sparkling magenta eyes, and simple crown on her head.

Celestia ran a hoof through Queen Novo's head of feathers and kissed her back before Novo's tongue left her mouth. "Good morning, Sunshine," Celestia greeted.

It had the desired reaction. Novo grinned and asked, "Aren't you the sunshine everywhere you go?"

"Practically." Celestia stood up from her throne and walked with Novo back towards the entrance. "I'm only the sun to the ponies who see me as the sun. Other than that, I am only Princess Celestia."

"Yes, Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and the only pony in the world with a sun on her flank. Oh! And you can also manipulate the sun."

They pushed the doors open and stepped out into silent and voided shiny halls. Long yet empty. Celestia led her spouse to the right and commented, "According to a few, there is another more powerful pony who can now raise the sun."

Novo saw Celestia's face fall. One of her telltale signs of bad news. She lowered her volume and asked seriously, "No response?"

"None since she made us leave," Celestia replied. She sighed and blew her long mane to the side to let Novo see the other half of her face. She always loved to look into both her eyes instead of one. "We left on such a rough note. I was hoping she'd write back some time soon after her parole ended. To tell us her plans for Fresh Dawn's first Hearths Warming since returning. I'm certain it's something big. But... There's nothing at all."

Novo faced forward again and asked, "Have you spoken to her daughter?"

"We unfortunately can't send letters to Fresh Dawn. She has a special kind of magic that doesn't recognize the letters. They just come back. Exactly the way they were before."

Well that's odd. Dawn has a 'different kind of magic?' Novo's never heard of that before. Then again, Seaquestria and Mount Aris weren't too crazy about magic like Equestria. They knew next to nothing about it. She suggested, "Maybe you should contact someone outside of the Royal Family."

Celestia stopped to face her quizzically and repeated, "Outside?"

Oh Celestia. So simple she overlooks this. "Yes. I mean, there must be other ponies that are connected to royalty that you must know. Certainly Queen Twilight isn't the only pony you can contact."

Celestia sighed and thought hard. Twilight was the only way to get in contact with her privately. And there were a lot of ponies under her staff.

"Well I don't really know any," she answered. Then gasped and brightened up immediately. "But I know exactly who might. Come with me."

She grabbed Novo's claw and tugged her down the hall like a foal guiding her best friend. They ran through the halls of the castle passing nonchalant guards who would glance to them then back to doing nothing. They passed the main offices and library all the way to the back.

After a minute of running they stopped in front of a pair of wooden double doors. A pair of doors with one side bearing the symbol of Equestria and the other a Crest of Psera. The Office of Psera-Equestrian Affairs. There were only two ponies who were in contact with Psera all the time. Hopefully enough to learn their ways.

Celestia didn't even bother knocking. She used her magic to surround the handle in a golden aura. Then pushed the handle down and opened the door. They were met with two female voices talking further inside.

Novo and Celestia stepped into what was indubitably the waiting area of an office space. Items and decorative pieces from Psera lined the wall above a gray minimalistic couch on their left. A clock ticked away on their right behind a glass desk hosting tablets, pamphlets and forms next to a stack of incomplete work. Starlight Glimmer was a little behind.

The voices were coming in from beyond the doorway on their right. A door with a wooden frame and fogged glass opened for entry. A door with a name: Ambassador Sunset Shimmer.

She could make out the two in there now. Starlight was sitting on the edge of Sunset's glass desk listening to her talk wearing a light purple dress. Sunset was wearing a black and white suit with an orange tie. These two mares meant business. Guess that's why there was a stack of work on her desk too.

Celestia strolled right on in and greeted, "Good day, ladies!"

Sunset and Starlight jumped and fell back into whatever they were doing before. Which apparently was forcing deceiving smiles that were definitely lies in themselves. Sunset waved and greeted, "Oh hey, Princess! We were just doing some work—"

Celestia didn't even acknowledge it. What they do on slow days were their business. She approached the desk and interrupted, "Have you been able to get in contact with Queen Twilight?"

Well since the lie clearly wasn't even on Celestia's mind, Sunset and Starlight relaxed and shook their heads. Sunset quickly snatched up three random envelopes from the from the stack on the top of her desk.

She held them up and answered, "I haven't been able to get in contact with anypony there. Each time Starlight and I send letters and notices, they come back unchecked. It's completely blank."

Well then that left them only one option. Celestia asked them Novo's earlier question, "Is there any way for you to get in contact with anyone outside of the Royal Office?"

Starlight and Sunset looked to each other then back to Celestia. There were a few ways they knew of but had yet to practice themselves. Although...

Starlight slid off the desk and answered, "Well there is one way. When Pserateps were still here in Equestria, we had to send messages to our contact at the Embassy here, and they would pass the message on to the Embassy in Psera. They have more unrestricted access than we do there. You can probably use the Embassy in Ponyville, but we can't get in. It's locked up tight through Magical Signatures."

Then that meant they were blind. If Celestia could curse and not be looked at in surprise, she would. Unfortunately, her girlfriend and coworkers were here.

Sunset recommended, "You can still try to get in. I know me and Starlight are locked out but it might let you in."

Celestia teleported all four of them to Twilight's old castle so fast, she accidentally teleported the chair Sunset was still sitting in. Starlight fell off the "desk" and met the cold dirt path leading up to the gated property of the Psera-Equestrian Embassy behind Ponyville. Novo glanced around then turned her head to face what was definitely Twilight's old castle. She knew it when she saw it.

It was so silent and the grounds were abandoned. And since all the birds were migrating for winter, there were no other noises save for the cold wind blowing in their ears and the sounds of Ponyville behind them.

Sunset sighed and rose from the comfort of her office chair. "Celestia, the next time you decide to suddenly teleport, try not to teleport chairs or even whole desks," she requested.

Starlight looked up from the cold ground affected by winter and spat out flattened gravel from her mouth.

"Seriously," she agreed.

Celestia nervously chortled and approached the gates with Novo ahead of them. Magically bolted shut unless you had a special key or the required magical signature.

"My apologies," she replied. Then stopped when they reached them and attempted to place her hoof on the surface on any steel bar she felt comfortable. But before she could touch it, she stopped and stared suspiciously. Something was up.

When Sunset and Starlight finally joined them, Novo slowly asked, "What is it?"

"...it's already opened." She placed a hoof against the gate and calmly pushed. Sure enough it groaned inwards and granted them access. "Someone else is either here or has been here."

They calmly took steps across the grassy lawn and gazed at everything left behind on the ground. Pens, paper flowing through the wind, a tie. Everything needed in an office. It had never looked so abandoned. When they reached the doors, Starlight quietly creaked it open and stepped inside.

Instead of stepping on crystal, they stepped on a really long carpet leading up to an extensive crystal desk. Behind and above were three LiVAMs that used to display trade stats between corporations in both here and Psera. This place used to be the hub of all businesses seeking international funds for the first time with a nation that definitely held promise. An experiment that worked. At least for businesses in Equestria because that's all Psera would allow.

Now it was dark, lifeless, dead, and quiet. A ghost town with a magical table in the back. That alone hasn't been active in years.

They took timid steps into the Embassy's atmosphere and approached the desk timidly. Then a loud crash came from behind it that made them jump back. Looks like someone else was here.

The sound of glass shattering made Sunset gasp and bounce into action. She shouted. "Halt! Stand with your hooves raised now!"

A squeak later and Twilight Velvet shot up on her two rear hooves with her front ones in the air.

"Eep! Don't shoot!!" She squealed. Purple and gray mane, off white coat, unicorn... Yep, that was Twilight's mother. No need for alarm, she was as harmful as a butterfly.

Celestia walked urgently towards the desk and sweetly asked, "Mrs. Velvet, what are you doing here? How did you get in?"

Well since she wasn't on the floor getting arrested, Twilight Velvet dropped back down on her hooves and smiled to them. "Hello, everypony! I'm just getting all of Twily's things. I can't have these nosy fillies running through here touching things that aren't theirs, am I right?"

As much as Novo wanted to explain that she was the nosy filly, she decided to keep her mouth shut. Celestia walked behind the desk on one side while Starlight and Sunset took the other. Novo peered over the top of it and peeked in that way to join in on whatever she was doing back here. Twilight Velvet was packing up all of the comm blocks and technology into one big box already filled with more items from around the castle. Blankets, coats, wires.

Celestia sighed and told her, "Those belong to Psera, Mrs. Velvet. How did you get in?"

Twilight Velvet looked up to Celestia like she was crazy and answered, "Why I pushed the gate in and opened the door, Princess! I may be getting older, but I still know how to open a gate, dear."

Starlight was absolutely sure that gate was locked. But then she remembered. Something that made her slap her hoof against her face. "Ohhh!" She fawned out loud. Then pointed to Twilight Velvet and explained, "She has Twilight's magical signature because she's her mom! She has free reign of the place and anything else Twilight has locked up with her signature."

Sunset glowered and deadpanned, "You mean to tell me that to get in all we had to do was go around the corner of this place, grab Twilight's mom, and get her to touch the gates?"

"Yep. Excuse us Mrs. Velvet. Hate to interrupt your scavenging but we need to get in contact with Psera."

Starlight ignored Sunset banging her forehead over and over and flanked Velvet behind the desk. She approached the last piece of technology she didn't get to and placed it on top of the counter so they all could see.

It was a much more advanced version of the Comm Block; Bigger with a very wide yet thin cable connected to a port under the desk and under the LiVAMs setup out of view of a client.

Starlight placed her hoof on it and explained to the group, "This is what they use to contact anyone in long distances. Maybe we can get it working again."

Oh they needed to get that to work? "No problem, dears!" Twilight Velvet cooed proudly. She dropped back down under the desk and made a few movements that brought everything to life. The LiVAMs above, the stations in front of them, and the lights in the whole building. That included the block Starlight had. It glowed a brighter purple and made a silent hum in response.

Twilight Velvet popped back up with a thick yellow cord she spat out of her mouth in favor of a proud smile. Celestia didn't know what she did, but either way it worked out in their favor.

She sighed and asked, "Okay. Now how do we work this thing?"

"Ummm..." Sunset and Starlight shrugged before Sunset answered, "We're not sure. We're not allowed to use it."

Not allowed to use it?! Mrs. Velvet gasped and scolded, "Oh you two should be ashamed of yourselves! Ambassadors! Puh!"

"Mrs. Velvet, what you were doing is much worse and would hurt your daughter's cred if someone from Psera found out."

"But these are my daughter's things," she whimpered. Then turned back to the Comm Block with a smile. "Besides, I can help you. I always sneak in here because the secretaries like to watch me ask her assistant about my babies. Especially little Dawny. She always looks forward to my calls. Step aside, children. Let momma handle this."

The "Children" stepped to the side and watched Twilight Velvet work. Looks like she knew this place better than the ponies that actually worked for it. She touched the top of the Comm Block and summoned a simple dial pad that appeared on its surface. Then punched in a really long code that were much more than ten digits.

After the code was punched in, they locked eyes on the speaker and listened to the dial tone. A constant pitch that would cut every one second. It was very similar to a phone, Sunset realized. Possibly even a cell phone on a more magical level.

The dial tone continued until it cut and Gardeen's voice replaced it. "Hi, you've reached Secretary of Royalty Gardeen Daisy. Please leave your name and code, and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you, and have a wonderful day."

There was a loud beep that urged them to leave a message. Which meant Gardeen wasn't reachable either. Just like the rest of Psera. Twilight Velvet hummed and explained, "Strange, she's always been near her rock thing. I wonder—"

She was suddenly interrupted when the Comm Block switched to a loud noise that made them all jump. Just a constant loud tone that cut with a rising beeping signal. Looks like no message would be sent because someone else was leaving them a message. A message that was seriously distorted but still understandable.

"Attention, caller. Due to the damage, catastrophe, and clean up, Castle Security, The Department of Defense, and Office of Royalty are requesting all messages be sent through your local Law Enforcement Office by letter to be scanned, cleaned, and thoroughly analyzed before being sent to Safe Haven. Any of the following are allowed: Letters, appropriate photographs, condolences in still form such as photographs, and suggestions. All other inquiries must be sent through your local City Hall. Thank you, and have a nice day."

By the time the Comm Block message ended, all five of their mouths were partly opened. It was a pretty clear message. A pretty clear and meaningful message. But Sunset was the first one to say it out loud. "Something disastrous happened in Psera."

Chapter 01 - Preparing For War

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Another day, another accomplishment in the name of Psera. Zebrica had struck and struck hard, but plans were already being drawn out in a way to strike back within five days. Labeled folders with ideas were passed around inside of Safe Haven's meeting room between Queen Arcadia, defense strategists, and well known Senior Officers.

Each week on the last day, Queen Arcadia would open a portal all the way from Rayray to the Private Mausoleums in Lavender. Where the body of her husband Shimmering Madun lied in rest, and the flames of Fresh Dawn danced in the setting sun.

She was securely escorted by a mix of Elite Royal Guards and Arcadian Elite. Before she ever exits the portal the guards rush in first, secure the place by taking up positions in the air and on the ground. Then after she's given the clear, she steps out the portal onto quiet cool marble.

The fountain in the middle of these Mausoleums added a small beauty to the serenity of this resting place. Twilight's hooves lifted out of their golden and shimmering shoes for a Guard to pick up. Then took off her crown and chest plate to come not as a Queen, but a wife and mother. Once the Guards had everything, they stepped back to allow Twilight Sparkle her privacy.

The small torches on Madun's and Dawn's Mausoleums danced endlessly. Never burning out until they decided they would. Twilight stopped directly in between both of their Mausoleums and sat down on her haunches. Being here was always hard and it would not get any easier until she got what she wanted.

"Hello, my babies," she greeted. They of course did not respond. Just the sounds of Lavender, the cool winter wind and the splashing from the fountain behind her. "It's been a rather successful and repetitive day, if I can say that. We're officially going to war against Zebrica. All of our weapons, Aquatas, Pods, and soldiers are ready. And we're training a second generation of them.

"Secretary Manny and Defense Advisors are requesting that the first attack and any that follow remain dark until the second generation of soldiers are ready. That means untraceable. We're planning a strike of thirty Manual Delayed Marrials remotely on Hearth's Warming. And I'll be personally detonating them. Not just because they took you from me... But because they disgraced and violated my country and slaughtered over a hundred."

Twilight looked up from her briefing and turned towards Lavender. To the waters beyond holding Aquatas preparing for their night patrol. Pserateps and Pods were arming them with all categories of weapons. Some were very destructive and highly lethal, others were weapons that Twilight didn't know they would need now. But they were going to be thoroughly defended regardless. Whether they used them or not.

She turned back to face the Mausoleums with a small tear rolling down her left cheek. It sparkled in the sun and shimmered like a star before she wiped it away and straightened her long mane. "I lost my right eye," she explained. "I don't mean to sound repetitive, but... Things do get a little difficult seeing. But I am adjusting. Trying to move on."

Was there anything else to talk about? Anything but the impending attack on Zebrica? Twilight sighed and apologized, "I'm sorry that I have nothing else to speak on. Safe Haven and a lockdown has become our new home until the castle is repaired, which could take anywhere from six months to a year and a half. Which means most of our lives is going to surround government talk."

She chuckled and looked to Dawn's mausoleum. "Which I know you don't care about. We'll talk about our favorite teams later."

The blowing wind and thunder took over the conversation. Twilight's smile faltered into a frown, eyes narrowed in anger. She shouldn't have to do this. Talking to her family behind walls of stone.

"They'll pay for what they did," she growled. "You both, and my citizens will be avenged. Psera will be strengthened once more, babies. On this, I promise. Good night, sleep tight. I love you both forever."

Twilight turned around and walked back towards the portal she never closed and put on her regalia. Hoof shoes, chest plate, and crown. Turning from Twilight Sparkle into Queen Arcadia. Just a few more tasks before delivering a good ol' Hearth's Warming present to their dear friends in the far East. Past Equestria, past the Hippogriffs, and a few relative miles before the Neightons.

She stepped back through the portal into a busy Safe Haven. Into the warmth of their temporary home. She was quickly joined by her Secretary of Defense Manny before walking down the hall.

"All Aquatas are primed and ready to move, your Highness," she reported in her rough voice.

Wow, this early? Queen Arcadia smirked and asked, "Just to be clear, how many Marrials are on each Aquata?"

Secretary Manny answered, "Well their size only allows five at most per Aquata, ma'am."

"Good. Get me reconnaissance reports of Zebrica so we can find the perfect place to strike. The best places would be the most populated ones. Deep inside, and their chosen flee point. Go."

Something happened. Something happened in Psera! Twilight Velvet screamed and quickly covered her mouth before anyone else could notice. "Something happened," she said.

Sunset too was worried and a little anxious. She looked up to Princess Celestia and Queen Novo to ask, "Is there any way for us to get over there quickly?"

Celestia shook her head slowly at the Comm Block and answered, "No. We would have to cross by sea. And I do not think it would be wise to." She raised a firm hoof before Twilight Velvet could start. "Queen Twilight is fine, because she has been receiving my messages but has also been ignoring them. They never come back to me which proves my claim. But someone in Psera was affected and hurt in the Castle. Their military is on alert for danger. Going to Psera will be like diving into a hive of angry bees."

As true as that was, Velvet was resilient. "But we have to do something!" She shouted. She pointed her hoof to the back of the castle. "My baby and her daughter might be hurt!"

"Unless we are summoned for help, we cannot go to Psera, Mrs. Velvet," Celestia sternly stated. "Psera is extremely strict on visitors. And we have no profound reason for a full three day travel across seas. That and it is very expensive to go only because of speculation."

Celestia jumped over the desk with the grace of a doe and landed on the carpet leading up to the doors. Her hooves urgently trotted towards the exit. "I will let Cadance and Shining Armor know of our discovery. If they have any recommendations, we will listen. Until then, all we have is a theory and suspicion that something has happened overseas."

Her departure left them a silence. A thick serenity that Starlight broke by asking, "Guess we have to travel to Canterlot by train now, huh?"

Sunset sighed and decided she may as well grab her chair from the front. Those were really rare considering only a few of them were delivered here from Psera. She better not lose one of the last few.

Merry Fire was the last pony Twilight expected to see waiting in her Safe Haven office. Let alone in her chair. The second Twilight stepped in and saw her, she ordered, "Get out of it."

She of course didn't. Merry looked up from the Comp System in the desk and pierced her green eyes into hers. "They're still holding forty-six prisoners in Serl, you know."

Twilight wrapped Merry in an aura and lifted her from her seat into one of the two sofas across. "I am very much aware," she responded. Then slid into her soft and comfortable chair that Merry herself was previously calling home in. She gazed upon the records Merry was looking at and summarized, "Unsuccessful interrogations. It's as if their lips are bolted shut. Only saying yes and no."

Merry stomped her hooves on the floor and loudly suggested, "Then we have to pull the bucking answers out of them! There's no way in the Underworld that a secret will be kept from us after what they've done. Not if I have anything to say about it."

Twilight admitted that she too was becoming extremely impatient. The darkness bubbling inside of her was rising to the surface right now in frustration just thinking about their resistance. But she pushed it back down and thought of a plan. A plan that made her heart freeze. As cold as this plan would be, they were in a war after all. Everything was a weapon.

Twilight looked up to Merry staring at her and asked, "You'd say I'm a fair Queen, right?"

Questions are good and all, but Merry wasn't expecting that one. She deadpanned a look and answered, "Too fair, if you ask me. Which you did."

"Good. I want you to remember that, okay? Follow me, we're going to Serl." Queen Arcadia stood up with Merry from her seat and walked back around for the doors. "Where's Gardeen?"

"She went home for the day," Merry answered. She pushed the doors open and stepped out with Queen Arcadia. "Nothing else planned, right? Don't you ever take off your regalia? You wearing it at seven in the afternoon is sort of... Strange."

Twilight chortled and replied, "Not where we're going. Gentlemen, we're going to Serl. I have a little interrogation that needs to be ramped up."

SERL. Solid Energy Revolution Labs. A Top-Secret city in Psera Northeast of Cop that holds underground testing of new weapons, chemical compounds, and whatever else that is believed to be tested before mass production. It also serves as a small naval base further back holding many top range Aquatas, weaponry, and soldiers.

It was cut off from the rest of the world by a large concrete wall that shielded the inside from any eyes that dared travel two hundred miles just to see it. Entirely restricted from the public, this city is made only for science, Eggheads, nerds, geeks, and the top knowledgeable ponies in existence.

But even knowledgeable ponies had to sleep. So it interested the Guards, any lingering scientists or technicians heading home that a Royal Pod Escort rode inside at ten o'clock at night. The moonlight alone provided very little sight. The street lamps highlighted their ten vehicles traveling along the entry roads under the tall white buildings creating Serl.

It looked just like any normal city. Holding entertainment, movie theaters, offices, and jobs. But unlike other cities, this one was full of responsible, consenting, respectful adults. Barely any trash littered the streets because all were aware of the environment. All businesses and accordances were organized. Buildings clean and tidy. All inhabitants worked to improve.

The Princess and Queen of Psera's Pod rode directly in between four of their escort pods camouflaged in light brown. Riding towards the building where they were keeping the arrested Zebras. When they took over the castle, many of them were killed by either getting shot, sliced, or blowing themselves up. But there were still many that lived and were now withholding valuable information. No more will their strength hold back the Pserateps. Queen Arcadia was going to pull that information out of them. No matter what she had to do.

Merry was seeing a new side to Twilight. Out of all the years she's known her, she's never seen her angry. But right now, she's passed that. She's furious. Even at this moment directly across from Merry, Twilight was glaring at the window thinking. It took them four hours to get here, yet she hadn't spoken a word. In the moonlight, the glare born from anger and trauma deepened. She knew her enemy was in there, and they were fighting against her. A grave mistake.

Their Pods parked on the side of the road in front of a tall white building near the rear entrance of the city. Its structure was similar to the embassy in Cop for Equestria, but more basic. Lights from the ground shined up through the darkness to highlight the Crest of Psera above the entrance. Columns supported a hanging roof overshadowing four steel doors protected by security out front.

The doors for Queen Arcadia and Princess Merry were opened, then they stepped out from the Pod's heating into the chill winter air. Merry was so happy to stretch her wings again. Even if it was inside the most brainy places on the planet.

Queen Arcadia put on a heavy coat over the purple latex suit beneath it. A single shining six-pointed star on her chest pierced through the night, a violet brightness among this dark atmosphere. In favor of light wear, she left a majority of her regalia at home, save for her crown. The Zebras would know who they were talking to when they saw that. The Queen's legendary wing length was already a cue card.

After urgently walking up the marble steps to the front doors held open for them, they entered in through into the foyer, very much familiar. Marble floors, spacious, and beautiful. The only difference would be the low ceiling. Overhead lights were dimmed to match the time beyond these walls. The lower levels weren't even near this state of peace and serenity. But they weren't here for the serenity.

A tense trip down in a pair of quiet elevators and they were now in the belly of the beast. The hidden basement. A place in this building not many knew about. A long cold stone hallway greeted them with leaking exposed ceilings for pipes. Warm hallway lights illuminated only specific areas of the trip down.

Queen Arcadia could make out the cells further from their position when they arrived. Unguarded. No reason to guard them, they couldn't get out even if they ate their hooves off. Queen Arcadia saw to that.

It seems Secretary Manny was becoming a little impatient as well. She was down here too, seeing to the interrogation with her own team circled up and talking. The second the clamor of hooves reached their ears, they stopped talking and turned to the source.

Upon immediate recognition, Secretary Manny and the Guards gasped and bowed.

"Queen Arcadia!" Manny greeted. "We weren't expecting—"

Arcadia stopped in front of her and sternly interrupted, "Where are they?"

Oh boy. Secretary Manny straightened up and glanced to Merry for a reference. She only shrugged. She didn't know what the Queen wanted to do. Arcadia was vague on the way here.

Manny focused back on Arcadia and answered, "In here, ma'am."

She turned to face a thick steel door with a single window and flipped on a switch next to it. The darkness beyond was cast aside for light so they could see the horrors within. Forty-Six Zebras held to a very long arching white wall. Their front hooves were chained to the ceiling above their bodies while their legs and heads remained free below. Evidence of torture was clear. Some were starved, beaten, and even shaved. But they still didn't get any information.

The second the lights turned on, they opened their tired eyes filled with fatigue and trained them on the door. Arcadia glared back with anger and ferocity in her heart. The murderers of her children were right there living, refusing to participate. This shall not be.

"Wake them up fully," she spat. "I'm going in."

One of the Stallions saluted and waved to eight more to follow him. He unlocked it and rushed inside with the other two.

"Wake up, don't sleep, open your eyes!" He shouted. "You have a visitor and you will show respect!" A few grunts and hits later, and the Zebras were awake and growling at them. At least eleven were mares, and thirty-five were stallions. No matter, they too would talk.

One of them, a Zebra with a big build and shaved head scowled and retorted, "We will never talk." A Guard knocked his head to the side with a baton.

"No one asked you to, wake up!" The captain shouted. Once all forty-Six were awake and glaring, he looked to the door's window and nodded. They were ready.

The door was opened and the Elite Guards moved in to take up positions along the wall across from them. The Zebras watched them with hateful yet careful eyes. Then looked to the door when the last pony they expected strolled in. Their expressions changed from anger and resentment to curiosity and uncertainty.

The smell made Twilight want to gag. But she trudged through and took off her fancy coat. One of the Zebras snorted and shouted, "Just because you are Queen does not mean you will always get your way!" That earned a punch to his already bleeding mouth.

His comment did not deter her. Once Queen Arcadia had her coat off and peacefully passed to Merry, she turned back to the Zebras. Forty-six, which one to pick? She hummed and tapped her hoof against her chin in the thick silence. Oh why not all of them?

She started off by sighing through the thick silence. All were silent before the Queen, for she speaks first. "Before I lived with the Pserateps, I was always interested in the Zebras. Your culture I saw as one of the most respectful ones. Full of color, love, fashion and honor."

Secretary Manny walked into the room and locked the door behind her while Arcadia continued her active speech. Her pacing was a signature, her words the unmatched calligraphy. "But I've also seen the Zebra have ceremonial battles. I've traveled a bit of the world and have witnessed your kind battle each other for the honor of another. For a position, for food, for love. And I have come to the conclusions that all of you are warriors. Your nation has a build similar to Psera's: Fighting and war. You're all fighters. You're all warriors."

She stepped towards the wall and stopped in front of the only big Zebra here. She leaned forward to smolder into his face. "Am I right? That you're all soldiers? You train your foals to be strong. To take on any enemy that tests them." He smoldered hatefully himself as a response. He remained tight-lipped. Not for long.

She rose back up and continued her pacing speech. "So where am I going with this? Why am I here so late at night talking about Zebrica of all places? Well..." she looked down to another and answered, "Because you bit the Queen without any reason in one of your battles. And she will not let you get away with that. Let's begin, shall we?"

Secretary Manny, Merry, and the Captain could feel the tense air she whipped up with those words. Merry had to shuffle her position just to get comfortable again. It was as if a bad gas spilled into their atmosphere.

Now that she had their attention, Arcadia stepped to the side and said, "Just like soldiers, you have taken an oath to protect your nation. An oath you have sworn to honor with your life. And all soldiers fight because they are motivated. They are pushed.

"What are you fighting for? I want to hear you say it, just this once. What are you all fighting for? Your country? Your honor? All soldiers seem different, but in reality we all have the same motivation. Do you know what that is?"

She trotted back to the Zebra from before and whispered aggressively, "We all fight for family. There is a flaw in all oaths that only I—despite all my years of witnessing takeovers and altercations—have seemed to figure out. You fight and die for your country. You kill and aim for your country! For your family!!"

The Zebra she was talking to was suddenly pulled from his sitting position up into Queen Arcadia's face. Really close. She could smell his horrid breath. Reeking with anger. One of her Elite Guards held a blade from his wings to the neck of one of the other Zebras attempting to retaliate. "But riddle me this: Are you willing to sacrifice everything you love for your country?" He glared into her eyes with anger and distrust. "Answer me, Zebra. Are you willing to sacrifice everything you love for your country?"

His answer? "I'll slaughter your family for my country," he snarled.

Queen Arcadia smirked and dropped him back to the floor with a loud pain-filled grunt. That smirk never left. "Good. Because I'm willing to sacrifice a lot too."

She turned around and walked towards the wall holding all her Elite Guard. "I'm sure all of my citizens know I'm a pretty fair Queen. I try to ensure all my ponies gets an equal share of what they're owed. And I've been like that all my life. A Shim for a Shim, an eye for an eye..."

Twilight stopped and raised her hoof to wave around. "Do you see where I'm going with this, Zebra?"

Oh please, this again? He grunted and replied, "My soldiers are willing to sacrifice themselves in the name of Narmeelah. You do not scare us, Sorceress."

Twilight smiled a dark smile to the wall and slowly turned around to face him with a shake of her head. "I wasn't talking about your soldiers," she said. Then whispered, "I was talking...about your family."

His scowl slowly dropped. Something they were all looking for. A look of fear. Queen Arcadia reached out with her magic into the world. She tilted her head back and looked to the ceiling with a glowing Violet eye. Her hair pushed away to display the burned side of her face.

"My soldiers are highly limited when it comes to interrogation," she said through her spell. "Even when you killed ponies on our land in a mass attack they still respect you and your lives. They follow the principles that I set for them. I on the other hoof have become impatient and forgone those reservations. I'm tired of waiting and I want my bucking answers. And you're going to give them to me because if you don't... Well let's find out right now."

Queen Arcadia lit her horn and summoned one of her endless amount of spells. The sound of sparkling resonated through the room while she worked her magic. This isn't the first time the Zebras have witnessed magic. But they were getting a bad feeling about this.

"It's not hard for me to find a pony with your magical signature," she explained. "All ponies on Equus have one. And if you're strong enough, then you can find them, and bring them to you."

Secretary Manny and the rest of the room glanced from the Zebra to Queen Arcadia before the brightness in the room intensified through a teleportation spell. A teleportation spell that brought three more ponies down in between them and their prisoners. Three more Zebras that pulled gasps out of the rest.

Two were clearly teenagers, with dark blue and black stripes, and short wild manes. One a mare, the other a stallion. Young and in their teenage years. The other was clearly their mother. She had dark red and white stripes with a short dark red mane and tail. There was a single braid on the right side of her face decorated with colorful wooden beads.

The three of them were sleeping peacefully in a bundle of love. Stacked on top of each other. Until Queen Arcadia said, "Remember, I am a fair Queen. An eye for an eye, right? Is that not the code for your military?"

The stallion she referred to attempted to move forward, but his hooves were chained to the wall. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. This must be some kind of magical trick! Some kind of rouse! But something was telling him it wasn't. That this was his real family!

The colt opened his eyes and immediately sat up straight. They weren't home. They were in a room packed with other Zebras chained up!

"Momma!" He cried. "Sister, wake up!"

The two mares were up and looking around before jumping to their hooves. The mother jumped in front of her children and shouted to the pony with the crown, "Who are you?! Let us go this instant!"

"Love!!" They turned their sights towards their father and husband and gasped. Helplessly chained to the wall bruised and battered.

The son gasped and slid down to the wall to attempt a rescue. "Father!" He shouted. Then turned to the pony responsible. The violet one with one eye and a long flowing Ethereal mane. The likes of which he's never seen before. Shimmering with stars and dancing to nothing. He cautiously stepped back to his mother and sister.

"Love" and the daughter ran over to try and break out, but the chains were too strong. Love turned to Queen Arcadia and ordered, "What have you done?! Unchain my husband, sorceress!"

Queen Arcadia spat, "Throw them in the corner. Do not be gentle."

Five elite guards rushed forward, grabbed their hooves, and lifted them off the ground kicking and screaming.

"No!" Their father shouted. He and the rest of their prisoners fought against their chains in an attempt to break free. But they held strong.

The three zebras were recklessly thrown in the corner on top of each other with grunts. Then the Guards stepped back to their prior positions. Queen Arcadia moved her nonchalant sight from the family to the prisoners. "Now, we're going to try this again. But this time with a twist."

Merry Fire has never seen anything like this before in her life. It left her speechless and uncertain. Hopefully she wouldn't do what she thought she would do. But Twilight's next action buried her doubts.

At the raise of a single hoof, all the cannons on the Elite Guards dislocated themselves from their suits. They floated into the air, like three dozen flies that attracted all eyes and floated towards the left corner of the room aimed straight for the family.

The prisoners shouted obscenities and curses. They knew what those things could do. They witnessed it with their own eyes. But Queen Arcadia was resilient. She looked down to the father gasping and crying in anxiety and said, "Now we're going to play a little game. I call it Ten Seconds. You have ten seconds to start talking, and I don't shoot for ten seconds straight. Now let's play. Ten..."

Secretary Manny stood from her seat and whispered, "Queen Arcadia, I don't think—"

Arcadia turned to her and answered her unasked question among all the screaming, "Our prisoners want to die with their mouths shut, that's why they blew themselves up in the castle! To make them talk, you have to play dirty! Eight!.. Seven!—"

The Father shouted, "Please! Please, not my filly!"

"Funny, that's what I said when my daughter died in my hooves! Six!! Five!!! Four!! Three!"

"Okay! Okay! I'll talk, I'll talk, just let them go, please!" Good. She had them right she wanted them.

Without removing the weapons from the crying family, Queen Arcadia shouted, "Why did you attack my country?!"

The Prisoner cried quickly, "There was a prophecy! A prophecy about the end of Equus following the birth of 'The Foal born from Darkness'!"

Dawn, Queen Arcadia thought. "What is this prophecy?! Do you know it?!"

"No, I don't know it, I swear!! Only the high priestess knows and she sacrificed herself!!"

Queen Arcadia didn't like that answer. The memory of her husband and daughter dying flashed through her mind and her heart once again burned with rage. She barely nudged one of the cannons and shot four times at the space directly above Love's head. Merry gasped and looked away when she fired. Then locked her gaze on the Zebras quaking in fear.

"I swear it!" He shouted. "That's all I know, I promise, please!!"

Arcadia shouted, "If you were after the child, then why a massacre?!"

"We had to keep you away from the child! That's it, that was the plan, distract you and sacrifice the child! That's it, that was our mission, I swear it! Please!"

Arcadia smoldered with her hoof still raised. Controlling the weapons of death and fear. Now the Zebras were shaking. She had them right where she wanted them: Fearful. Scared. Negatively anticipated. The emotion of satisfaction washed over her. The power to control. This was what she wanted from them.

Arcadia floated the cannons back to the soldiers they belonged to and clipped them back to their places under their wings. Assuring the lives of this Zebra's family.

"Thank you," she said to him. He stopped shaking and moved his scared eyes from his family to her. She bent low and glared into his eyes. A glare she hoped he would forever remember. "Remember... I am a fair Queen."

Chapter 02 - Trouble In Psera

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At first, everything was hot. Like she was melting into Lava. Fresh Dawn's mind could barely make out what was happening. All she could remember was the scared face of her wounded mother and the worried faces of her relatives. Sirens, a fight. Then it all melted away: Her senses, her feelings, her body, her mind. It all just faded away liked water on fur. She had died. She was sure of it.

Then why was she smelling grass and soil?

Fresh Dawn slowly cracked open her eyes and trained them on a single dandelion sticking up through dark brown dirt highlighted by sunlight. She could make out blurry trees behind it. A blur of dark brown, and green. She was in a forest clearing. Breathing.

Fresh Dawn sighed and closed her eyes to get her brain working again. Everything felt like mud. The soil was so comforting to her body. The fur underneath her violet and red dress.

"Yeah, it's strange isn't it?" A voice said. A male voice that scared her.

Dawn gasped and flipped onto her back to face her speaker. The sunlight cracked through the trees to bathe on a stallion with a long girlish mane and tail the size of... Her. He was exactly her height and size. A Pseratep male with a dark blue coat and pink mane and tail. Eyes the color of gold shining in crystal clear waters.

He offered a hoof down to her and asked, "Need some help?"

Dawn glanced down to his hoof then back up to his eyes. Those deep golden eyes. Once she grabbed it, he pulled her up gently and carefully until she could stand on her own hooves. Then explained, "The process of coming down here is quite—"

A round of barking and cawing from inside of Dawn's dress made him yelp and jump back. Sky Blue and Juniper... Holy Stars!!

"Girls!!" Dawn cheered. They survived too?! Dawn didn't even know they were with her! She was sure the Zebras got rid of them! Dawn used her magic to pull them out of her dress wiggling and set them on the dirt ground in between her and this stranger they immediately started scurrying around and yipping at.

Sky Blue was an old foalhood toy from her foalhood that her parents bought her. It was of a Morion: A white water bird from Psera with a really long yellow beak covered in green dots. It was as small as a pigeon. Save for the beak which is used to catch and eat small fish. Well since Sky Blue was a doll powered by Dark Magic, she used her beak for other things except eating fish. Like softly poking the hooves of the pony talking to her mother.

Juniper was a small white stuffed Terrier puppy her grandmother got her during her visit to Equestria. She was really sweet and enjoyed running into things. Dawn always had to pull her away from items that were stacked and happened to be nearby.

This stallion took a step back, but smiled and chuckled after. He leaned in to Sky Blue's face and commented, "Hey, they're kind of cute. What are they—holy buck, they're dolls." Yep, those were definitely buttons for eyes. Well he's seen scarier things that he usually shrugged off. This was no different.

Dawn flared her wing open and scooped them back into her body out of sight. "Yeah. I uhh... Brought them to life," she nervously stammered.

The stallion whistled a descending tone and leaned back at her claim. "Ohh, that explains why you're here. Narmeelah doesn't take too kindly to other ponies bringing things to life. She's all 'me me me.' Then throws ponies in here."

Dawn removed her wing from around Sky Blue and quickly looked around their environment where "here" was. Trees surrounding a small clearing. But she still had no idea what was going on.

She turned back to this pony with an expression of curiosity and asked, "Excuse me, but... Where is 'here?' And who are you?"

Oh jeez, how embarrassing. He smiled and bowed gracefully. A move she blushed at. "Excuse me, Princess. I'm Night Life. And you are?"

Dawn nervously answered, "I'm Fresh Veola Dawn. How'd you know I was a Princess?"

He pointed to the top of her head. At the gold tiara drenched in gems and its dust hosting a single red Opal.

He explained, "I know a real crown when I see it. A new line seems to have taken the throne in Psera. One with a... Thing on your forehead, what is that?" He reached out and poked Dawn's horn.

She reached up and politely pushed his hoof away. She didn't trust him that much. "It's a horn, it allows me to do magic. Where are we?"

"Oh, right!" He trotted around Dawn to the Violet Saddlebags lying nearby. No need to keep the Princess waiting. The one with her cutie mark and books slipping out. "Here! Take your things and I'll show you. You're going to be comfortable here... For now."

For now? Before Dawn could ask, he bounced back over and dropped her saddlebags on her back. Then pranced ahead of her.

"Follow me," he instructed. "I'll explain everything as best as I can."

It goes against everything Dawn was ever taught to follow a complete stranger through the woods of all places. Especially after everything that has happened leading up to this point. But after a quick look around her environment and seeing absolutely nothing but pine straws, dirt, and nothing she could recognize she decided he was her best bet.

Besides, if he tried anything she could easily collapse him with a push of magic.

Dawn sighed, blew her red mane out of her eyes, and ran after this strange pony named Night Life. Now apart from the fact that he was living in the woods...

He was kind of cute.

Something clearly happened in Psera. No calls were being answered, there was an emergency broadcast in their castle answering machines, and a load of information about a "Safe Haven" upon further investigation.

Since there was something going on with their fellow ruler, an emergency IHT meeting had been put in place in Canterlot. Messages were delivered and all country representatives reported there by the next winter morning. Chariots took over the loop behind the Canterlot Castle gates, military personnel protected the halls when they were ordered, and their large-scale meeting office—very similar to the Crystal Empire's—was occupied.

A round circular room centered with a long wooden ring and an empty space in the middle. Small lights brightened the room's walls above while brighter ones highlighted the chairs in front of each placement.

Thus the meeting room for IHT. The International House of Trade. An Alliance founded by Princess Twilight and Queen Novo made up of all the known nations of the world. Twelve countries, twelve rulers, more than enough power. In the past before Psera was even heard of by them, these members could barely get along. But once again, the Princess of Friendship played her part in bringing them all together. Even when missing ten years after.

Prance, Equestria, North Neighton, South Neighton, Seaquestria and Mount Aris, Hoof Yun, Saddle Arabia, The Forgotten Land, Breighton, The Dragon Lands, and Zebrica. Equestria, The Dragon Lands, and The Forgotten Land—home of the naturally born Alicorns—were the strongest out of all twelve members of the house in strength while the rest lied in power.

None of them knew why they were here. But had to comply under the rules. Princess Cadance, Princess Flurry Heart and Prince Consort-General Shining Armor were just three of the five in Equestria's name who had been called in. Luna remained as clueless as they were. The only one who knew the excuse for their summons was Celestia.

Luna leaned over into Cadance's space and whispered, "Any idea?"

She pouted and shook her head before Princess Celestia finally walked in from the double doors wearing a light pink dress, chest plate, and crown. Her eyes were narrowed and focused.

"Thank you all for coming," she urgently acknowledged. Her anxious movements to her seat were tracked by the anxious eyes of her fellow members. She was upset about something, that much they could tell. "I understand how busy you all are and I appreciate the time it took for you to be here."

Princess Cadance sighed and asked, "Why are we here, Princess Celestia?"

Celestia dropped down into the seat next to Luna and answered, "Something disastrous has happened in Psera. Over the last few weeks, attempts to contact Queen Arcadia about her recovery have returned in futility with no response. In a desperate manner, myself, Ambassador Shimmer, and Secretary Glimmer approached the..." She cleared her throat. "Embassy in Ponyville and had a convenient interaction with Queen Arcadia's mother."

Grandma? Flurry leaned over to her father and asked, "What was Granny doing there?"

There was only one thing she could possibly be doing. Shining smirked and answered knowingly, "Scavenging."

Celestia continued, "Since it was abandoned, she managed to restore power so we can use their communication systems. We weren't able to reach anypony as we hoped, but we did receive some messages clueing us in that Psera may have been attacked. Ambassador Shimmer? You can bring it in now."

Two double doors across from Celestia behind Novo and her daughter pushed open to let in Sunset Shimmer and Starlight. They were combining their magic to carry in a long glossy wooden table holding the Comm Block connected to a large glass tube filled with a thick purple liquid.

While they carried it over to the entrance into the table, Starlight urgently briefed them. "Okay, so this specific Comm Block uses a lot more energy than the rest in Psera because it was made to receive and record messages for Psera's security. That, and they need a lot of power to send messages without anypony in the middle hundreds of miles away. You have exactly five minutes after we make the connection before it runs out of power."

They stepped into the center of their circle and placed the table on the floor. Starlight pulled out a sliver of paper with the same twenty digit long code Twilight Velvet used and tapped the top of the block to bring up the number pad. Sunset typed in the number and pressed the check mark on the right of zero. "Alright, five minutes are starting... Now."

The second the dial tone started was the same second the tube of weird liquid started bubbling. It provided energy through that long thin cable attached to both of the items. The Princesses, Zebras, Alicorns, Dragon Lord Ember, and Queen Novo stared intently at the small device.

Less than ten seconds, it hung up and a message belonging to their friend Gardeen Daisy permeated through the Comm Block to their ears. "Hi, you've reached Secretary of Royalty Gardeen Daisy. Please leave your name and code, and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you, and have a wonderful day."

The rulers awkwardly glanced to each other when the notifying beep rang through the air. Flurry assumed, "That just... Seems like a message to me."

Sunset shook her head and replied darkly, "It's what happens after."

Right on cue, the familiar sound of static and noise cut off whatever message was being recorded and replaced it. Then the familiar voice sounded around the room.

"Attention, caller. Due to the damage, catastrophe, and clean up, Castle Security, The Department of Defense, and Secretary of Royalty are requesting all messages be sent through your local Law Enforcement Office by letter to be scanned, cleaned, and thoroughly analyzed before being sent to Safe Haven. Any of the following are allowed: Letters, condolences in still form such as photographs and cards, and suggestions. Thank you, and have a nice day."

Flurry stopped slouching and actually sat up in concern. The second she heard "Catastrophe" she knew why they were all called.

"Something must've happened," she deduced.

Starlight nodded and added, "There's more. A recording of whatever it was actually reached here. A little lucky for us because this is our first lead."

She typed in another twenty digit long number and waited. But instead of a dial tone, it went straight to a long beep followed by atmosphere and shouting.

It first started off with huffing before a familiar—yet not so much—voice spoke to them. His voice was distressed, in a hurry, as if he were running. "This is COTG Captain Dark Silver of the Elite Guard. All Captains and Lieutenants are to twenty-five their teams to the castle immediately. Multiple casualties, the Queen—" He was interrupted by long and loud gunfire that made the room jump. A battle was happening. "The Queen is wounded! Multiple bodies in the Throne Room, beware of bombs! We need air support for the Secretary of Royalty and Queen! No word on the King!"

One of the members of IHT, Queen Farue of Breighton, shouted, "Bombs?!"

The room imploded into an uproar. Everyone started talking and shouting at once. Definitely Shining Armor. He banged his hoof on the table and demanded, "We need to get to Psera and investigate! Queen Twilight was hurt in an attack and there are but only so many nations out here!"

Queen Novo banged her gavel to cease all the noise and smirked slightly at Celestia. Oh, how she missed all the arguing.

"Every creature, please!" She begged. The room lowered their volume to a hush. "Let's go over what we know. A message was dispatched across Psera that managed to reach the Embassy about an attack in their castle. Multiple bodies, meaning multiple dead, and the Queen is wounded. Although the floor is open to suggestions, keep in mind that Psera is no way involved with IHT."

One of the members of the house—Madam Singe of South Neighton—raised her hoof. An alabaster colored unicorn mare with a straight white mane and tail bearing a “wet look,” and small yellow eyes. Her horn like the rest of their far-east countries had an upward curve thanks to evolutionary adaptations. When she first started off, it was to take advantage of IHT's good and trade with little to no care of giving back. But thanks to Twilight, she's now giving back to IHT with more than enough effort.

She replied in her exotic tongue, “Be that as it may, Queen Arcadia has saved our lives more than once on numerous occasions. For us to ignore that her country is under attack and that she was wounded in said attack would be utterly cruel. We all have the power to supply reinforcements and assistance if needed.”

Princess Celestia straightened up her posture and sternly argued, “Traveling to Psera during this time and hour would be suicide. Psera is on tense hooves and have surely set up a defensive perimeter around their Obelisk Line, let alone their country. Approaching Psera with no notification of our arrival would be very careless and extremely dangerous. We must remain mindful to who we're investigating. There has to be another way."

Flurry decided to take up her mother's role. Everyone was doing this wrong and she couldn't sit quiet any longer. She stood up from her seat next to Secretary Shining Armor and shouted, "Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle is hurt in Psera, and there are ponies in their castle dead!!" Silence reigned over the chamber and focus was pushed upon her. "On top of that, we have no knowledge on the King. If they needed our help, they would have been sent a way to contact us. How long has Psera been dark?"

Princess Luna answered, "Ever since Queen Arcadia kicked us off of Psera during her recovery. She should have been taken back the throne by this point."

"Right. Not to mention, we are her family. I'm positive that hunk of a husband of hers would have let us know something, right? According to past records before Maheera Dark, he's been in contact with Princess Celestia more than once talking potential international relationships and minor conversations. For him not to contact Equestria when the Queen—a major historical reference of Equestria alone and family—is wounded lets me know something has happened that is affecting their communications with us.

"I propose we go over to have a look as soon as possible. If they do not need our help, then we're going over just to see if Queen Arcadia is okay. Psera has friendly relations with Equestria in the past, they'll know we just want to help. They'll even refer to their rulers before firing any weapon. The most they'll do is stop us!"

The room muttered unheard things except for the one coming from Novo's daughter about Madun in fact being a sexy hunk that she rolled her eyes at. These teens and their hormones.

Novo teasingly gave her daughter a pat on the head and deemed, "Princess Flurry Heart is correct. For no one to contact Equestria about the Queen being wounded is a large red flag. I propose a small team of familiar and friendly faces to travel to Psera to get an update on the Queen's recovery, and if there is anything they need."

King Chancellor of the Forgotten Land raised his hoof. He was an Alicorn about Luna's size with a dark blue coat, a light blue mane and tail, and neon blue. A novice compared when he first met Queen Arcadia. He attempted to flirt but she turned him down. She was in fact married and had a five year old foal.

He asked, "As defensive as Psera is, we need a small team of fast Pegasi. These ponies are all military. In case something happens, we need these ponies to be expert fliers and get out of there fast."

A claw was raised from Dragon Lord Ember. "I second that," she commented. "All in favor?"

All hooves, claws, and talons were raised to the ceiling. All were in favor and accounted. So Novo nodded and looked back to her girlfriend. "Celestia? As speaker, I am assigning Equestria to supply fast fliers, and a representative to travel across seas to Psera with the necessary required equipment of your choosing after Hearth's Warming. Hopefully, there will be a response at least within two days. But if not, we will be ready."

Even though that last part wasn't discussed, it didn't need to be. Twilight rarely misses messages and visits on Hearth's Warming. If she does, they'll be sending a team five hundred miles across the ocean just to check on her.

Celestia had the perfect ponies in mind. She'll request Shining visit them with a bag of bits. They'll need that money.

Being a Pseratep had plenty of advantages. For a clear instance: Flying. Pserateps fly faster than Rainbow Dash in Equestria on a bad day. Unfortunately for Fresh Dawn, she and Night Life had to walk through a forest. The tree branches above them were too thick to fly through.

The walk through these woods was as silent as an empty library. Sky Blue and Juniper were riding on Fresh Dawn's back silently. With the exception of Juniper panting on her neck. It felt good to have someone familiar with her on this journey.

Night Life was leading the way. Jumping over branches and leading her across rivers by sweetly allowing her to ride on his back when needed. It was tough work and suspicious, but they did eventually make it to the other side of the forest. A side with a view that made Dawn gasp.

She slowed her speed and walked to a stop next to Night Life. They stood at the edge of a cliff belonging to a mountain they were walking out of. Below them as far as they could see, a large beautiful valley lied. Just beautiful green grass, lakes, and plains all in the same order trapped between two large mountains on her left and right.

Directly below them was a small bustling town. A town holding all types of creatures. She could make out Dragons, Unicorns, some type of bird with rear paws, all kinds of creatures.

"Welp!" Dawn looked up to Night Life's eyes and that smile. "Welcome home. Now we can fly. Follow me."

He jumped off the ledge and flared his large wings open to soar for the small town below them. Looks like they were really doing this. Dawn had never met a dragon in her life.

She pulled her pets from off her back into her hooves. Then jumped off the ledge to fall for the creatures below them.

Night Life's hooves landed on the dirt ground before moving for the entrance. Before he could take a step further, a rough female voice said, "Well, well, well! Look who decided to show back up!"

He directed his eyes up to the roof of one of the wooden homes up ahead. To the orange coated Pseratep mare sunbathing with a pair of goggles lying next to her. A really old pair that weren't even made in Psera anymore. She rolled over onto her stomach and looked down to Night Life with dark green forest eyes. A smirk grew on her face when her straight magenta mane flipped into her eyes. "Look who finally decided to return. Find any berries?"

Night Life trotted over to the small female dragon munching on a gem at the base of the same house and looked up to her. "No, Wings. There weren't any berries. But I did find something better."

The dragon at his hooves looked up to him nonchalantly and asked, "Can we eat it?"

"Er... No."

"Then how is that better?"

"You'll see." He looked to the air to the relatively long winged Princess landing gracefully at the town's entrance. "Come in, don't be shy."

Dawn set her pets down and carefully walked into town with them between her hooves. There were a lot of ponies watching her. But she's already used to stares. "Wings" immediately straightened up on the ceiling with wide eyes on Dawn and asked, "Is that..."

Night Life nodded and made his way back to Dawn. "Yep," he answered proudly. "She's an Alicorn."

Dawn stopped in front of the dragon and corrected nervously, "W-Well, b-biologically speaking I'm an Alicorn-Pseratep. My father is a Pseratep and my mother is an Alicorn descendant of Psera. I'm the first naturally Alicorn-Pseratep in existence."

Night Life ignored that and added, "She's a princess. Her parents are the King and Queen of Psera, so she tells me."

Wings jumped down from the roof to the ground and flared her wings out proudly. "Well then!" She shouted. "Someone pissed of Narmeelah a lot if she put the heir to the throne here! Welcome to Founder's Island! I'm Heated Wings, this here's Lucky, and you've already met Night Life. The others are around."

Dawn smiled and watched her pets walk up to Lucky to yip and sniff at her. "Thanks," she replied. This town was pretty quaint. Small and really quiet. Peaceful. But that wasn't an excuse to let down her guard.

Heated Wings zipped over so fast there was a trail of rising dirt. She placed a hoof around Dawn's neck to lead her further in and asked, "So what happened? How'd you end up here?"

Dawn answered, "Uhhh... I was kidnapped by Zebras."

The three of these creatures fawned and nodded. Wings had to stop and hum to herself. It was always the Zebras. Lucky yawned from the ground and commented, "Yeah, those evil Zebras are something. So why'd they kidnap you?"

Dawn stopped walking and answered, "I don't know. It doesn't make any sense at all. They said that because I exist that it would destroy Equus. So they threw me over the the cliff in Lavender before mom saved me. Then... Something happened to me. I remember seeing the scared look on her face. She had a bandage on her right eye because... The Zebras infiltrated the castle. Something happened at the castle."

Well that was completely backwards. Lucky stood up and stated, "That makes no sense."

Night Life agreed with, "Yes, something isn't right. If your parents are in power then that means Narmeelah isn't. And the Zebras work for Psera's crown. The Zebras were Narmeelah's private police when she was in power. They go where Narmeelah points and handle missions like this with dedication. Someone had to have pissed her off in some way or the Zebra never would have attacked the Majesty's side."

Dawn shook her head and promised, "All I did was take my pets for their morning walks. Then they grabbed me, tied me up, ran with me all to Lavender, and threw me over a cliff. I did absolutely nothing."

Chapter 03 - Approaching

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Waiting for news was so tedious. But Queen Arcadia is a patient Queen. She had more to worry over than her Aquatas taking up formation and preparing launch at sea this morning. Like all of the paperwork she had to take over now. Queen Arcadia was now a widow and monarch of Psera. A single ruler unlike before. There was no more King and Queen. Now there was only a Queen.

Her office space couldn't have been more silent. Save for the scribbling of pen against forms and documents. Taking over was a large stack on the left of her desk before a sheet was slid to her middle for her to read on top of her screen, write on, then added to the pile on the right.

Repetition, repetition, repetition. But it had to be done. She was sure she'd have bags under her eyes before the week was out. After the one hundred fiftieth document, she set the pen down and looked to all of her LiVAMs. No news yet on the Aquata launch formation. Once they take up formation at the Psera Obelisk Line, then they'll finally be able to strike back and avenge their fallen friends and allies. Zebrica declared war on Psera that day.

Psera would be more than happy to comply.

Queen Arcadia stood up from her seat and put on her hoof shoes for a comfortable walk around Safe Haven when someone knocked on her door. Without looking up, she ordered, "Enter!"

Gardeen pushed the door open and walked in with a tight glossy green smile. "I just got word: The Secretary of Defense is ready to launch at any time on your command."

Queen Arcadia's face slowly turned into a grin of joy. That walk could wait. "Have Secretary Manny gather all Administrators and project directors into the Control Room at the Office of Defense. Is there any word on ETA?"

Once Queen Arcadia had her shoes on, she walked out the door with Gardeen and her Guards. Her hooves were anxious and excitedly moving faster than any of them.

Gardeen caught up with her at the elevator and answered, "They said within three hours it should reach Equestria, then Mount Aris before finally touching down in Zebrica."

"Perfect. I want to launch as soon as possible so order all Executive Defense Staff and Program Leaders in the Office Of Defense immediately. Tell them I'm on my way."

"Yes, Queen Arcadia."

These were seriously the last ponies Shining would ever choose for an escort team to Psera. When Celestia delivered the recommendation, Shining waited until Hearth's Warming Eve afternoon until he decided to pursue it. He put on his best outfit at home and took a train to Canterlot with the information and mission in a thick steel suitcase. All information about this was underground and classified just in case they were dealing with something serious.

Shining was hoping they weren't and it was minor.

After the trip to a busy Canterlot, Shining Armor walked through the cold winter streets for a specific place the recommendation pointed him to. Although getting in wouldn't be easy, he had enough cred to get inside.

Shining walked past the castle, Donut Joes, the street where he grew up as a foal over to an exclusive bar where all of Canterlot would go. It was loud and noisy already. A place called Rising Stars. Home to the top ponies in Equestrian Society, like the name implied.

He walked past a line of ponies in his extravagant black and white suit over to the big bouncer guarding a red rope. He could see all the ponies in there talking, drinking, smoking, all types of things. He reached into his suit when the bouncer—a large mare Unicorn who could be Bulk Muscles' wife—spotted him and pulled out a gold and silver badge.

"I'm here to see the Wonderbolts. Official Government Business."

She stared at it with dark blue eyes for a sign of fraud but it was definitely legit. She knew real when she saw it. The bouncer lifted the rope and let him in before closing up the entrance one more.

Being in a bar wasn't Shining's forte. He was more of a laid back, drink-at-home-with-the-buddies kind of guy. And this was the reason why. A lot of talking, shouting, laughing, cigarette smoke, and angry yelling before he had to duck from something being thrown. Bad part about it all, these ponies were celebrities. Well-known actors, dancers, entertainers. Rich ponies. Eh, who cares? He was on a mission more important than what they thought they were.

He walked over to a nearby table hosting the fastest legendary showboats he's ever witnessed. The Wonderbolts. Tonight there were only three of them. Soarin, Rainbow Dash, and Spitfire. Laughing and having a good time. Unfortunately, he had to interrupt it.

He grabbed a chair from a nearby table and slid into an empty place at their own. Then dropped down in between both Spitfire and Rainbow Dash across from Soarin. Rainbow recognized him immediately.

"Hey, egghead's brother!" She greeted. Rainbow jabbed him playfully in the side. "How's it going? What are you doing here?"

Shining looked between both Dash and Spitfire and answered, "I'm here to see the both of you actually, and I would be doing much better if you two could not ask questions and follow me."

Spitfire grabbed the handle of a mug of Apple Cider and started gulping down what was left. Which happened to be the whole cup. Shining didn't even know that was possible and looked to the rest of the table for a reaction. The most he got was Soarin staring nonchalantly and Rainbow Dash nodding her head like a crazy pony. Were they really the right ones for this job?

Once Spitfire downed her cup, she slapped it back on the table and belched louder than she flies. She slapped Rainbow's outstretched hoof and smirked at Shining.

"What?" She asked. "You caught us in a bar, what did you think was going to happen? So where we goin', Sparks' brother?"

Shining stood up and lifted the suitcase for them to stare at. Rainbow didn't get it because she was shaking her head, but Spitfire knew that suitcase anywhere. It was the 'It's a Secret' suitcase.

She hopped up from her seat all business and trotted past Shining. "Follow me. Come on, Rainbow. You'll want to be here for this one. Guard our table, Soarin!"

Spitfire led them through the dark atmosphere of the bar and the idiots dancing around to the door leading to the kitchen in the back. She pushed it open carelessly and walked inside with them on her tail. It was much brighter and quieter in here, despite all the cooking and cleaning going on. Ponies working watched them pass before continuing their job.

Her journey led them to a single wooden door on the right she walked into. A meeting room for the staff. Shining knew one when he saw one. It had dirty tiled floors, a few circular tables , and a whiteboard at the very front for announcing upcoming events.

Once Shining and Rainbow Dash were inside, Spitfire closed and locked the door. "Alright, we're in private," she said.

A decent room with barely any exits and a table? Perfect. Shining took the lead and sat down at one. "Thank you, Spitfire," he said. "Have a seat, please. Both of you."

Rainbow Dash was a little critical about all of this. She's never done anything like this before. She barely had a clue of what was going on. Just that it was going to be a long few minutes.

Shining opened up the briefcase and pulled out two forms he slid across to them.

"This is a confidentiality agreement," he made clear. His eyes glared into the both of theirs. "What I'm about to tell you, cannot leave this room. You can't tell anyone else."

Spitfire popped the pen in her mouth and quickly signed her name on the bottom with the precision of a Wonderbolt. Rainbow Dash was a little more careful with hers. But they both signed and slid it back to him.

Next he pulled more papers and a voice recorder.

"Okay," he began. "Yesterday, Princess Celestia, Queen Novo, and Secretary Glimmer with Ambassador Shimmer came across a clue as to Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle's sudden silence. A message made to stay on Psera reached out to the Embassy and we managed to get a hold of it."

He diddled with the voice recorder and played back what was played inside of the IHT meeting yesterday. "This is Senior Captain Dark Silver of the Elite Guard. All Captains and Lieutenants are to report teams to the castle immediately. Multiple casualties, and the Queen is wounded. Multiple bodies in the Throne Room, beware of bombs. We need air support for the Secretary of Royalty and Queen. No word on the King."

Rainbow Dash gasped and repeated, "Bombs?"

Apprehension gripped Spitfire's heart. She glared at the recorder and asked, "What the buck is going on in Psera?"

Shining sighed with the weight of a worried brother and answered, "We're not sure. But we do know for a fact that if the Queen was wounded there was an attack. She hasn't been responding to any of our messages or letters, nor any of her staff. We're trying to hold out until after Hearth's Warming for a response. But if we don't get anything, that's when you two come in."

Whoa, wait! Were they going on a mission?! Rainbow drawled, "Whoa, time out. Are we in the military or something here?"

Shining shook his head and quickly replied, "No. But that's good for the mission. The International House of Trade has decided to send Ambassador Shimmer because she's a familiar and friendly face in Psera, and you two because you are the fastest Equestria has to offer. All of you aren't threatening and have no weapons. Psera is alarmed and sending soldiers would be a bad idea."

A group of soldiers with spears and crossbows are threatening to the country with razor sharp blades, huge cannons on top of huge boats, and five branches of military with the strongest Queen in the existence of Equus? Yeah, Rainbow Dash wasn't so sure about that.

But she agreed and asked, "So how are we getting Ambassador Shimmer there? Last I checked, she can't fly."

"She just needs a push on the cloud that you'll be giving her. Sunset knows the spell to walk on clouds, so she can carry herself. She just needs you guys to push her in that direction and escort her to Psera."

"Will we be allowed on Psera?"

Shining shrugged and answered, "That's up to them. Psera is approximately five hundred twenty eight miles off the West Coast of Las Pegasus. Go there, check on Queen Arcadia, and get out. We'll be watching remotely from Equestria with one of Psera's own devices implanted on Ambassador Shimmer's body. Anymore questions?"

Rainbow Dash had a lot of questions. Too many for today actually. But Shining definitely couldn't answer any of them. So she asked the one he could. "How long would it take us to get there?"

"A minimum of three hours at your speed. You'll have to fly pretty fast and be ready, okay? Remember, you're peaceful and just want to know how Queen Arcadia is doing."

Okay, that sounds easy enough. Get to Psera, ask how they're doing, come back home. Easy as pie. Rainbow leaned back and crossed her hooves with Spitfire. Then they both said at the same time, "We're in."

It was happening. Tonight was the night. The sun had set to plunder Psera into a dark world littered with light resembling snowflakes all over the country. They hit the streets of Lavender, the Mausoleums holding the Royalsa Passed, and the Royal Pod carrying Queen Arcadia to the Office of Defense building finally rolling into view.

Queen Arcadia's expression to the press flashing their cameras at the pod was nonchalant. She was already used to Psera's press. Late at night though was new.

Her sights moved from her window to Her Majesty Molten Ice glaring at the picture of her son in her hooves. She was feeling vengeful. Twilight knew exactly how she was feeling.

The time was twelve fifty-one at night, Hearth's Warming. The Aquatas holding the Marrials had taken up their positions on the East Coast at Sea. With a trajectory straight for Zebrica.

The Guards quickly opened the doors for the Queens of Psera and stood by while they proceeded up the Office of Defense's stairs. Anxiety was high and anger was deep. Tonight was the night the timer would begin. At approximately one in the morning, those Marrials were going into the air, and would land in Zebrica in six hours at seven. Ending this millennia-long feud with the zebras.

After a silent and urgent trek through the building's long silent halls and up a well of stairs, they arrived in a large busy dark room. Her Majesty Molten Ice remembered this room very well. This was the same room they watched Queen Arcadia go at it with Maheera Dark. Full of controls, an observatory deck, and soldiers manning cameras and data. This was both their strategy and command room.

It was dark as the night outside. The three large LiVAMs on the far wall past the rows of command stations occupied by soldiers displayed live feeds of the Aquatas at sea. On their decks were large pods holding four Marrials each, amed towards the darkened winter sky. A long line of them awaiting command.

Queen Arcadia met the rest of the executives leading this attack at the command station, a balcony overlooking the rest of Mission Control below them that allowed them to shout orders and plan at the same time. And where Queen Arcadia will be doing the detonating of the bombs herself.

General Bold Shoulder of the Force Guard, General Neon Lightning of the Aqua Guard, General Mack Land of the Aerial Guard, Admiral Shooting Star of the Coast Guard, and Secretary Manny of the Elite Guard were all there to bow and greet the Queens upon their arrival.

"Your majesties," Secretary Manny greeted. She rose and waved out to the sea of soldiers talking and making adjustments below, and the single bright red button on the railing. "We're ready to strike at any time."

All made room for Queen Arcadia's wings when she approached the red button attached to the balcony's railing. The one that would flip the ground with blood and fire. This button would be the Zebras' death sentence.

Her eyes trained on the night vision feed supplied to them by cameras on the Aquatas and asked, "Where are we?"

"Directly at your Obelisk Line," General Bold Shoulder answered. "The Marrials should take, at most, six hours to reach land. We are expecting a few bumps and hurdles along the way, but they will land."

Queen Arcadia didn't doubt that. Thirty Marrials making impact in a foreign country were more than enough. If they lose one or two, then that's fine. This was just to completely decimate Zebrica and its state. Permanently.

Queen Arcadia looked to the time behind them on the wall. Less than a minute. So she turned back and ordered, "Engage all Marrials."

General Neon Lightning—a mare with a neon blue coat, light blue and white mane and tail, light green eyes, eight foot wings—shouted, "All Aquatas, engage all Marrials!"

The soldiers at the command stations immediately started arming their stations. The images on-screen showed the soldiers on the decks of the Aquatas scrambling to get to a safe distance below deck when smoke billowed out from behind the Marrial Pods.

"Aquatas One, Two, Three, and Four engaged!"

"Aquatas Five and Six engaged!"

"Aquatas Seven and Eight engaged!"

They were ready. All eyes on the clock and Queen Arcadia. Glaring at the giant LiVAMs. Her mind was confusing her. Was this the right thing to do? To attack a country that could barely defend itself and become the bully to this story? To tear them to pieces for the mere murder of Psera's innocents?

Her doubts were erased when a flashback of her own husband dying in her hooves after having a bomb blow his chest open speared through her mind. Then an image of her daughter collapsing into dust in those same hooves less than two hours later. The burn on her face that took half her vision. The slaughter of the innocent Pserateps celebrating her return to the throne with her family. Right in front of her very eyes she saw them all die. She saw their relatives cry. Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends experiencing an unnecessary grief.

Queen Arcadia's violet eyes glowered and narrowed in anger. They slaughtered innocent ponies in cold blood because of a superstition. The least she could do was return the favor.

After all, she was a fair Queen.

The second the clock struck one, like a buzzer in her mind, Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle nodded to Secretary Manny who ordered down, "Launch away, control!"

The second the command was given, thirty ponies down below pressed keys on their control boards. Queen Arcadia looked up from them to the LiVAMs and observed the Marrials take off by engaging boosters inside of their pods on each Aquata.

They slowly rose out into view and billowed pillars of smoke onto the deck of their ships. The fire from their boosters shined like stars in the sky, ascending higher and higher, accelerating faster and faster from their sight on a path to Zebrica.

Queen Arcadia couldn't wait until seven.

Hearth's Warming in Equestria was always filled with celebration. Singing, dancing, playing out in the snow. Especially in the cities such as Canterlot. It was as if mornings never existed. Ponies were out at five showing off their toys, new clothes, and creations. Rarity was out with Spike and Sweetie Belle generously giving away knitted scarves of her own design. Applejack and Apple Bloom were out hoofing away free apple treats, Fluttershy was out with her family and somehow tending to the animals at the same time in the White Tail woods.

As for Rainbow Dash? She was up in Cloudsdale with her family and Scootaloo. Practically her own daughter. Sunset Shimmer, Starlight, Maud, and Trixie decided to spend theirs together back at Trixie's place on the other side of Ponyville near the Train station. Laughing, opening thoughtful gifts and having fun.

Princess Cadance, Flurry, and Shining Armor brought their Hearth's Warming to Ponyville to be with Twilight Velvet and Night Light. The home was cozy and set up with presents, bows, decorations, and sweet treats Flurry was indulging in on their couch. Grandma's sweets were always an anxiety-killer.

Mom and dad were all snuggly-wuggly on the couch across wearing those ugly sweaters. Spike said he'd drop by later with Sweetie Belle to help her get out of this awkwardness. Now if only Grandma and Grandpa could stop pacing a ring in the carpet.

Cadance was wrapped up in Shining's hooves drinking from a mug of cocoa watching them pace with her. Her mane was recently done into a bun with small sideburns that accentuated her look of nonchalance.

She sighed into her cup and assured, "I'm sure Twily is fine."

Twilight Velvet's pacing never ceased. Although she did shout, "Then why isn't she here?! She would never miss a Hearth's Warning with her daughter and husband after ten years of absence!"

Cadance couldn't argue with that. So, she went back to sipping her hot chocolate. This was a very tense family get-together.

Flurry groaned and tilted her head back on the couch so she was looking at the ceiling and out the window. Whatever is going on... Hey, what's that?

Flurry trained her eyes on a bright star soaring through the clouds dropping snow across Equestria. Bright and leaving a cloud of its own in the form of a trail nearing Ponyville's air. A moving star!

Flurry rolled over and pushed aside Grandma and Grandpa's curtain. It was coming from behind Aunt Twilight's old castle. A really big star. Flurry slowly placed her hooves on her grandparents' hardwood floors and walked to the front door to step outside. Her eyes trained right back on that huge shining star.

"Hey mom, look!" She shouted. "A moving star!"

Cadance removed herself from Shining and walked around her pacing in-laws to stand next to Flurry in the doorway. She focused her eyes on that large star nearing Ponyville. Brighter than Celestia's sun and seemingly twinkling.

She smiled by the time Shining and her in-laws followed them outside and watched it near Ponyville. They weren't the only ponies to notice. The foals playing outside stopped running in the snow and pointed hooves up to the sky. Towards the approaching star.

Ponies in Canterlot were stopping what they were doing and locked eyes on it too, like Princesses Luna and Celestia were watching it from their balcony. Flying high above.

Then another one appeared from behind the clouds. Princess Flurry sat down and watched it inch closer and closer. When she spotted the second one, she pointed a hoof up to the sky and shouted, "There's two of them!"

Whatever they were, they were really big. Cadance could make out their shapes, similar to sharp white pencils. They were still hard to materialize entirely, but she could still see all three of them.

Cadance placed a hoof on Shining and asked, "What are those?"

He shrugged and answered, "I have no clue."

When one finally reached directly over Ponyville, the other two behind it seemed to align themselves before a scary sight appeared behind those: a line of ten stars appeared. Followed closely by another ten of them and seven after.

The ground under every Ponyville citizens' hooves slowly rumbled to life. Vibrations collapsed snow ponies, rattled windows, and created a scare. Shining Armor had a really bad feeling about those. They looked nice at first, but now...

He ordered, "Everypony inside now. Go, go."

He started pushing his parents back and led his wife and daughter in with them. He wasn't the only one. When the vibrations began, ponies began grabbing things from outside that could break and brought them in with them. A random flower pot hitting a walkway wasn't so lucky.

The window Celestia was standing next to in Canterlot had a coffee mug vibrating when they passed over really close.

Luna grabbed it with her magic and said, "I feel something bad is about to happen."

Celestia was getting that exact same feeling. She looked to a nearby Guard and ordered, "Have a team follow those Stars immediately. I don't like it."

A tapping on her hoof and Queen Arcadia's eyes were open. Did she seriously fall asleep? Her violet eye blinked to rid of any crust and scan her surroundings. Right, she fell asleep in the break room around the corner from the Command Center. She refused to leave until those Marrials made landfall.

Her Violet eyes looked up into Molten's ice blues. "Less than fifteen minutes," she reported.

Good. Time to wake up now. Queen Arcadia stood up and flared her wings open to stretch her limbs. Her bones ached for the need of a massage. Merry would see to that in a heartbeat.

Queen Arcadia walked around Molten and out the doors to the room around the corner. It was day now. She recognized familiar day staff stopping in the busy halls to bow when she and Molten passed. Then continued with what they were doing before.

The Command Center's lights were still out but that was okay. Arcadia wasn't focused on those if at all. She wanted updates. She walked inside and turned an immediate right to bound up the stairs. It seems the Generals too were getting a little sleep in, and who could blame them? Six hours was nearly a whole work day watching a display monitor. It became old rather quickly.

The generals saluted when she took her place at the rail with smoldering eyes on the ponies taking command below. The LiVAMs were displaing live feeds of trajectory by map and tracking lines of all thirty Marrials. Right now...

"Where are we?" Arcadia queried.

Secretary Manny approached her side and answered, "Approximately six thousand feet above Equestria. After that, we're flying over Mount Aris before descending and making landfall in Zebrica."

Her words were true. Because another one of Celestia's red-ribbon scrolls whisked into her line of sight by Dragon Fire. She's received at least two each week. It was really sweet, but then again, they sided with Molten Ice when they thought she was merely shaken from the battle with Maheera and her Mecrah Portal. They gave her no support and trusted that Zebra more than her intuition. It was like the wedding all over again. But instead of losing Shining and Cadance,v They left her when they needed her most.her family was dead.

Queen Arcadia didn't even bother to open it. She used her magic to incinerate it into ashes and focused on the task at hoof: Getting those Marrials across to Zebrica. She waved a hoof across her line of sight and ordered, "Have the Marrials span out into a three hundred sixty degree radius during the attack! Rain on every last spot in Zebrica if you can on its diameter!"

Whatever those long huge pencils were, they left trails in the sky. It didn't take long for the Princesses and personnel to find out where they came from.

Their journey led them all the way from Canterlot and Ponyville to the beach of Las Pegasus. Next to the abandoned Trade Facility and the small block of steel Queen Arcadia gifted to them so long ago. Their hooves slowed down when they stepped into the cold waters of the ocean and directed their eyes towards the west. The smoke trails soared out of sight over blue waters. Leaving only one responsible.

Princess Luna pointed and assumed, "West. Psera. There is no other country with technology like that."

Celestia wasn't so certain. Either that or in denial. "Let's not make any assumptions. It could have been a group in between Psera and Equestria." Based off of Cadance and Luna's deadpan, they all knew that was extremely unlikely. Well there was no proof of Psera's involvement except that they came from the west.

Celestia turned around and trotted back onto cold sand. "Right now we're following after them as fast as we can. Let's go. They were last seen over Manehattan. If we hurry, we can catch them." She didn't wait for a response. She took off into the air after the Marrials as fast as she could with Luna and Cadance on her tail.

By the time they did catch up, they had joined a division of Equestria's Pegasi Guards soaring directly underneath the stars over Mount Aris. Celestia casted a look down to the castle. She could make out Queen Novo and her daughter among all the snow. Even with a coat as white as hers she could still make out the feathers on her head.

One of the Guards leading the chase slowed next to Princess Celestia and saluted. She nodded to him and acknowledged, "Lieutenant Lightning Ways!"

Lieutenant Ways was a Pegasus stallion with a dark brown coat and a short gray windswept mane and tail of the same color. He was promoted personally by Princess Celestia many years ago for a certain task he managed to complete on his own out of the country in Breighton.

"Ma'am!" he greeted. Then pointed above. "No change in pattern or speed! These things are fast! A few of my group had to land! Whatever they are show no sign in slowing down!"

Luna asked, "Is there a formation? Maybe we can cross—"

A loud blare above interrupted their planning and brought them back to the present. To the lead Star up ahead. It suddenly began lowering elevation out from the cover of the clouds and finally broke into their sight. After all this time managed to finally show itself. And it was big.

Celestia gasped and ordered, "Everypony break!!" Then tilted to the right side and avoided the star's loud booster. Whatever this was, it was definitely not a star.

It was a long white metal tube with a really sharp red point flashing at the long skinny tip. It had four fins in the back around the booster and two wings in the middle with a red light on the left and a blue on the right. A single term was on one side, sketched inside of Celestia's mind in Ponish.

"Marrial," she read. She was rejoined by Cadance and Luna staring all around them when two plates of the "Marrial" popped out from the back to fall to the sea below. Two more boosters poked out, then a long beep and they were accelerating with a big blast that could've blown out Celestia's eardrums.

Luna's hair was blown back further trying to fly faster than she's flown her entire life. But even she nor the Guards could catch up to it. It was if the laws of physics didn't apply. Then she gasped and pointed ahead to the one continent they were coming up on. "Celestia!" She shouted. "They're aiming for Zebrica!"

Celestia followed her line of sight to the land's coast they were approaching. Zebrica was only but eighty miles long and nothing like their own. But they had many goods they were willing to trade with IHT. Whatever this thing was it was aiming right for them.

The sky appeared empty, but Celestia could see the rest of the Marrials dotting the airspace of the country and closing in fast. They weren't going to catch up!

Four blurs suddenly zipped right past them aiming straight for the Marrials. One of them had a streak of Rainbow to it. The Wonderbolts! Rainbow Dash zipped underneath the lead Marrial ahead and grabbed it with her hooves alongside Fleetfoot, Spitfire, and Soarin. Then began to push it upwards.

The Princesses were joined by Flurry Heart next to her mother. Before Cadance could start, she pointed ahead and announced, "I asked them to help us!"

The wonderbolts managed to grab one and turn it around towards the distance before moving on to three more. Hopefully, they'd stop them in time.

One of the Commandeers below in the Command Room back on Psera turned back to the command balcony and reported, "Ma'am, Marrial One is getting forceful interference from the outside!"

Forceful Interference? What would be able to stop their...

Arcadia smoldered her eyes and growled, "Equestria. Intervening."

Well Secretary Manny would have none of that. They wanted to play? They can play harder. She approached the bars on the balcony and ordered what Queen Arcadia wanted. "All Marrials, commence manual control override and evasive maneuvers! Lose the Pegasi!"

They were doing it. After they were joined by the Hippogriffs, the Princesses managed to catch up with even more of the Marrials. They used their magic with the strength of the Equestrian Pegasi and the Hippogriffs and managed to tilt them off towards a different trajectory. It was hard work and it took nearly ten creatures to get one in a different direction. But they got at least half of them so far, and they were within two miles from Zebrica.

Novo glided next to Celestia and gasped for air with a smile. "Well this is a day I've been waiting for," she said. "Sweating with Princess Celestia."

Celestia smirked and playfully rolled her eyes before they were directed back to the Marrials. After a big sound like a great long buzz, the lights on the Marrials turned red and started to fly on their own. Then they zipped right back down to where they were before. Their positions.

"Incoming!!" Novo pushed Celestia in one direction while she went in the other when one of those Marrials soared loudly right through where they were before. Accelerating for Zebrica.

Luna caught up to them with Cadance and Flurry to suggest, "We can't stop them! We have to get the Zebras moving!!"

Right. Celestia teleported all of them straight onto Zebrica in one of their villages during what must be a ceremony. There was music, dancing, eating, singing, laughing, all of that. Zebrica's land was mundane, yet still populated. Instead of brick and mortar, there were mud huts, tents, forests, an all natural home with barely any responsibility.

Celestia tilted her head back and shouted in her Canterlot Voice, "EVERYPONY STOP!!!" Like a record scratch, the music stopped playing, all dancing ceased, singing, laughter, and anything else froze.

One of the wise Shamans wearing gold on the side approached with a glare and asked, "Princesses, we are—"

Celestia pointed behind her and interrupted, "You must run! There are thirty large projectiles heading in your direction with an interest in Zebrica! You are in danger!"

Danger?! Before the shamans could question it, Flurry gasped and pointed to the clouds behind the Zebras.

"Look!" She shouted. One of the Marrials was less than five miles away and closing fast. And after a look around, it was clear that they were surrounded.

Celestia wasted zero time. She zipped down and used her head to pick up one of the Zebra foals and deposit her onto her back. "We have to move now! Run! RUN!!"

Queen Arcadia watched in fascination as the distance counter lowered further from zero. Half a mile and closing. Her cold remaining eye moved down to the bright red button hidden under a glass case. Once again, her mind was riddled with doubts. It wouldn't be right to take their lives. They were innocent in this.

So was my family, and all of the two hundred in my castle. She remembered all the blood, gore, pain, screaming, bombs. Her husband dying in her hooves, and her daughter collapsing into dust less than two hours later. That was the last time she heard their voices. In pain. They died in pain.

So shall they. That's why she flipped the glass and jammed her hoof on the button. All lights on the Marrial control stations below turned to red. Like a sea of blood.

"Armed," she reported. Then ordered with a growled, "All Marrials... Make Landfall."

Chapter 04 - Landfall

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The first impact took thirty seconds after they began running. Celestia was right, they were in danger. Whatever these things were, they were fatally destructive.

They were running away across a green landscape, riddled with hills and no sign of cover with Zebra foals on their backs and adults rushing across when the first one made an entrance. Far ahead on the left. When it hit, it was with a huge fiery explosion and a blast that blew ponies back. An impact that blew apart the ground, and threw dirt, fire, and soil into the air.

The Princesses screamed and fell to the ground after a wave of debris blew across their bodies and line of sight. Turning the sky dark. Then a second one landed that launched them through the air.

Luna's ears rang. Her nerves danced with the vibrations from the impacts. Her wings were protecting the crying foals in her hooves as explosion after explosion rattled her very life. Blowing her feathers askew per blast. Like a never ending thunderstorm.

She looked around her through the flames and smoke, and saw horror. Zebras on the ground with some lying motionless in the dirt in a pool of red and limbs, oh stars above... Some were running around on fire before even more Marrials made landfall. There were more of these monstrosities destroying civilization as they knew it. Still spearing into their land. And these weren't even close to normal explosives. Normal explosives didn't spread flames and create wildfires.

Their blue peaceful skies of celebration turned to darkness and red. Smoke plumes rose to choke anyone attempting to fly in to rescue as their crops, food, vegetation, and homes were blown to ashes. The need for a coat was no more. The temperature was rising quickly.

Princess Celestia ducked into Luna's sight with the rest of them and helped her get to at least shaking hooves.

"Fly into the air!!" She shouted. "We're safer up there!! Go, GO!!"

Right, they still had survivors. She saw the Guards from both Equestria and Mount Aris fly in through the smoke layer above with chariots landing next to Zebras during the attack. That's right, it was no longer a clue. This was an attack.

Luna scrambled back to her senses and held the foals tightly. Then flew into the sky as fast as she could. Another one of these things blew a cloud of fire directly underneath her. Literally putting a fire to her flank that pushed her to go faster than she was already. Through the hot cloudy layer of death and destruction into a cold winter. Both sides weren't promising. But the one behind her was a death sentence.

She witnessed one of the last ones fly through the layer into the ground very far away where the trees supplying Zebrica's fruit were, heard a boom, and saw all of their supply erupt in flames. Whoever did this had some guts, and they were going to be plucked from their body.

After all thirty of these Stars of Death had made landfall on Zebrica and all survivors had been taken to Mount Aris for refuge and medical assistance, the Princesses of Equestria and Queen Novo flew up into the sky and looked at what was left of Zebrica. All Flurry Heart, Cadance, Luna, Celestia, and Novo could do was shed tears at what was nothing but fire, destruction, blood, and unimaginable loss.

Flurry's normally spotless coat of white was now littered with dirt, soil, and blood that wasn't her own. As much trouble as she was going to get in, Cadance couldn't deny she was happy she was there to help. She's been doing that a lot lately, especially in IHT. Maybe she can help them figure out who did this. Because she didn't have a clue.

Cadance locked eyes on the Wonderbolts carrying more wounded up to the chariots floating above and asked to no one in particular with a hoarse voice, "Who... Who would do this?" Her tone was sorrowful and traumatized. It was as if she could feel the pain of the Zebras right now. "Who would do this to a country that already has less than they actually need?"

Celestia couldn't fathom the thought. Her mind couldn't come up with anyone willing to uproot an entire country from flowing green land into nothing but dead bloodless bodies and dirt. Let alone on Hearth's Warming. A tear fell from her eye. One of many that would soon not be her own.

"I... Don't know," she answered.

Only one pony did. Queen Arcadia smiled in Psera when all the Marrials went offline. They all made landfall in Zebrica. A direct hit. Hopefully with a lot of pain and destruction in their plentiful spots. Now they know to leave Psera alone. To leave her children alone.

She nodded to the blue screened LiVAMs and ordered, "I want visuals. Keep it dark until I have it." Then turned around and made her way back to the stairs leading down to the entrance to the Command Room.

Secretary Manny saluted and replied, "Yes, ma'am. We'll have pictures on your desk tomorrow morning."

Queen Arcadia walked with Molten and her Security back to the entrance of The Office of Defense building with her head held high, a slightly lifted spirit, and a smile on her face. Molten's expression mirrored her own: Prideful and full of relief. The sun was rising once again on Psera's darker days. Full of light.

Arcadia reached up to the golden ball dangling around her neck—Dawn's remains—and placed a soft gentle kiss on it. Then on the marriage ring.

"We did it," she whispered. "They will never mess with us again. I made sure of it."

The first night here in this strange land Dawn arrived in was motionless and quiet. The Zebras sent Dawn to what Night Life called a Time Pocket. Where all creatures who retaliate against Narmeelah go. And—in Lucky's—case were told. She was banished from the real world because Wings told her about Narmeelah. Which was entirely unfair.

The homes they built were surprisingly nice. They were down-to-Equus, simple, and very minimal. Of course she would be missing her LiVAMs, friends, and family, but at least she had Sky Blue, Juniper, and her books.

The homes were all the same. Nearly identical to townhouses in Section Two of Capita and next to each other on a single street. Over fifty ponies were moved by Zebras, Narmeelah's personal police. Then pretty much teleported to a whole other time and space in that same dimension with no way out. These ponies were born years before her great great great great great grandparents were born. Which meant Night Life was thousands of years old stuck in a teen's body. Maybe even hundreds of thousands.

He was still cute.

Dawn's home was protected by a single wooden door between two windows facing the center of town. There was a front lawn with a dirt path leading up to the doors with nice green grass. The homes were two stories tall and made out of a strange white wood. Wings said that it was much stronger than traditional wood. Dawn wasn't sure how, but she trusted her word.

After she walked inside, Dawn was met with a dark wooden staircase leading to the second floor holding two bedrooms, a large living room on the right, and a kitchen on the left. The floors too were wood, practically everything in here was. It was hard to come by other goods when you were literally the only ponies here. There were no distributions, no shims, nothing. Just a wooden home with a wooden living room, wooden benches for couches, blankets made out of moss, and... That's it. The kitchen was a big wooden table next to a makeshift grill.

Dawn needed to find a way to get off this island. But not tonight, she was too tired. It's been a long day.

Once she and her pets were settled in one of the bedrooms upstairs, Dawn took off her crown and put it inside of her bag. Then took out all of her books. The dark magic tomes her mother gave her to study, and... The Quote Book. The book mom made and gifted to her.

She settled down on the green moss pad and adjusted her body so Sky Blue and Juniper could get close under her wings. This was one of those times where she was happy to have this. She set it in front of her and flipped it open to the first page.

"Ugh... What happened?"

That groan and that voice. Wow, someone's extremely late. Dawn smiled and asked to the wall across, "Now is the time you choose to wake, First Light? You've missed a lot. We've been sent to a dimension hidden inside this world with no knowledgeable way out."

"Yes, I can see into your memories. Oooh, he's cute. That's a scary ol' dragon. Oh, how I hate showboats."

Dawn rolled her eyes and ironically suggested, "Then maybe we should leave."

"Yeah, that'd be nice. But we'd have to be able to escape time and matter."

Dawn flipped to one of the pages in her book and read one of the lines. A line that would be sketched in her mind forever: "Do not fear the impossible. For if you can think it, then it can be done."

Dawn sighed and made a bookmark at that page by folding a corner. One of her favorite quotes.

"We can do it," she promised. "We just need to know what we're dealing with. We're the Daughters of Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle and King Shimmering Madun. We've worked too hard to fail now. But first..." Dawn looked to her left outside of a window showing the night moonlit sky. Watching her over a poke of rock. "We have to get to that mountain. The locals are scared of it because it's dark, cold, quiet, and very deep."

"Right. Now why are we going there? Let's leave it to these lovely locals who could do it themselves"

Dawn closed her Quote book shut and nuzzled Sky Blue and Juniper with love. Juniper flipped over onto her belly and invited Dawn to blow raspberries. She was so spoiled. "Because I have a feeling it holds answers they won't understand. From there, we can make discoveries and tactics. We just need those answers; and I'm going to get them."

It was disastrous. It was horrifying. It was traumatizing. Celestia, Luna, Novo, Cadance, let alone Flurry had never seen anything like that their whole lives. An attack on a country that was swift, quick, and very very effective. There was so much fire, death, and blood.

Everyone flew straight to Mount Aris with as many crying and wounded Zebras as they possibly could. Some would never walk again, some would die slowly, some were staining the coats of their team with blood and burns. The normally quiet mountain was now filled with their wailing underneath white tents.

Their keepers and protectors watched it all from the safety of Mount Aris' castle joined by Princess Skystar, tending to her mother's light burns on her coat. But none would say a word. The weight of pain was great even on them. A moment of silence until Luna whispered, "What do we do?"

Celestia never moved her eyes away from the devastation in front of them. Of all the pain the Zebras were going through down there. One second they were laughing and playing, the next...

Celestia swallowed down her fear and answered, "We call together another emergency meeting, get these Zebras in a safe place, and investigate this attack. We have three leads. One? This was not random. Zebrica was targeted. These weapons flew over Equestria and Mount Aris in favor of a small country like Zebrica now buried in fire and ashes. Whoever they were wanted Zebrica.

"Two? They flew in from the Western Sea. Our enemy is in the west where Psera lies and has gone dark. Queen Arcadia is a no-show, and there isn't even a liaison or message from her staff. There was a message that there was in fact an attack on Psera that involved bombs and Queen Arcadia was wounded. Unfortunately, we have no way to confirm whether it was from the same enemy such as this one, or something else entirely.

"And three? We have a name. Marrial. A label on the side reading Marrial in Ponish."

As good as all that sounded, Luna wasn't sure. She bit her lip and suggested, "Sister there is nothing but blue seas in the west and one country that holds technology at the same level as these Marrials."

"Luna—"

"Psera," Luna sternly continued. "Is the only country strong enough to attack Zebrica. And... They have their reasons." Novo looked down to Luna when she said that. "Remember The Gold Wars? Twilight's fear of having a Zebra in the castle? She was right, you know. About how she was the only pony to realize something was wrong at Cadance's wedding."

The pony in question sighed to the window and murmured, "Don't remind me. My husband almost kissed a Changeling."

"We must keep an eye on Psera, Celestia. Twilight has immense power in her hooves and extreme influence. Not to mention she's stronger than all of us. She could have sent that order to attack Zebrica."

Celestia still remained lenient. She solemnly shook her head and replied, "I do not believe Twilight is that vengeful, Luna. Her country may have been attacked, but if the Zebra did do anything, then I know for a fact that she would have told us. Zebrica is a member of IHT. If they attack Psera, telling us is much better than a retaliation to avoid a war between our nations."

Luna rolled her eyes at her sister's beliefs. "Of course, but Celestia... When Maheera attacked, Queen Twilight did not hesitate to sacrifice the thousands of ponies with her to molecules."

Cadance bumped in and came to Twilight's defense. "She was protecting us—"

"And let's not forget Her Majesty's proven theory that Queen Arcadia is producing weapons of Mass Destruction on Psera with no clue as to why. These weapons could have been one in her long list. Princesses and Queens, if Twilight is behind this attack, then it is grounds for war. We must send our little group of three to the west as soon as possible. To conduct an under-carpet investigation."

Celestia sighed and walked away from the window back into the castle. "Luna, we have no proof."

"And that is where you're wrong." Luna slowly turned from the window and flicked her wings towards Celestia. Something small and purple flew through the air and caught in Celestia's magic so she could lift it to her face for a closer look.

It appeared to be a chip of a clear purple crystal. It was probably shaved off from a bigger slab. She glanced up to Luna and queried, "What is this?"

"That is a piece of the Marrial after the impact. It stuck in my feathers when I was flying away with the foals. It's the exact same crystal our friend Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle uses to manufacture her Comm Blocks and other forms of communication."

What? As in the communication devices her Guard uses? The one from the Embassy in Ponyville? Cadance and Flurry walked over to Celestia to get a closer look. Sure enough, it was the exact same. They could even feel it and tell. Celestia denied, "That doesn't mean this attack was from Psera."

Luna approached them and explained, "Actually it does. I remember Twilight teaching me that that crystal only grows around large karats of gold because a certain chemical inside of gold is what makes the crystal. However, it's a very small percentage per every ounce of gold. Around one hundredth of a single percent if Twilight's explanation serves me well. In order to make a single Comm Block, you need a block of Gold the size of Flurry Heart."

Celestia swallowed hard and glanced down to this crystal in her hoof. The crystal from Psera. And only Psera. Luna stopped at Celestia's side and glared at the crystal. "You and I both know it's true, Celestia. Psera is responsible. We have to find out why, and it starts with that message."

A sunny day. A great Hearth's Warming. Well not great, actually. Queen Twilight's family wasn't around to be there with her. But that was okay... Okay, not really. But there was nothing that could be done except go live on all LiVAMs and deliver the good news. Silence reigned totalitarian among every household, business, park, event, and school. The Queen was approaching the podium with her look of steel.

When she cleared her throat, the sound echoed through the silence of Psera's citizens. Her bold violet eye burned through the lenses of all the cameras allowed inside of Safe Have. Her voice shouted through their shotgun mics, "Citizens of Merōl, Fenix, Lavender, Capita, Eventa, Rayray, Snow, and all of Psera Skies! I am happy to inform you, that as of nine o'six this morning it has been confirmed... That Zebrica was rendered a wasteland by thirty Marrials!"

Psera cheered and flew in celebration. Arcadia could hear their voices through the walls of her temporary home. "No more will the Zebra haunt our dreams and stalk into our fears! No more will they travel to our world and cause us pain and anguish! Now we haunt them! Psera is strong and won't go down without a fight! We may have lost one battle, but we will win this war! I took an oath to protect Psera! To protect my family, to protect all of my children who reside here in peace, and that is what I am going to do until the day I take my last breath!!"

A lot of stomping, cheering, hooves clopping together, and chanting later and Queen Arcadia was staring through the windows with an excellent view of Rayray. The midday sun covered Twilight in a warm hug that gave little to no relief to the hole she felt in her heart. The one where she should have emotion but now displayed pain across her face. But she paid it little mind. Even when the Zebras were done for, that hole wasn't filled.

"It doesn't go away." Twilight turned to the previously empty space next to her inside this entirely empty hall to Odega, Pony of Flames. A pony literally made of fire. A mare with a bright white coat with glowing orange eyes. She had a mane that reached for the sky like a small campfire, and tail made of orange-red flames.

Twilight sighed and didn't even try to play dumb. "How do you fix it?" She asked.

Odega solemnly shook her head. Those glowing eyes pierced into Twilight's. "You can't. The feeling of loss is not something that can be fixed. It takes time and hope. Losing someone so close to your heart is like losing a limb. You don't know what to do, how life will get any better without it. How can you walk again without them by your side. You can send as many Marrials as you want to wipe Zebrica from existence, put them behind bars for the rest of their lives, make strategy after defensive strategy but... You can't push past it. It has to move at its own pace. Sometimes you never get over it."

Odega faced forward Rayray and added, "Molten hasn't. When the Zebra first stormed Psera, they killed her family before Madun or Merry were even born. And even after she ran their land red with blood, she stopped flying. Have you ever seen Molten fly?"

Well... During the wedding planning. But that was more of a five mile glide if anything. Twilight shook her head and answered, "No. Never."

"She instead outfitted her wings with weapons and uses them that way. And she can swing them too. You may have magic, Arcadia, but Molten has her weapons. And she will use them. Word of advice? Keep yourself busy with the family you do have here."

Twilight tried, she really did. But her face scrunched up and she had to bite her lip at the mention of family. She lost hers to those Zebras. And no matter how much destruction she lays on them, she knew they'll never return.

Odega raised her wing and softly wrapped Twilight in a loving hug when she let out a choked sob. Contact was needed for all of this. She too knew they would never return. No matter what Twilight did, the anger, resentment, pain, and sadness would still be there. That hole would remain. Forever.

Shock, disgust, anger, and horror were IHT's reactions. Like Celestia said, an emergency meeting was set that very afternoon. They all had to fly around Zebrica going up in flames to get to Mount Aris where it would be held. And the second they walked in, everyone started shouting.

"This is an outrage!"

"Who would do such a thing?!"

"What did they gain?!"

Their shouts and words flowed through the castle's halls like endless rapids, flooding into offices and out the windows. Queen Novo had to bang her gavel against its sound block several times to get everyone to settle down.

She shouted, "Order! Order, please! Yes, as I'm pretty sure you all saw, Zebrica was attacked by what is believed so far to be Psera technology. As proof, Princess Luna managed to retrieve a small chip of one of their crystals that only grows from Psera inside of one of these weapons. However, at this hour, we are not sure if it was Psera's actual government considering they have gone dark due to an attack they themselves had gone through. No word yet on the king or anyone else in power."

Amira and Haakim of Saddle Arabia both raised stern hooves and said at the same time across from Novo, "We must send over our Representatives as soon as possible."

Princess Celestia nodded and replied, "Ambassador Shimmer, a past Equestrian Spy, and our fastest Pegasus are preparing for departure tomorrow morning at five sharp to get to Psera by lunchtime. Sunset Shimmer has announced she has a tool that would help us get inside." Celestia looked over to the two double doors at the entrance where Sunset and Starlight were and nodded. "You now have the floor, Ambassador."

Sunset Shimmer walked around the round table holding a really small device that could be fitted in anyone's ear and explained, "This was an experimental tech Psera was rolling with for a few moons in the past that allowed spies to send back live feeds." She put in her ear and motioned to Starlight.

She was diddling around with a projector at the front of the room and put up a live visual of what Sunset Shimmer was seeing. And hearing what she was thinking. Celestia leaned back in surprise while Sunset thought her explanations. Words that sounded just like her but without but no mouth movement.

"This was experimental for ponies on the inside of... Something. Not sure what. But the project was deprecated due to privacy concerns. We have five pairs in the Embassy's archives but I'll be taking one with me to Psera."

Princess Flurry queried, "Isn't that dangerous? Can't it be detected?"

Sunset shook her head and thought, "I wouldn't worry about it. Queen Arcadia—if she is responsible—would not be searching for a device hidden in the body. She may be powerful, but not that powerful. We hope. This will allow IHT to have an inside look when we leave tomorrow."

It sounded like a great plan. Hopefully Twilight wouldn't be able to sense it.

Chapter 05 - The Feeling of Darkness

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Queen Arcadia has never felt so alone. Yes, she has Gardeen and her extended family. But she didn't have her family. The family she's worked so hard to have.

Now, instead of waking up in the hold of her husband and the closeness of her filly, she lies in a cold lonely bed and stares at the pictures in her room of Psera's city-states and past rulers. Herself included. The First-Alicorn Pseratep in existence. The First Queen Alicorn-Pseratep next to her husband and daughter in front of a white background.

There was supposed to be another.

The anger she felt stems from those photos. The anger of losing everyone she loved. One of her friends blew up in front of her face, taking her eye with it. The blast put a hole in her husband's chest. And Dawn... Turned to dust in her hooves.

She lost three ponies she loved personally in one day. And she would never be seeing them again.

Twilight rose from the comfort of her bed. She unwrapped her body from the safety of her comforter and moved into a sitting position in front of her bathroom. Her good eye locked in on the clock. Seven o' eight. The country wouldn't run itself.

After she finished getting ready and put on a violet and red dress, she crossed over into her office's rear entrance and quietly closed her bedroom doors. The ones in front of her would be opening shortly. She dropped down into her nice chair and turned on everything. Her Comp Systems, her LiVAMs, and finally laid her eyes on the stack of papers on her left side.

Well, they weren't going to sign automatically. So, it began. Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle went about starting her day off with the first sheet and reading it over in silence. Completely silent when she signed and moved it to the left into an "Approved" bin. Then moved on to a second one. No meetings today, just catching up on Governmental requests.

This went on up to nine o'clock until someone knocked on her door.

"Enter," she said blandly.

One of the Chefs downstairs in the kitchen rolled in a squeaking cart over to her glass meeting table to drop off her breakfast. Then bowed and saw their way out before the doors shut her in silence once more. She didn't even bother looking at it. Let alone touching it.

Gardeen was around somewhere. Probably with Molten since no events were scheduled for today. Queen Arcadia continued flipping through form after form after form after form in silence until, a swoosh, and Odega was standing on the corner of her desk as a small phoenix staring at her. Or was it glaring? Twilight could never tell, Phoenixes always seemed angry.

Without moving her eyes from her work, Queen Arcadia said, "I'm busy right now, Odega. What is it?"

Odega's talons jumped on top of her growing stack of "Approved" before she spoke. "A small team approaches Psera."

Twilight froze and glanced up to Odega with an eye of interest. That seemed to be more intriguing than three-fourths of finished work.

"Origin?" She asked.

"Equestria. I can feel them over my ocean."

Queen Arcadia's eyes glowed when she reached out to her Obelisk Line with her magic. Protected by Aquatas in alignment with her magic. They stopped gradually changing colors and flashed a bright violet with her connection. Scanning the seas.

True to Odega's words, something was approaching Psera's shores from the East. Their magical signatures were familiar. A blueprint she's read plenty of times but can't seem to recognize.

Arcadia cut the connection to her Obelisks and snatched up a Comm Block on the corner of her desk. She quickly dialed a number and waited for her target's voice.

Her waiting time was spent awkwardly watching Odega nest on top of her food across from her. Now she definitely wasn't eating it.

Sunset didn't realize it was this cold at sea. In Equestria, it was even under the fifties. Out here over the ocean, it was under thirty degrees. Nothing but shining blue as far as the eye could see.

Ambassador Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, and surprisingly Spitfire met up with each other at the old Equestrian Trade Facility in Las Pegasus with the Princesses at five o'clock, the day after Hearth's Warming. A bloody Hearth's Warming. After Sunset had applied and turned on her ear device thing deemed "Project Unclassified," Sunset spelled a cloud, hopped on and the three of them flew off without a hitch.

The cloud was surprisingly easy to push. Extremely light weight even with Sunset on-board. Which meant Sunset had to hold on tighter when they realized they could go as fast as a train in Psera.

During the trip, Sunset asked a few questions to the mares pushing the cloud next to each other behind her. Such as when did Spitfire become military and what did she do?

Spitfire wasn't surprised in the least by her question, "Well you guys know Daring Do... I hope."

That had the desired reaction. Rainbow gasped and squished her cheeks together in excitement at the name alone. Daring Do? The Daring do?! Spitfire smirked and mentally couldn't wait to see her reaction to her next line. "Daring Do and I worked together in the same Military Program specializing in gathering intelligence from no-good ponies outside of Equestria. Sometimes we worked alongside S.M.I.L.E and other orgs."

Sunset smirked and commented over her back, "I never would have pegged you for a spy, Spitfire. Wipe that drool off your mouth Rainbow."

It wasn't until after Sunset said that did Rainbow snap out of her admirable gaze—complete with sparkling eyes—and shout, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!! You and Daring Do used to work together?! That is the most coolest thing I've ever heard!!"

Rainbow went back to pushing the cloud, but asked so many questions along the way. Who knew Daring Do would get her this riled up? "So what did you guys do, huh? Did you fight off the mean baddies sometimes? Go around kicking flanks left and right? Did you sit back and laugh while Ahuizotl made himself look like an idiot? Or did you—"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down girls!" Sunset ordered.

Time to get back on track apparently. Rainbow and Spitfire put on their brakes and slowed down Sunset's cloud to a complete stop. Then popped their heads up into sight to see why they even did it. If their hearts were beating any faster, they would be outside of their chests right now from what they saw.

Sunset gulped and without moving her eyes from the sight, slowly reached up and turned on her earpiece. She thought, "Princesses, are you seeing this?"

While Sunset, Rainbow Dash, and Spitfire were at sea, IHT was standing by with Starlight Glimmer inside of Mount Aris's castle. Practically made of nature and basic necessities. The room here was the same as the rest of them. Round, circular, flat floored with dimmed lights above. Only difference here was the fact that everything was made out of wood.

The second Sunset's voice permeated through, all voices ceased and turned to look at the projection on the wall currently reading loading. Then the image was up. An image that made Celestia's wings quiver.

Aquatas. At least eighty on this side alone facing Equestria. There may be more but they were too far out to see. But they all knew Aquatas when they saw them. Big boats sitting on the water with weaponry trained towards their direction.

Luna whispered, "My Faust,"

Time to get busy. Celestia grabbed a headpiece Starlight offered to her so she can speak and dropped it on her head in place of her crown. "Yes, Sunset... We see it," she replied in fear. "It looks like they're ready for war. Something definitely happened."

"I'm raising the flags." Sunset used her magic to grab a large pole fitted with both the flag of Equestria and a standard white flag for peace. Good thing she thought ahead and brought this.

Sunset calmly raised it in the air. Then slowly waved it back and forth. "Girls, get up," Sunset requested. "If there are any surprises they may shoot us. Psera is on Edge."

They didn't have to tell them twice. Rainbow zipped up to Sunset's side and raised her hooves in the air while Spitfire took her time. But still used their wings to softly propel forward.

IHT gulped down their fear while they watched. Their eyes stayed glued during the approach. Then one of the Aquatas blared a loud alarm. "HOLD!!!" They shouted.

Rainbow and Spitfire stopped their speed and remained where they were with their hooves raised. They could see a team of around twenty Aqua Guards flying straight for them.

"Here they come," Sunset reported in. Celestia clasped her hooves together in front of her mouth but didn't even blink when they pulled in.

Weapons pointed, the commanding officer ordered, "Hooves up, hooves up!!"

They grabbed Spits and Rainbow Dash by their hooves before grabbing Sunset. Boy were they rough. Their hold were as tight as steel bonds.

They carried them off the cloud over the ocean back to the Aquatas. Hearts were beating fast and emotions were full of fear, confusion and frustration. But they didn't fight. Fighting certainly meant pain and suffering before going on into the great beyond. Or what the Pserateps referred to as the Everlasting Sky.

They approached the deck of one of the Aquatas with a large "09" on it's side and were met with weapons pointed straight at them, and what had to be the captain. He was wearing a white uniform with medals, a suit, and a tie. A dark blue coat, blue mane and tail, and light blue eyes. He was a familiar sight.

He nodded to the three of them—and IHT unknowingly—when they landed and greeted, "Ambassador Shimmer. Her Highness has been expecting you. I'm Admiral Shooting Star. Welcome back to Psera."

Expecting them?! The members of IHT all shared an apprehensive look before referring back to the screen.

Sunset Shimmer explained, "We need to speak with Queen Arcadia as soon as possible."

"We know. Hold still, please." Shooting Star nodded to one of the Soldiers standing by and stepped away when they approached with a green glowing stick. Then started running it over Sunset's body. Scanning her, like a metal detector. It had a wobbly wum when it passed her occupied right ear before the soldier waved her past. Then did the same to Rainbow and Spitfire before letting them through. The piece was undetected.

The Captain explained, "She's giving you time to visit, but then you have to go. After we take you to Lavender, we'll pass you off to the Guard there. Someone grab a cloud and provide an escort team back to Lavender!"

After they dispersed, Sunset followed the captain and asked, "We managed to intercept a distress signal in Canterlot about the Castle being under attack."

He glanced back to her, but didn't say anything else. Which let Equestria and everyone else know that something did, in fact, happen. Rainbow Dash came to her aid and added, "We've also been sending messages to make sure she was okay but received nothing in return."

He stopped and turned around to face them with an unamused expression. "I'm afraid I'm not allowed to relay any details about that information. You'll have to refer to the Royal Security Advisor." A cloud was lowered down next to the deck's railing escorted by four Aqua Guards. "Now step on and have a safe journey."

Sunset had to spell the cloud for herself which took a second, but once she was on, they were being pushed towards Psera. There were many more Aquatas at sea behind them. A total of three rings of weaponry and a lot of soldiers. Hopefully no one would be going to war with each other. Because Psera would definitely step on everyone.

It wasn't long after that they made it to Psera. The land of Gold, evolved Pegasi, advanced technology, and luxury. Ruled over by Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle. Full of so much land, water, and necessities to last them a lifetime and many many more.

But they weren't going to the pretty part. They were going to the rough part. Where military were running back and forth across concrete grounds readying equipment for some reason. No one knew what all the fuss was about. But they were tense. Pods travelled across docks readying even more Aquatas. Chariots being primed and ready for battle. Magical Cannisters full of purple liquid being transported back and forth. Soldiers marching past in training.

These ponies were ready for a war.

The escort directed their cloud down to the entrance of the docks to a single black pod flanked in the front and rear by two more with open tops. Elite Guard were sitting in the backs while one was driving staring them down with seriousness and unmoving souls.

Once they landed, the door was opened and they were ushered inside. Sunset was first, then Spitfire, and finally Rainbow Dash before the door was closed to keep out the cold.

Even though they weren't expecting to see her, it still put a smile on their faces to see once more an actual friendly face.

"Gardeen!" Sunset cheered. "Long time, no see!"

Gardeen was sitting directly behind where the driver's seat would be were it not for the black privacy glass keeping them out of sight. Her mane had been put into a long braid that draped over her front coat. She was wearing a light red dress, but that didn't hide her hoof.

Gardeen chuckled nervously and greeted, "We just saw each other a few weeks ago."

"Well those were long weeks," Rainbow commented. Then pointed to her rear hoof. "What happened?"

Sunset and Spitfire followed her hoof down to Gardeen's rear right hoof and its warped state. IHT grimaced and shared looks with each other before Gardeen answered, "Well it's pretty clear you already somehow know there was an attack on the castle. I was a few of those harmed."

Good, it was confirmed the castle was attacked. Shining Armor took a mental note while they continued their conversation. Sunset attempted to ask, "About that, we heard Queen—"

"I'm afraid that's all I can say about the attack, Sunset," Gardeen sweetly interrupted. "I'm not allowed to give anymore details. Queen Arcadia will give you more information, albeit limited."

Oh. Crap. Well Sunset decided to enjoy the view. Unfortunately that view was obstructed by blackened windows. Gardeen could see the questions in her eyes, so she explained, "We're going to Safe Haven. Its existence has been disclosed, but location kept under wraps."

Oh, so they were going somewhere without knowing how to get there. Well that made sense. Spitfire nodded to her hoof and assumed, "I guess mobility is difficult?"

Gardeen sighed and pressed her white lips closed for a moment. Then explained, "Most of the muscles are critically burned, meaning I can only move it so fast at a time. It's not that it hurts, it's just that my muscles are too damaged to go any faster."

"Oh." The Pod descended into a deep silence after that. Even the ponies watching from far away could feel how awkward it is over there.

Rainbow Dash decided to bring it back up to politeness again by asking, "So how's the squirt?"

Gardeen made a face of confusion and repeated, "Squirt?"

"Fresh Dawn. How is she?"

Gardeen glanced away with sad eyes. Another sign of looming bad news. Gardeen whispered, "Try not to bring that up around Arcadia, okay? Or Madun."

Oh boy. Rainbow was about to ask why but Gardeen quickly said, "Just don't, okay? It'll make her very upset." Twilight being upset is certainly something they didn't want. So Rainbow acquiesced and relaxed in her seat to enjoy the ride.

The ride up to Safe Haven was a very quiet one. So quiet, Sunset almost fell asleep. That luxury was denied when the pod they were riding in stopped and engine cut. A thick silence reigned supreme through the Pod's space.

Gardeen stood up in her seat before the doors were opened to let them out and said, "We're here. Try not to say anything that may be perceived as threatening."

Their hooves stepped out onto a single concrete walkway dividing an expansive green front yard belonging to a triple floored white mansion. The land was secured by spiked steel fences in the middle of what appeared to be a forest. It wasn't the castle here or in Equestria, but it was definitely something that belonged to their government.

The second their hooves were out, an Elite Guard moved forward with another wand and scanned them. This time more thoroughly. Even going between the hooves. And as much as Rainbow and Spitfire wanted to kick them, they refrained and calmed themselves.

The guards here were entirely hidden save for their eyes and bits of their wings from underneath their steel protectors.

Gardeen too was approached by a guard with a smirk who sang before scanning, "Someone's not using that chair~."

Gardeen rolled her eyes and raised her wings so he could scan her. "Yes, well I'm also not going to go flying around carrying a pair of wheels either. There must be a better solution."

The Guard sighed and retracted the wand with a pitiful look on his face. She clearly wasn't going to budge on this. "Well unless there is I highly recommend you follow the Queen's instructions. We don't need you falling in the halls, Secretary."

Gardeen limped past and spat, "Until she scolds me about it, I'm going to be walking like this until then. I'm not putting my sense of mobility into a chair. Welcome to Safe Haven, ladies. Follow me."

The guarded double doors were thick glass and squeaky clean. So clean they appeared to be diamond. The carpet they stepped on was red covering marble floors. Soft to the hooves and comfortable. Rainbow could see herself living in a place like this. Unfortunately it wasn't her. It was her friend who was wounded in an attack.

The ceiling was supported with decorative stone columns. The walls with photos of past rulers and their families. On the quiet trip to the elevator, Sunset recognized Twilight and Madun as one of them. With those glistening crowns and elegant smiles. According to history and how crazy everyone gets here about it, Queen Arcadia's smile was the one sign you knew that she was proud and happy. If you didn't see that smile, she wasn't pleased.

Sunset's had enough encounters to attest to that.

The elevator ride to the top was accompanied by two Guards. But it still remained silent. Gardeen broke it by informing, "Everyone's out at lunch right now. That's why it's so peaceful."

According to the magically changing numbers above them, they skipped over the second floor and stopped on the third. Then after that ding, the doors slid open and they stepped off of smooth carpet flooring onto quiet cool marble. This floor was clearly where all the bedrooms were. Down the hallway on the left was a large empty space in front of a wall of windows facing the back of the Mansion. More than likely made to conceal what was inside while allowing to see out.

On the right was another guarded room where Sunset had a sneaking feeling was hiding the pony they were looking for. That feeling was confirmed when they approached it.

"Sunset to IHT, standby," she relayed back home. Oh they were standing by alright. Eyes staring straight at the projected image before they stopped next to the doors.

Gardeen knocked politely and waited for a voice. "Enter." Twilight. Well a tired Twilight. Gardeen twisted the door open but held up a hoof ordering the visitors to wait out of sight. Then she limped inside herself.

Queen Arcadia had her face hidden behind another sheet surrounded by her LiVAMs Hanging from above and Comp System in her desk. The lighting in here was low enough to make anyone tired. But not her. She wrote off another signature and made an addition to her upcoming schedule for another meeting before swiveling to face Gardeen.

"They're here," she quietly disclosed. Her white hooves stopped beside Arcadia's large desk and focused on her space instead of her gaze that moved up to her. "Three ponies just like you suspected and... Did you skip your breakfast again?"

Twilight shifted her sight from Gardeen above to the breakfast the Chef dropped off. It was exactly how it was this morning: Stagnant and motionless. It hadn't even been touched.

Twilight grabbed another sheet and answered, "I had work to do."

Oh here we go again. This has been occuring ever since Madun and Fresh Dawn passed away. After their funerals Queen Arcadia started skipping meals. One time for three days straight.

Not this time. Gardeen reached down and yanked another sheet out of Queen Arcadia's hoof to lay back down. "Let's eat, come on," she ordered.

Twilight sighed and begged, "Gardeen, I'm not hungry."

"Yes you are, come on. Up, up, up." Gardeen limped behind the desk and used her head to force Queen Arcadia from her seat. Then started using her wing to lead her out from behind it.

Queen Arcadia made a sour face and scolded, "Gardeen I can very much take care of myself. And you need to start using that chair, I don't want to see or hear about you falling."

"I'll be fine, here." She made Queen Arcadia sit down and pointed at the food. "You need to eat. The work can wait for just a little while."

She wasn't going to budge. Gardeen was an unmoving soul. She stood tall and strong.

She was tall and strong.

Queen Arcadia slowly reached up and pulled her closer so she could place a loving kiss on her forehead. "Your parents would be proud, Gardeen," she whispered.

Gardeen smiled and replied, "I'm not going to let them take you too. Now eat up, mother." She kissed Arcadia on the forehead before going back to business. "The three ponies are here for you."

Oh? The ones flying over the expansive ocean looking just for her? Queen Arcadia stood up with the plate and started walking back to her desk with glowing hooves. Somehow she's been using those instead of her horn recently. Strange.

Arcadia ordered, "Okay, send them in. And stay, Gardeen."

After nearly two minutes of waiting, the doors for the room were pulled open to reveal what was inside. Supposedly IHT's worst fears.

Queen Arcadia looked fine. Sitting behind a really large desk eating. The room had no windows. But did contain a small drink bar on the right near the door, and two couches on the left side of the desk.

IHT was expecting her to be badly wounded, but all she had was a flowing mane covering her eye like Celestia. But unlike Celestia, she made it look edgy.

Queen Arcadia glanced up from her food and ceased chewing when they stopped in front of her desk. Sunset had a feeling she should bow. Despite Twilight always telling her it wasn't necessary. She bowed and greeted, "Queen Arcadia."

Rainbow and Spitfire did the same before Queen Arcadia waved them back to the couches. "Have a seat," she said. Then wrapped up her plate. Even though Odega sat on it, this was really good.

Back home, Luna whispered without taking her eyes off the projection, "I have a strange feeling about Twilight."

Celestia couldn't deny that she too was picking up something a little odd. Maybe it was her demeanor or look. Or... That's it. Her look. That gleam in her eyes. That and she wasn't smiling.

She wasn't pleased.

Once they were comfortable, Queen Arcadia moved one of the many LiVAMs surrounding her desk to the side so she could see and started off. "When Odega detected three creatures crossing her sea, I was expecting someone else other than you three. For you to be here Ambassador Shimmer lets me know this is for a more personal matter."

Of course she did. Queen Arcadia was very intuitive like that and always has been. It was like she was a pony from a different universe.

Sunset Shimmer explained, "We, Equestria, have been made numerous attempts to contact you regarding your comfort back in the land of the living, but had yet to hear anything."

As much as it made everyone else snicker or smirk, Queen Arcadia didn't even smile at the joke. More like just stare ominously. Even Gardeen was cold-faced. The Princesses' smiles dropped and glanced to each other before Queen Arcadia replied, "Yes, I've noticed. As you can see, I'm fine. No need to worry."

As much as the lack of a reaction concerned Sunset, she had to move on. She cleared her throat and asked, "Well that's good. We picked up a distress message that the castle was under attack and grew worried."

"Yes well, as you can see we're doing well. No need for alarm."

"Is Madun okay? We have yet to see him around."

Probably shouldn't have asked that question. Queen Arcadia stopped chewing and once again stared ominously. This time with narrowed eyes. IHT shared a look with each other before focusing once again. Gardeen made a face to her in the top right corner. One that screamed, "What did I tell you in the pod?!"

Sunset cleared her throat and quickly moved on. In an attempt to disengage any angry Queen. "So as of yesterday, Zebrica was attacked."

The cup from her glass table floated over across the room into Queen Arcadia's hoof with no aura the Princesses noted. Then she leaned back comfortably in her seat and repeated, "Attacked? By whom?"

"We don't know. But many lives were lost. Two thirds of the population were wiped out until we managed to get more out."

Two thirds? There were still more?! That won't stand. Queen Arcadia smoldered and asked, "And whatever are you going to do with them?"

"IHT is coming together to provide relief and medical assistance among our lands. But it's safe to say their way of life has changed forever. The weapons used, Queen Arcadia, were projectiles flying in from the West that ripped their land apart. It looks like a burning pit now. We were hoping you may have information or tips to their origins considering it came from your direction."

Queen Arcadia slowly sipped from her tea and smacked her lips to savor the taste. A mix of Orange and mint. Something she honestly should have tried earlier in time.

She sighed and responded, "I am not claiming I may be withholding information on the attack on Zebrica, but I am refusing to participate in this investigation."

Whoa, what?! A round of muttering echoed around IHT before Queen Arcadia continued her response.

"Why? Let's just say Psera has their reasons for not participating."

Rainbow Dash put in her own two sense and recommended, "Queen Arcadia if you know anything about this attack, it is highly recommended you share it. We saw a lot of horrid things ourselves and wish to know who would do this to a country that already has less than what they truly need."

Arcadia shifted her attention to Rainbow and countered, "Well I'm sure the ponies responsible have their reasons that shall remain closed off to any foreign ears. Psera is not a member of IHT and has the right to retain that information."

Luna muttered with distrust, "Psera launched those weapons. They had to."

Celestia was getting that feeling too. She hates to admit it, but Twilight had a no-care attitude. A great contrast to the Maheera takeover. Even Novo was becoming a little apprehensive.

Sunset gulped at the stare Twilight was shooting her. It was cold. It was heartless. It was void of any emotion. It was as if she were saying, "Good riddance."

Sunset pushed her concern to the side and asked, "Is there any way we can get you to talk? Or to share this information?"

Queen Arcadia unfortunately shook her head and answered, "Sorry, but unless we're threatened Psera will have no direct involvement with this case. Now, I have to get back to work. I'll be happy to get you back home to avoid a long ride, but I insist you..."

Queen Arcadia stopped mid-sentence and squinted her eye at Sunset when she started scanning the magic in the air for the locations of Luna, Celestia, and Cadance. Their magical signatures were much different than that of regular ponies. She found them in Mount Aris alongside even more all bunched up together in one room. Something wasn't right.

Queen Arcadia used her duplication spell to gather herself in that same room out of sight. But all eyes and attention were focused directly on the projection taking up the whole wall in front of them.

A projection of herself and Gardeen currently. They were spying on her. Watching her. Investigating her through their eyes.

The real Queen Arcadia drank down the rest of her tea and used a hidden hoof to press a button disguised as a drawer handle on her desk. Then she sighed and smacked her lips. "I just want to make myself clear. Because apparently not many ponies know this about me."

Spitfire was getting a bad feeling. She and Rainbow shared a look then focused back on Arcadia. "Clear... About what?"

Queen Arcadia glanced up to them with a glowing violent eye and snarled, "I am a very fair Queen."

The doors to the office burst open and five Elite Guards rushed in, surrounding their "guests" with weapons aimed straight for them. "HOOVES UP, PUT 'EM UP!!"

Their heart rates quickly spiked when the Guards rushed and pinned them roughly to the floor with hooves in their back. Sunset asked, "What is the meaning of this?! What's going on?!"

"Do you honestly think I'm that foolish?" Queen Arcadia slowly lifted herself up from her seat and wiped her mouth. Gardeen calmly took her cup while she walked around to get to Sunset Shimmer. "Do you think that I would not notice a spy in our midst?"

Oh... Buck. Queen Arcadia leaned down to glare into Sunset's eye with a glowing one. "I see and hear everything. I watch everything. Because I have to protect my country from the creatures who want to take it for themselves. And I will do anything to ensure they are safe. Psera in fact developed and manufacture the same weapons used in the attack on Zebrica. And we did use them on Zebrica."

Luna knew it. She knew it! She stood up and shouted, "She's lost her mind!" She jabbed a hoof towards the face of Queen Arcadia. "THOUSANDS of Zebras are now dead! Because Psera's Queen is a racist to their kind!"

"Quite the contrary, Princess Luna." Luna dropped her snarl and stared back in surprise to the face of Queen Arcadia. To the eye that seemed to be staring right at her. She could hear her. Princess Cadance, Celestia, Flurry, Shining, Novo, Madam Singe, and the other rulers stood up from their seats and stared back. Either in fear or anger.

Queen Arcadia straightened back up and sighed with a wave of an uncaring hoof. "Let's just say witnessing the innocent deaths of over two hundred Pserateps in a single throne room, and the death of your husband and Daughter in one day tends to make a mother, a wife, and a powerful queen of an exceedingly powerful country extremely angry."

Cadance gasped and covered her mouth. No. Not Dawn, no. "Here's the deal, IHT. You are protecting a sworn enemy of Psera since before I was born who have disgraced my country and home twice in a millennia. Zebrica is an enemy of Psera and have proven to be as such when they attacked Psera in the Gold Wars, then again when they slaughtered innocent Pserateps welcoming my return back to the throne two months ago.

"I watched Madun take his last breath in my hooves, then saw Dawn turn to dust in those same hooves less than two hours later. I attended the funerals of all of the victims, lit the torches on my filly's mausoleum, and closed the doors to my husband's on the same day. Their deaths will not be in vain. I didn't allow Maheera to get away with it, and I shan't allow Zebrica to get away with it. You will turn over the Zebras you are protecting to Psera custody or we will take them by force."

Princess Celestia walked around the circle to stand front and center in front of the projection. "Queen Arcadia, any threat upon IHT Members is a shout of war against all of us! I am sure you do not wish to go to war with your homeland!"

"Well of course not," she replied. It was as if they were calling her heartless. "Which is why I'm giving you a choice. Hand them over willingly, or we will take them by force."

Madam Singe cleared her throat and suggested, "I propose we discuss this in a more civilized manner. Where we are not shouting at each other through projections and pinning ponies to the floor."

Queen Arcadia's eye became more uncomfortable by the second. Sunset wasn't sure how much longer she could take staring into it.

Luckily, Queen Arcadia replied, "That seems fair. Let them up."

The Guards raised their hooves off their bodies and allowed them to stand on their own. But weapons were still pointed straight at their heads and faces. Rainbow snarled and grunted in disapproval while Queen Arcadia walked calmly back to her desk.

"I assume you want to meet in person," she said.

Celestia and Novo looked to each other and silently agreed. Then looked back to the projection. "That would be for the best," Celestia answered. "How about—"

Queen Arcadia dropped into her seat and interrupted, "I will be deciding the date, Princess. All of you are in the middle of a private war between the Zebras and Pserateps and are trying to stop it from happening. Unfortunately, this is already happening and has been happening for centuries. There is nothing you can do to stop it."

"There must be a medium between your countries, Queen Arcadia. A medium that doesn't involve sudden attacks against a country that has, in no means, any way to protect itself against great weaponry such as Psera's."

Arcadia reached to the corner of her desk and pressed the device on the corner. "Then maybe they should stop surprise invasions and attacking first if they don't expect a retaliation. The first time they invaded, they slaughtered nearly the whole City-State of Cop. We returned fire by running a sea red with their blood. Now that we have the upper hand they all of a sudden want to cry wolf. Secretary?"

A voice on her desk replied, "Yes, your highness?"

"Summon my Emergency International Defense Committee at once please. Tell them to drop everything and meet me in the Meeting Room immediately."

Gardeen quickly left by exiting through the bedroom. "Yes, ma'am."

Queen Arcadia focused back on the ponies in front of her and ordered, "Psera does not attack unless they are impelled. And I can honestly say, we were more than impelled. We'll meet with you but I—not anyone else—will let you know when. If you do not meet with us, we will proceed with our default demands of invade and capture if you do not pass the Zebra over to us."

"Arcadia—"

"This conversation is over!" Queen Arcadia banged her hoof on the top of her desk. "I warned all of you that something didn't feel right about that Zebra. But you all called me traumatized and put me on a probationary period. Now my family and over two hundred innocent ponies are dead. And I witnessed them all die." Arcadia leaned forward and smoldered at them. "Your words mean nothing to me, Celestia." Then the connection cut to a black screen.

Queen Arcadia had yanked the device out of Sunset's ear harmlessly and tossed it in the air. Then shot it to dust with expert precision. She pointed back to Sunset Shimmer, Spitfire, and Rainbow Dash.

"Take them down to security," she ordered. "And don't let them out of your sight. Put a horn inhibitor on Ambassador Shimmer and wing restraints on the Pegasi. I'm sorry, you three. You've been nothing but kind to me. But right now..."

Queen Arcadia crossed her hooves and sat back in her seat. "Psera and IHT may be going horn to horn, and blade to blade."

Sunset sighed and allowed herself to be led out the door back into the hall. Great. This is what she feared would happen.

Psera and Equestria officially going to war.

Chapter 06 - Worry

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They called this strange unseen island Founder's Island. Why? Because apparently Narmeelah founded it herself. An island tucked away in a different time zone and dimension inside of the actual time and dimension. It seemed to be endless as far Dawn could see from her bedroom window. But her goal wasn't the size of land. It was the mountain in it. Literally a landmark in between this valley.

It was early morning and the sun was just rising into the blue sky, bathing those sleeping below in its warming embrace. Was the sun the same here as it was in Dawn's actual world, or was it entirely different? Who cares, Dawn' goal was to get to the mountain. She was on her own now and she had to find a way to get back home.

At the first sign of light, Princess Dawn grabbed her pets, her bag of books and empty notebooks, and stepped out the door into a cool and quiet serene atmosphere. There's no telling how long these ponies, dragons, and more have lived here, but it was clear that they've been here many many years before her own grandparents were born. Both of them.

Dawn quietly shut her home's door and adjusted the crown to sit on top of her head straight. Then with Juniper and Sky Blue on her back, she ran towards the woods angling for the mountain with her short red mane dancing in the wind.

She didn't catch the pair of Forest Green eyes peering down to her from a second floor window next door to her own home. Heated Wings squinted her eyes and glared in suspicion. She may be a filly, but fillies were also very smart. Not to mention, there was no other place to be in the middle of nowhere for any creature to be out in the cold like this so early.

She reached up to the top of her head and flipped down her goggles. "Where you goin', Red?" She murmured. "Just where are you goin'?"

The forests of Founder's Island reminded Dawn of the parks in Psera. Tame, deserted, filled only with bugs and birds. But it held evidence that this place had seen some damage in the past. Maybe a Hurricane. There were trees clearly knocked to the ground and scattered in different directions. It made the journey a little difficult and messy when climbing hills, but Dawn had gotten much better at traveling over rough terrain over the years.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" First Light asked.

Fresh Dawn ducked under another downed tree and waited for her pets to catch up before replying. "There's something here in this mountain that holds answers to this place. I know you can feel it, First Light."

Once her pets were safely with her, she continued her journey through unknown territory.

"Of course I can," First Light deadpanned. "I'm you. But I don't think if the locals go to this place that we should either."

One more jump over debris and Dawn finally landed inside a clearing. It took at least thirty minutes to climb this mountain, and she only made it to the middle. It reminded her about how limited this place was. Even the mountains were small.

She turned around to look over the valley. To peer through the trees and down to the small homes in this smaller word. One of them had smoke coming out of a chimney that oddly made Dawn hungry. Someone was cooking.

She'll get something after traveling this cave she turned around and faced. Her movements ceased and she smoldered at its strange placement. First Light saw it too. She asked in Dawn's head, "Is that..."

Dawn swallowed hard and whispered, "Yes, we're here. This is what we were looking for. Stay close, girls." Dawn pulled Juniper and Sky Blue into her large wings protectively to the point where only their heads were sticking out. Then bravely walked towards the cave. She could feel the cool draft it gave off.

"I wouldn't go inside if I were you, Red." Dawn gasped and shot her attention above to one of the standing trees over the cave. Heated Wings was staring at her from a branch looking down to her with an apple in her hoof munching on it.

Where'd she come from? Dawn scanned for a source of entry but gave up when she didn't even see any rustling leaves. She was here, that's all that mattered.

Dawn queried her statement, "Why not? And why are you calling me Red, you know my name."

Heated Wings jumped down from the tree and glided down to an elegant landing in front of Dawn. She flipped up her goggles and explained, "Well there's a creepy cave here at the top of a mountain that is surrounded by debris. No thank you."

Dawn dropped her curious look for a deadpan. "Seriously?" She drawled. "You guys have never been inside? After all this time?"

Been inside? Puh. Heated Wings walked around Dawn and answered, "Well it's the most creepiest place here. Like it glows at night, Red. Do you really want to go into a cave that glows at night?"

Glow? Dawn looked back to the cave and guessed that it did make sense to stay away from something like that. Heated Wings placed a wing around Dawn and next thing she knew, she was back in front of her place. Wait...

Dawn looked around her and quickly surmised that this wasn't the cave. She turned to Heated Wings and assumed, "You brought me back home, didn't you?"

She smiled and let her departing hooves do the answering for her. "Well I couldn't let such a pretty filly walk into a dark spooky cave all alone. Her boyfriend would kill me if he found out I knew about it. Sleep in, kid. Relax. There's nothing else you can do."

It wasn't until after Heated Wings walked into the home and closed the door next to her own did Dawn catch on. "I DON'T HAVE A BOYFRIEND!"

Tense was a word Celestia didn't think would apply to Equestria. Not after Queen Arcadia first took the throne in Psera. All was forgiven and the past was buried for a better future. A family was created, life was born, love was there.

But now? While Celestia was staring out at the occupied field of Mount Aris from Novo's castle balcony packed with white tents and crying Zebras, she couldn't help but go back to that time and mumble, "We are in some serious trouble."

Novo placed a wing over her back and asked, "So what are we going to do? Fighting Psera is the same as asking for a Death Wish. We all saw their fleet of Aquatas, we don't have anything like that."

Celestia sighed and answered, "Well we both know Twilight isn't going to destroy Equestria. She's not heartless, and her family and friends live here."

Novo withdrew her wing and pointed it out to the land beyond full of wounded Zebras. She asked incredulously, "Not heartless? Foals are dead! An entire continent has been rendered to ash! We may have saved them from Arcadia's Marrials, but according to my doctors and nurses, Zebras are still dying here thanks to blood loss! If we don't do something soon, we're all next in line protecting them and she'll blow a hole straight through us all. She may not attack Equestria, but she will indubitably attack the rest of IHT."

Celestia couldn't say Novo was wrong. She knew it, Luna knew it, even Flurry Heart—bless her heart—knew it. That Queen Arcadia has enough influence and power to get to those zebras.

She looked to Novo and said, "I want to ask her a few questions."

Novo tilted her head down with disbelieving eyes on Celestia. "Now?" She asked. "During all of this?"

"She will listen, I assure you." When Novo didn't reply, Celestia looked back out to the distance. How exactly could she contact her? Well... Maybe she was watching her right now. No, she was definitely watching them now.

Celestia sighed with a lowered head and whispered, "I know you can hear me, Twilight. and I know you're listening." Back in Psera, Queen Arcadia stopped typing on her Comp System and glanced up to the empty table with a smolder. Celestia. "I wanted to speak with you personally about... Everything. Whenever you have the time."

Celestia opened her eyes back up and looked to Novo and that curious face she was making. "Do you think she could hear you?" She asked.

"Queen Twilight's magic has surpassed every last single powerful living creature's. I'm getting to the point that there are many things we considered impossible that she can do at this point. I'm certain she heard it." Celestia focused back on the issue in front of them and asked, "Now what are we going to do about these Zebras?"

Novo had no clue. Their Shamans were still recovering and could barely breathe on their own, let alone talk. It would be some time before they could tell their part of the story. All they had now was Queen Arcadia's.

"Aunt Celestia? Queen Novo?" They turned around to refer to Flurry Heart. And that look of panic on her face. She motioned with her head back inside. "Aunt Twilight's here."

Celestia made a face at Novo reading "See?" Then urgently trotted past Flurry leading into Mount Aris' quiet castle halls. Abandoned of any pony life. Her hooves reminded her of claps before they brought her to a stop at the entrance of the Mount Aris Trade Room. The room where all of IHT's members meet to discuss topics and hold their meetings.

But right now, none were speaking. Due to the Alicorn-Pseratep positioned directly in the front of the room inside of the round table all the members were seated at and glaring. Even Shining and Princess Cadance. Meanwhile, Queen Arcadia was seated behind her desk looking at something inside of it.

Princess Celestia smoldered at her and stepped into the room with Flurry and Novo. But her eyes never left the Queen.

"Fancy desk," she commented.

Queen Arcadia tapped at something inside of it and commented, "The more to watch with." Then finally sat back so she could stare at them and crossed her hooves on the top of it. "I do not need it, but I make use of what I have. You called for me?"

The three sat in their seats with their eyes on Queen Arcadia. She seemed stern; more violent and aggressive. Celestia asked, "What happened?"

Arcadia blinked at her and sighed through her nose. Only then did she change her expression to that of sadness. Her voice lowered to that of a whisper.

"The worst day of my life," she mourned. Her horn glowed and their environment slid away like sand. A spell that Celestia, Luna, and Cadance recognized immediately as a spell holding memories. The round table was no longer there. Now replaced with marble flooring, the ceiling with beautiful designs, and a banner of Twilight's cutie mark.

They all recognized the Throne Room of the Castle of the Gods and all the Pserateps talking and walking around through the Queen's eyes. The real Twilight stared straight at the image of Molten before she spoke.

"This was the day I would be accepted back on the Throne. Where all Pserateps would rejoice and be happy that their Queen has returned. But while I was in that room, the sense of danger I was put on a probationary period for increased. We were all in danger. But I could not pinpoint why. I soon found out after I held a conversation with Molten Ice."

Molten was wearing a dark red dress drinking that red Lovely Cherry wine Twilight couldn't stand and waved a hoof her way.

"Queen Arcadia," she called out. Twilight's ear flickered before she turned to face her. Then trotted over to hear what she had to say. Molten started by sighing and fixing Twilight's mane. "I wanted to check up on you. To see how you were feeling."

"I'm fine," she answered with a bite. Then sighed and double backed when Molten flinched. "I'm sorry, your majesty. I shouldn't have said what I said."

"Don't be," Molten told her. She placed a wing on her back and led her towards the thrones with her family. "I know you feel disrespected and hurt from your parole. I had the vote placed to assure your recovery, but I never thought how much it would affect you after being locked away for ten years. I am sorry, Arcadia. I never meant to hurt you. I just didn't want you to turn into me and live your life with less stress."

Molten says that a lot. Turn into me. What did she mean? Twilight shrugged it to the side and nodded to her. "Well I accept your apology, Molten. Although a little late, your feelings were still behind it. Thank you. Now I have... To..." Queen Arcadia blinked and focused IHT's sight back on Molten. "Wait, what did you say earlier?"

Molten raised her right eyebrow and repeated, "Earlier?"

"Yes, about the stress?" Something about those words made her mind pulse. Something she was forgetting. The answer was in those words.

"Oh, I wanted you to live your life with less stress."

The real Queen Arcadia focused back on the room and changed their environment to darkness before white lines began scribbling around them. "And that was when I realized the problem. Life. The danger. It was... Dawn."

Shining took his eyes away from their environment and repeated, "Your daughter? How?"

Queen Arcadia sighed and stood up from her desk to walk and drag her long wings around to the center. "For those that don't know, I was almost assassinated in Psera on the same day I was to be married. I was pregnant with Dawn at the time and she would have died. But I was desperate to save her life. I used Dark Magic to keep her heart pumping and flowing with life before I dropped into a coma. But the spell never cut, and the darkness took over to overwrite what she was supposed to be into something else.

"The filly you see is my daughter, but she has been fabricated entirely as magic. She is a living breathing form of dark magic. Her existence has several advantages, such as not getting sick. But it also comes with several disadvantages."

Queen Arcadia created a big white circle in place of the darkness in front of her so they all could see. "Dawn's body is literally negative life. It creates a sort of undetected interference to the senses. Mine included. For example, I cannot detect her in my Magical Aura." Queen Arcadia lifted a hoof and poked a random hole in the white circle in front of her to create a block spot with small tendrils. "She literally sucks the love and life out of everyone into what I call Negative Space that leads somewhere. I cannot detect her in a room full of ponies. It's like black paint on a board of white. The nagging feeling in the back of your head. That undecipherable taste in your mouth of an ingredient you know you didn't cook in your meal. That's Dawn."

Queen Arcadia changed their entire environment to white. "And that was not there." The white changed back to the room and focused directly on the filly sitting in Dawn's throne. " The air, the scene, it was too pure. That pony in my daughter's seat was not my daughter."

The image skipped to Madun offering her a sword and crown. Then to the moment, Queen Arcadia was to take her seat on the throne. She walked up to it and asked, "But I do have a question, sweetheart." Her sight moved from the throne to her daughter with a distrustful eye. "Where is my daughter?"

Madun looked to Dawn then to Twilight like she was crazy. "Really?" He drawled. "Twilight, are you okay?"

The real Queen Arcadia shook her head and said, "He didn't believe me. But then I proved it to them."

Twilight's hoof lifted in front of her face bearing a small blade that she slashed across Dawn's left rear hoof closer to her body. Twilight growled, "Dawn doesn't bleed."

A small river of red poured down Dawn's hoof before it hit the floor. Then Madun's facial expression changed to one of anger and frustration. He lunged out and grabbed "Dawn" by the dress and hoisted her into the air. "WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!!"

The shout was full of fury and anger that Celestia flinched. She's never seen Madun angry before, but right now she can tell he's furious.

Dawn grinned and reached into her dress to pull out a black block with a rapidly flashing red dot. Then she flashed into the last creature any of them were expecting. A Zebra.

The real Queen Arcadia heard the gasps before the Guard shouted, rushed forward, yanked him out of Madun's hold and wrestled him to the ground. She sighed and said, "And that's when... Everything changed."

Their eyes shifted back to the scene when Zebra said something. The scene rotated rapidly to Madun and a violet hoof grabbed him. "EVERYONE RUN!!" Then a huge blast made everyone's ears ring and turned the scene entirely white.

Cadance blinked and asked, "Wha... What happened?! What was that?!" She referred to Queen Arcadia but she had tears running down her face with a red eye on the memory. Cadance could tell something awful happened.

The white faded back into Arcadia's memories. She was on the floor facing the opposite direction with ears still ringing while screams echoed around her. Then she seethed in pain that grew into a scream of agony. A sound that made the viewers feel what she felt: A burn on her eye.

Queen Arcadia turned her head to the side to reveal the horrors of what Cadance was asking. What happened? They weren't ready to see it.

Celestia gasped and quickly covered Flurry's eyes with a wing while the others avoided the sight of blood, body parts, and danger. Queen Arcadia sighed and explained, "It was a suicide bomber. A literal walking bomb in my throne room taking on my daughter's form. We're going to skip the disturbing bits because none of you can stomach all the gore and suffering that happened in my home. I lost a close friend in that explosion. And Madun. He died in my hooves. His last request was for me to go after Dawn. So I did."

The scene lowered to that of an aerial view high above Lavender. Of Queen Arcadia soaring away from the escort chariot moving her and Psera's royal family to Safe Haven for treatment and protection. But she wasn't going anywhere without that filly on that Zebra's back.

"YOU LET MY BABY GO RIGHT NOW" She screamed. She flipped and maneuvered around the shots they fired up to her and retaliated with one of her own that blew a hole under their hooves. When she passed over, something snagged her hoof and pulled her down to the ground hard enough that something definitely broke.

She pulled out her sword to fight the Zebra who snagged her, but Odega flew in and wrapped them in flames until only ashes and bones remained in less than two seconds. Odega landed on the concrete and pointed past Twilight.

"Go!" She ordered. "Go get your daughter! We'll handle the Zebras!"

Despite the pain in her rib, Twilight was back on her hooves and zipping for the Zebra nearing the edge of the cliff like her life depended on it. Then teleported over to land directly in front of her. The Zebra, clearly a mare skidded to a halt and backed up to hold a stare with the Queen. A stare so intense, neither mares blinked.

Twilight growled, "You let my daughter go..." She threw off her chest plate into the ocean behind her. "And I'll at least send you home with your head intact and the bodies of your allies. You don't, I'll pull your heart out through your mouth and feed your body to your starving friends I'll be keeping prisoner."

Shining gawked and slowly turned to stare at his sister in shock. Her glare ahead and ignorance to his reaction was her response. They could see Fresh Dawn strapped to the back of the Zebra with a horn inhibitor on. They managed to keep her still.

"In the end," Twilight said. "They threw her over the ledge. But I caught her on the way down unharmed except for a small bump. She was fine. She was scared, but she was fine. But..." The scene changed to that same cliff. This time with Medical Pods and a bigger team escorting the Royal Family to their pods. "Dawn began complaining about everything being hot at the bottom when I rescued her. When we bounded over the cliff... She was glowing gold."

Gold? Celestia and Luna shared a look before directing their sight back to Twilight's memories. Her eyes shifted to Fresh Dawn and the state she was in. She was clearly weak. She stumbled and fell against Molten that stopped all movement.

Twilight bent low and used her head to try and help Dawn to her hooves. But she was too weak and fell back down. "Hold on baby, we're gonna carry you to the chariot okay?" Twilight told her desperately. She referred to the Guards at the escort chariot. "Get the seats ready!! Hold on Dawn!!"

Dawn was clinging desperately to her mother by the time her entire body was gold. Hanging on as tight as possible. Staying as strong as she could. But...

"Mom..." Twilight looked down to Dawn and her glowing body. Into her golden eyes that were filled with warmth less than two minutes ago. But now filled with pain. "I... Can't hold on." Then the worst thing they have ever seen in their life happened.

The real Twilight closed her eyes when Dawn burst and the room gasped. She blew in her hooves. Falling through her fur like golden sand from the beaches. Luna looked back to Queen Arcadia then to the image. Then back to Queen Arcadia.

"What was that?" She asked. "What happened?"

Queen Arcadia opened a tearful eye and trained it on Luna. "We don't know," she answered. "I've never heard of it, I've never read about it, and I've never seen it. But either way... Dawn was no more. My daughter died in my hooves shortly after my husband. Burst. Blew up in my face. Collapsing into Gold and forming a puddle at my hooves. She. Died. Thanks to the same ponies you are protecting."

The image changed to an image of Twilight sitting in a dark gray atmosphere outside in the exact same position in the front row at many fading funerals. "I had attended the funerals of all of the ponies lost in that attack. There was no way I wasn't going to honor them. They didn't have to die. It didn't have to be. And finally..."

The image faded to Twilight closing the doors on her husband's mausoleum. Then lighting the torches on Dawn's. "I had to say goodbye to my own family. I would never see them again. Odega was kind enough to take the Gold of Dawn, and compress it into a ball that I now where around my neck. But it still wasn't my baby. It wasn't my filly. The Zebra had killed her and Madun.

"As I stood there sobbing in front of their dark and lonely tombs, I vowed, upon my very existence that the Zebra will pay. They all will die. And absolutely nothing will stand in my way. This was the second time Zebra attacked my country and took lives. The first time we nearly wiped them out, but Molten had enough heart to leave a few alive that unfortunately grew in numbers. The foals, the families, the innocent. Those numbers attacked Psera once again. Over two hundred Zebras crossed over into Psera and attacked my home, killed my husband, my daughter, my friends, and my citizens and you seriously think I'm just going to stand down? That I am going to allow them to get away with a slaughter of innocent ponies again? No!"

Everything was wiped away to welcome in the Mount Aris Trade Room once again. Queen Arcadia turned around and walked back to her desk in a tense manner that Cadance could tell was fueled by anger.

This theory was confirmed when Queen Arcadia smoldered at all of them from her desk chair and said, "So my warning still stands. Hand over the Zebras you are protecting so I can protect my home from another senseless attack... Or we will mop over every last thing standing in our way and get to them ourselves. And Princesses... If any of you are in my way... I personally will see to it that you are no longer. You have fourteen days to hand them over. If you don't, expect a fleet coming this way."

Luna smoldered and stood up to say, "You do not possibly think you are strong enough to take us all on. Your numbers may be great, Queen Arcadia. But challenging ponies older than you would be your mistake."

Mistake? Not strong enough? Queen Arcadia's eye glowed neon violet before a dangling vine behind Luna shot out and wrapped around her neck. Then loudly yanked her back out of her seat into the wall to dangle above.

IHT bounced up from their seats and looked from a struggling Luna begging for air to the pony responsible watching with a collected yet cold expression. Queen Arcadia had her hooves in front of her mouth put together to show only that eye. The one glowing with anger and distaste.

Celestia pleaded desperately, "Let her go, Twilight." She was unmoving. Her eye never left Luna struggling and her sounds of a struggle. Or the blasts of magic they were shooting at the vines freezing before contact. Luna began turning purple from lack of oxygen.

Cadance joined Celestia and shouted, "Twilight, let her go!"

Twilight looked from them back to Luna. After three more seconds, she granted their wish and let Luna fall to the floor gasping for air. Her face was nearly violet, but her brain still alive.

Twilight shook her head and commented, "Oh Luna... I do not think any of you are strong enough to take me on. You may need some help."

Luna waved a hoof to the ponies glaring at Arcadia around the room and commented through her intakes, "We have enough."

"Not enough to stop a maleficent attack."

"We'll be ready for one."

Queen Arcadia narrowed her eye and asked, "Are you refusing to hoof over the Zebras now?"

Celestia covered Luna's mouth before she could make a grave mistake and answered, "We will let you know of our decision within fourteen days, Queen Arcadia Nova."

Arcadia nodded and informed, "And only fourteen days. In my place, there will be a representative. I am needed here on Psera with my citizens. My absence from the public has made Psera a little... Sloppy. You will find Sunset, Rainbow Dash, and Spitfire back in Canterlot inside of Sunset's office. I was very lenient with their spying because I know you were worried. However, now that you know the truth, anymore spies will be dealt with a more lethal response. No matter who they are."

Queen Novo asked her, "Are we in the midst of a Cold War, Arcadia?"

Her answer? "Let's hope that's all this will be and not a bloodbath. I've already watched my friends and family die. I'd rather not watch any of you follow. Make the right choice. I am going to get those Zebras one way or another."

Then without so much as a goodbye, she and her desk whisked away into the air like blowing sand.

Chapter 07 - Stalker

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Breakfast was interesting. Night Life stopped by Dawn's house to drop off a plate of Cooked Berries. A strange thing to actually eat, but it turned out okay. Each Berry was cooked between two rotating logs of wood then saturated in honey. Strange, but surprisingly good.

Dawn ate the delicacy in her living room and went back to her tomes immediately after. A few Dark Magic spells lied open on the floor in front of the bench for studying and horn alight following instructions. What she could honestly say about Founder's Island was the silence. It was so peacefully quiet here. There were only around fifty ponies here and nothing else to do. No enemies, no bills, barely any struggling. You were just... Alive here. Nothing but to live out their eternal lives stuck on an island with nothing to do. Dawn would've gone insane by this point.

There was no way she was going to sit here and do nothing for years to come. As the world passed her by she lied in the dark watching. No. That wasn't her style. That mountain held answers. Answers she needed. She was going to get those answers. And she knew exactly how.

Dawn rudely changed into an excited First Light who asked, "Oooh, what are we reading?" She flipped the page and turned to a whole other spell before Dawn took over once again.

She groaned loud and scolded, "First Light! This is delicate! We have to be careful or we'll mess up and cause a problem!"

Of course. It was always what she couldn't do. First Light groaned in her head and pouted, "We should really get our own bodies. It's not fair, you know."

Dawn knew what she meant. She didn't know how she felt, but she knew it was hurting her heart that she was trapped inside with nothing to do. Her heart ached for release.

Dawn sighed and reasoned, "If there is a spell, I promise we will do what it takes to get you your own body. You've been inside long enough."

She felt the magic shift inside her. "Really?" First Light hopefully asked. "You mean it?"

"Believe it or not, you are my little sister and I care about you."

"We're twin sisters."

Dawn shook her head and flipped back to where she was before. "Actually, mom was pregnant with me first before she was almost killed and had to use her magic to keep me alive, which in turn created you. I'm older than you by a few months. Now, you wanna help me search for this spell?"

Dawn's left eye turned from violet to a pitch black so First Light could see what Dawn was seeing. "What spell?" She asked.

"Figure Transfiguration. A spell that will allow me to shape shift. I have no bones so it should be completely painless for me to do so to myself. To just bend magic into a shape. You and I are living proof that it's possible. We just have to find it."

First Light moved around in Dawn's body again and mentioned, "You know... I don't think that has ever been done. To actually take on a real shape other than... A shadow, I guess."

Dawn lifted her left hoof so both she and First Light could see half of it drift off like a black cloud. No fur, bones, blood, skin, nothing. Just... Darkness. Dawn murmured, "Yeah, it's creepy." She summoned her hoof back into place and flexed it.

"But we should be able to morph our magic into anything. Like Cormo. Yeah?"

Dawn shrugged and answered, "Of course but we still have to add everything else. And that requires another spell."

"Mom did say that complex spells require combinations, remember? If we can get those spells we can do this. But... Why are we doing this?"

Dawn flipped to another page since the previous one didn't have what she was looking for and answered, "For one, we don't have anything else to do, and two? We need to get to that mountain. Without being spotted. Something strange is going on here."

Movement in her peripheral attracted her attention to the left next to her fireplace. Juniper and Sky Blue were sleeping the time away piled on top of each other. It was really cute and precious. How quiet they slept.

"Why don't we just turn into a cloud and fly up there?" Dawn stopped reading and glanced up nonchalantly to the fireplace. Then glanced to the side with slightly rose cheeks. "Never thought of that, huh?"

"...you occupy that part of my brain," Dawn excused. She could feel First Light roll her eyes. "But we still need to get to that cave. Come on." Dawn stood up and bent the page she was on in half to keep it to herself. Then closed the book. She could read that later.

Her hooves trotted around to her pets. Sleeping peacefully and elegant. Until she nuzzled Sky Blue and Juniper. They shifted and untangled themselves to look up to Dawn and that smile. She shot her head to the left and said, "Come on. We're trying again. Without interruptions."

Dawn wrapped them in her hooves and without a moment's delay, dissolved all three into a mist and floated through one of the home's front windows back outside. She was definitely getting in this time.

Canterlot was one of Equestria's calmer side. Even though most ponies would say it was Manehattan, that wasn't entirely true. Manehattan was too much city for Princess Flurry Heart and one of her best friends.

Living Sounds. A mare with a long dark purple mane with a gradient of light purple, a light blue coat, and light blue eyes. She and Flurry met many years ago in middle school in an art class and have been close ever since. And she's proud to have her as one of her best friends. She's always been there for her during tough times, and this was no different.

Living Sounds usually gets the inside scoop on what happens inside the castles when Flurry tells her. This time was a lot more serious. Saddle Row's Milly's Sandwiches was always their hangout spot. Tables outside to enjoy the air and loving atmosphere of Canterlot while still holding a thick conversation with your best friends.

Sounds listened to Flurry explain while drinking a smoothie and only interrupted with a subtle nod and head gesture before she wrapped up the story. After she did, she popped the straw out of her mouth and smack her lips before speaking in that rough yet equalized voice of hers.

"Well it seems that we finally managed to make another country extremely upset, right? I'm really sorry about your cousin. I don't know what it's like to lose family I just met."

Flurry glanced away and replied despondently, "Yeah. She may have been awkward, but she was still pretty cool. I even had a dream about her last night. She was telling me to come and save her from some place she was trapped in." And that was one intense dream. Flurry remembered it plain as day. The white atmosphere around here, and how real it seemed. Dawn literally appeared out of nowhere telling her desperately to "research a land lost in time."

Living Sounds whistled a descending tone and replied, "Well that's scary. So what's next? The Zebras, right? You're upset Aunt Twilight wants them to die?" Flurry sighed and sadly nodded. "I don't know much about like Friendship and stuff, but from what I hear the Princess of Friendship doesn't... You know... Go around killing ponies."

Flurry wasn't so sure if Aunt Twilight could even be called the Princess of Friendship anymore. She's so angry right now she could do anything. Flurry could see the pain in her eye. The one filled with an eternal rage. A violet inferno of power.

Flurry grabbed her own shake and started slurping away her fear. She mumbled around her straw, "Well none of that really matters. She wants those Zebras. And if we don't hand them over, I have no doubts that she'll send an army this way just to search for them. And if we put up a defensive line, they're going to blow us all up."

Living Sounds widened her ice blue eyes and queried, "Can she even do that?"

"She has to sign a form and it has to go through their Court which would take up to a week, but yes. She just did it to the Zebras. Psera doesn't joke around here. And I have a feeling Queen Twilight doesn't have to do much to get her way."

Living Sounds commented, "Your family is the worst choice to start drama with. Your dad, your mom, all three of your aunts, jeez. Now you're dragged into it." Living Sounds sighed and slurped through her milkshake.

Flurry shook her head and asked, "Any idea on what we should do?"

Living Sounds pointed to herself in surprise and asked, "You're asking me? I say hoof them over. The Zebras attacked a very powerful country twice and definitely knew they were going to strike back. And hard. And they did after the first attack, so I learned. But yet they did it again. Now there's nothing they can do but accept the consequences. Yes, I know the children are innocent. But Psera is still asking for those Zebras. And if we want to save our own hides, then we have to hoof them over."

Her logic was definitely sound. But Flurry Heart knew her Aunts, mom, and Dad weren't just going to hoof them over to the Pserateps. Because they wanted all of them gone. As in no Zebras left.

But Flurry didn't say anything. She just went back to her drink and looked away. Into the eyes of a pony staring at her across the street. Correction. Smoldering at her.

Well that's freaky. There was literally a pony sitting down on the sidewalk eyeing her. Nopony ever eyes her. A mare with a light green coat, chilling ice blue eyes that stuck out most above everything else and a light orange-red mane.

Flurry stopped slurping and locked eyes with her before a pony crossed between the both of them close to where Flurry was sitting. Then she was gone.

Flurry popped her straw out of her mouth and jabbed an urgent hoof to where she was before. She looked at Living Sounds and asked, "Did you see that?"

She followed her hoof towards where she was before. Now vacant save for a cup on the ground. Sounds nodded and answered, "Yeah, littering is disgusting."

"No, th-the pony! Somepony was staring at me! She was orange and had scary ice blue eyes! She was a Pegasus!"

Oh boy. Living Sounds looked to the purple sky showing the setting sun. "I think it's time we started back home, Flurry," she decreed. "Your parents could get paranoid, and my parents aren't going to be any better."

It was obvious Living Sounds didn't believe her. She rarely believes anything she can't see herself. So Flurry let it drop. For now. But she knew what she saw. She wasn't imagining things.

It wasn't long until they got back onto the train and were riding through snow and ice for the Crystal Empire. The ride was always quiet and serene. Everyone were doing their own thing to pass the time such as reading, writing, quietly speaking with each other, or staring out the window watching the snow and ice pass with the time. The seats were pretty much couches on a train. Allowing two per seat.

Flurry Heart was sitting on the outside of their seat while Living Sounds was on the inside staring out the window. Flurry's eyes were trained on the ceiling watching nothing at all. Her mind was on the pressure she was already subjected to. The war that was going to reach their shores. Flurry may only be a Princess "in training," but she was still very much aware that they needed a plan.

"It's hard, isn't it?" Flurry tilted her head towards the right side of the train and forgot how to breath and blink. That mare, the one she knew she didn't imagine. The one with those chilling light blue eyes and fire colored mane.

Now she was staring directly at her with a smirk. As in her whole body was facing her from the seat directly across. She looked to be in her early twenties and was a little taller than she was. Her voice was deep but still feminine.

Flurry shifted her wing to nudge Living Sounds and asked, "I'm sorry, were you talking to me?"

This mare nodded and answered, "Yes I was, Princess. I was talking to you. Equestria is going through a hard time, aren't they?" Her voice was smooth. Her words flowed out like fresh oil.

Living Sounds poked her head out on Dawn's right to get a good look at this pony while she and Dawn held their conversation. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about the war approaching. You know, between the Pserateps and everyone else?"

No one knew about the war yet. They knew tensions were rising, but not the fact that blows were already sent. Flurry squinted and commented, "That is sensitive information you shouldn't have."

Sensitive? This pony ignored it and replied, "The Pserateps are a strong race and have been for centuries. They have developed advanced technology that no other could develop, took hold of a land made of gold, and have achieved evolutionary dominance over every last creature on the planet. And their current ruler is the God of Magic. It's kind of hard to hide their current events."

Their train finally left the snow and ice and pulled into view of the cool Crystal Empire. The tall spire of the castle was a glistening beacon of hope and promise in this cold atmosphere surrounded by crystal homes and shimmering ponies. Undeterred by the world around them.

The pony looked out the window as if they were admiring a painting and continued her speech. "But even though they have achieved and excelled greatness, they—like all other creatures—have flaws and weaknesses that even they are not aware of. For instance: Unlike a Pegasi, a Pseratep's ears are bigger, thicker, and wider. This is so they can detect and hear movements far away from in front of them during their super fast flights and have time to adjust and maneuver. They fly so fast, they can barely see where they're going. They just know it's there by hearing.

"A Pseratep's tail is thicker than the average pony's and allows things to be hidden inside. But it's also more sensitive to the temperature and causes problems through the whole body. Psera's weapons are now powered by magic instead of science which in turn makes them vulnerable to outside attacks by the rest of the world through hacking. One wrong spell could disable an entire Aquata. And they're definitely coming here."

The Friendship Express slowed to a stop at the station and urged its passengers to gather their things. With haste, its occupants flooded the platforms with a goal to their families. Flurry was one of them.

She stood with Living Sounds with eyes glued on this pony with flopped down ears she just noticed. This pony was different. She reported no name. Just faces. Suspicious.

Fluury smoldered and asked, "How do you know so much about the Pserateps? No one in Equestria knows about the Pserateps."

"Well that's quite easy to explain." She slinked out of her seat and moved towards the door like the rest of the ponies. But what she had behind her made Flurry and Living Sounds gasp.

Wings. Long wings. Going on ten feet. Her ears were big and pointing straight up. Dawn quickly deduced in a whisper, "You're a Pseratep."

"Yes I am," she replied. Then hopped out the door and started to make her way into the Crystal Empire with Flurry on her tail. "And you're an Alicorn-Pseratep with a smaller gene. I have a lot of inside information."

Flurry zipped around and stared into those chilling eyes that spelled distrust to ask, "Are you a spy? I will call the guards on you."

"If I were, I wouldn't have told you about the Aquatas and our ears." She pointed up to her head and wiggled them around.

That was true, Flurry assumed. But there was still one question she had yet to ask. "What are you doing here in Equestria?"

This mare chortled and walked around Flurry to enter the Empire. "I live here. And I've been living here for decades. I was here before Twilight Sparkle left. When you were a foal."

Many many years? Flurry and Living Sounds flanked her sides while they moved for the castle. A shining beacon for all the ponies moving around. Living Sounds asked, "How have you been here that long and nopony noticed?"

"Because no one really cared until now. That's why I need to speak to your parents, Princess." She slowed down and faced Flurry Heart with that unsettling smirk and those cold eyes. "I can help you get past the Pserateps and their Army. I can help you stand a fighting chance."

As interesting as it sounded, it was all too sudden. Too out of the blue. Living Sounds made her concerns known by asking, "Why would you want to help us? What would you gain?"

She chortled and continued making moves for the castle. Her eyes narrowed to envision the nearing future. "Let's just say Psera and I have a really complicated relationship. They have something that belongs to me. Something that their Queen has in her possession."

The cave was much cooler than Dawn expected. Even though it was winter, her fur usually helped keep her warm. Not this time. When her form of black smog reformed through the trees, it bundled together to create her body and her pets.

In front of the cave held destroyed trees, dirt, and leaves that were falling on her and across her vision. The sounds were eerie. The breeze held a ghostly wail when it reached her ears. Small birds chirped and the leaves rustled a tune. This couldn't have become any creepy.

Fresh Dawn's left eye changed to pitch black so First Light could see.

"It's quiet here," she whispered. The only sounds were the breeze and ruffling of leaves.

Fresh Dawn set down Juniper and Sky Blue. Then slowly trotted to the cave with them following close to her sides.

"This entire mountain is quiet," she replied. "There aren't even any birds chirping. Let's not disturb it." With a final look over her shoulder, Dawn turned her horn into a light and trotted inside. She was scared, but she was also determined to get off this island. That was more important than her own fear.

The silence was intense. So thick Dawn's hooves, Juniper's panting and Sky Blue's nervous caws wouldn't change it. Walking through the cave was easy because there was only one way to go: Forward. But eventually the light from the world left and plunged them into darkness. Dawn's horn could only light so many feet ahead of them. Anymore and she would strain. So their speed slowed cautiously upon angling downwards into the mountain.

"I suggest we strengthen our magic when we get out of here," First Light suggested.

"Definitely," Dawn agreed. She looked down to Juniper walking between her hooves then back up. They've been walking through this cave for ten minutes. And only now did she realize they were nearing something.

There was a stone arch up ahead. Smooth and flawless. It contrasted greatly against the rest of this cave of jagged rock and stone, which meant...

Dawn shined her light on it and whispered, "That was made artificially. We're close."

"Finally," First Light groaned. Dawn was sure she felt her throw up her hooves. "This took forever."

As if she was the one walking. Dawn rolled her eyes and walked past it into a very large cavern. The end of the road. She could tell by the way her hooves sounded when she stepped inside and eyed the stone wall across from her. There was something on it that she couldn't make out. So she slowly stepped further in for a closer look.

The second Dawn's right hoof pressed against the cold stone, a light red ring surrounded it and brightened the cave. She gasped and took a hurried step back. Then it wasn't there anymore.

"What the buck was that?" First Light worriedly murmured.

Dawn's deep breathing was her only response. It was already really scary down here, they didn't need creepy magic too. She gulped down her fear and took a deep breath. Something her father taught her. Then placed her hoof back in its previous place.

The ring appeared once more. But unlike last time, she didn't remove it, despite her better judgement. Five lines traced away from its outer perimeter and zoomed towards the walls over the stone. Then crawled over their surface and created shapes.

Dawn's speeding heart slowed. Her eyes didn't leave the lines nor what they were creating. What it was made her want to learn magic even more. Dawn gulped and whispered, "...matter."

Sheets and images lined the walls. Pictures, a giant map, bookshelves. A long table bearing notebooks and more. There were even drawings and photographs lining the walls of ponies she's actually seen before. But five of them stuck out the most. Five she's recently met and come to know as her family.

Dawn trained her light on the photos and drawings, and slowly approached with a look of wonder. Mouth open and eyes wide. The five of them created a pentagon with the one pony Dawn couldn't believe she missed at the very top: Her mother. But it was when she was very young. In the state of a Unicorn.

On her lower right was Aunt Cadance and on her lower left was Aunt Celestia. Under her was Aunt Luna. Back on the right, underneath Cadance was Flurry Heart. They were all crossed out with black Xs, connected by doubled arrows that pointed to and from her mother.

"Strange," First Light said. "It seems to be a diagram of mother and our family."

Very strange. Dawn moved her light down to the table at all the notes and sheets. The first one had a title in Old Pseratopian reading...

"'Observation #1,'" Dawn read aloud. "Queen Arcadia has become as strong as I. Her level of magic was not meant to reach this high. Combined with the rest, it is becoming unprecedented.'"

"What does that mean?"

Dawn wasn't sure. But she had a feeling she wouldn't like the answer. However, she had to know why her mother had an X on her face.

Dawn slid over one of the chairs across the floor to take a seat in and continued reading with First Light. This was going to take a while. But they both knew there was info in here that was worth it.

They were never going to hoof over the Zebras. Queen Arcadia knew they weren't. Equestria was never going to hoof over those ponies so they would never do it again. They were going to snuggle them in their own hooves while the Pserateps try to pry those hooves open. And they would willingly put their lives on the line for this.

Queen Arcadia took her brooding down to Safe Haven's exercise room. Where she could stretch and take her anger out on all the weights, benches, poles, and punching bags. Her hooves danced across the mats protecting the floor. She grunted and strained underneath the weights she would lift. She'd be silent with closed eyes while she slowly rotated around with one of her forehooves on the ground, and the rest of her body in the air, practicing her balance. She'd make no noise while she did her yoga to maintain her curves.

But after all of that, her cries of anger would scream she wanted vengeance. Her nonchalant expression stood tall in front of the reflective mirrors on the right wall of the room. To her long ethereal mane draping over her right eye to her taller physique. She would be about as tall as Madun. Not as big, but that was okay. She had all the strength she needed in her head. Madun taught her that.

She wiped her face matted with sweat and whispered, "I promise... They will pay, my children. And nothing will stand in my way."

Chapter 08 - Traitor For Good

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Celestia couldn't help but worry. No matter what anypony told her, there was an army coming. IHT knew they weren't just going to pass on innocent Zebras to bloodthirsty angry Pegasi with advanced weaponry. There were innocent children involved in this. What would Queen Arcadia do to them? There was no way to tell and no way to predict. Her motives have become shallow and difficult to predict. She was a wild card. All they could do now was be ready. And there lied the problem.

How would they ever be able to face a military that could wipe out an entire country overnight? Zebrica was a small country, but they littered it with flying bombs. Thirty of them. Then left the land to burn to ashes.

Even now Celestia could see the smoke traveling over Canterlot's air through her office's stained glass windows. A black and gray reminder to what was coming in thirteen days. How would they fight them?

The work on Celestia's desk seemed less than minor now. She brushed it to the side and sighed with the weight of the world. Even she knew they were going up against powerful forces. Including Twilight.

She has grown in magic in ways Celestia never knew were possible. Her power was immeasurable. Unpredictable. Completely inconceivable. So much that she knew they would never stand a chance. Twilight had everything they didn't. The mind of a soldier, the thoughts of a mad-scientist, and the magical strength of a thousand Discord and Maheera Darks. They already had it out fifteen years ago when she first abandoned Equestria in favor of a new life.

Celestia had a feeling she was going easy on them because love was in her heart. She wasn't nearly as angry as she was now. All they were doing were trying to forcefully retrieve a weapon. But now...

King Shimmering Madun, Princess Fresh Veola Dawn, and Princess First Light were dead. And they were keeping her from the ponies who murdered them.

But weren't the Marrials enough? Wasn't the destruction of their land enough? Wasn't taking the lives of innocent Zebras enough? Unfortunately, no. Twilight wanted them all dead. Something they couldn't allow. If the Pserateps prompted an investigation by questioning, then they would allow them passage. But no.

Now, they were in a Cold War because the Pserateps were angry. They were furious and no doubt preparing for a war this very moment. Undiscovered weapons loaded aboard fresh new Aquatas, Narmeelah's Legends ready to fly in at Queen Arcadia's order. Oh Faust, Odega could burn their world to ashes with a simple flap of her wings if Queen Twilight tells her to.

The only good side to this war was that with IHT's combined numbers, they would be able to have a fair fight if need be. But all of their technology were ancient compared to the Pserateps'. For Faust's sake, they managed to cease their magic for a few hours. That was in no doubt a weapon and Twilight couldn't tell her otherwise. There is literally no other reason to have it except to disarm any magic user.

Celestia sighed and rubbed her head to cease the incoming headache. They needed a miracle to get out of this mess. But what could they possibly do?

Somepony knocking on her door interrupted her mental journey into frustration and thrusted her back into reality. She sighed and ordered, "Enter!"

The door pushed open and in walked Flurry Heart. Well "walk" was more of a jog. She was a common face in Canterlot because according to her, "It was more fun to be in." But right now, Celestia could tell that she wasn't here for fun. Her face was serious and her crown was on wrong, which let Celestia know she was in a hurry.

Flurry zipped up to Celestia's desk and said urgently, "I found something. Well it was more like she found me."

Well this was off to a terrific start. Celestia sighed through her nose and requested, "Could you be more clear please, Flurry?" She used her magic to fix Flurry's crown to the correct placement. There, much better.

Flurry used her own to close the doors to Celestia's study to cement their conversation in secrecy. Then turned back and whispered excitedly, "I have a contact. A pony who's willing to help us."

Boy if everything was just that simple. Celestia rubbed her horn and whispered, "Flurry I highly doubt anypony could help—"

"It's a Pseratep."

Celestia stopped talking and looked back up to Flurry with widened eyes. Her soul turned cold, goosebumps crawled over her skin.

"...a Pseratep?" She repeated. Before Flurry could answer Celestia shot up and shouted, "How is that possibly a good thing?! Flurry, where are they?!"

Oh jeez. Flurry backed up when Celestia bounced over the desk and eagerly made haste for the doors. "Crystal Empire. But Aunt Celestia—"

Celestia immediately teleported both herself and Flurry all the way from Canterlot to The Crystal Empire in the blink of an eye. More specifically to the throne room where Cadance was sitting. She may not be as strong as Queen Arcadia, but when prompted she could pull a cow out of her mane if need be.

The Crystal floors reflected her Throne's glinting light. The throne itself held Flurry's mother in all her majesty. Sitting and waiting for something interesting to happen while her Crystal Guards stood stoic at the foot of her throne's corners.

Her eyes sparkled with interest the moment Celestia and Flurry popped into view. Celestia had that look. The one where something bad was going on. Cadance straightened up and asked, "What is it?"

Flurry quickly bounced in front of Celestia and answered, "I got us some help!"

"There is a Pseratep in Equestria!" Celestia interrupted. "A Pseratep is among us. Which means there may be more gathering intelligence for Psera about the Zebras."

Okay now that was more understandable. And not good at all. Cadance jumped down from her throne in alarm and yelled, "What?! Where are they?! Flurry!"

Flurry faced her two elders with folded ears and replied, "Look, she can help us—"

Cadance stopped her by shouting, "Whether she can help us or not we must be notified of a Pseratep or anymore of them on this land! If Queen Arcadia learns of any of this, we may not even have a day to be prepared for an invasion. Soldiers could be on their way right now! Flurry, where is this Pseratep?"

Shining Armor burst into the room when he heard the shouting wearing his Royal Guard outfit and quickly rushed towards the Princesses. "Whoa, hold on!" He ordered. Then slid to a stop next to Celestia. "What is going on, what's with all the shouting?"

Great, not dad too! Before Flurry could say anything, Cadance answered, "There's a Pseratep in Equestria! And Flurry's seen her!"

Shining gasped and immediately turned in Flurry. "What?! Flurry, where is she?!"

"I don't know, okay?!" She cried. "She caught me and Sounds on the way back to The Crystal Empire yesterday evening and—"

Shining gasped and repeated, "Yesterday?! You saw her yesterday and didn't say anything?! She could be anywhere now! I need to scramble the Guard, we need to find this Pseratep now!"

Well this is perfect. Flurry mentally cursed and stomped a hoof. These ponies just won't listen to her. She hopped in front of Celestia before she could leave and shouted, "We need all the help we can get! If we don't get any outside help, we're all going to lose!"

"The child speaks true." That voice. That same ancient tone. The Princesses turned around and looked up to the ceiling to face the speaker. The speaker flipped down and quickly flapped her long green wings to land gracefully on her hooves in front of Cadance's throne. Her green feathers slid over the carpet to gather behind her. Her cool blue eyes burned into all of their hearts. And her smile an omen of untold future events.

A Pseratep! How'd they get in the castle?! Celestia gasped and quickly surrounded her in a golden sphere of magic. Cadance and Shining aimed at her with the Guards. Surrounding her while Flurry was pushed protectively behind her father by her mother.

This pony barely reacted. She barely even moved. Only staring back with chilling eyes. Celestia smoldered and asked, "Who are you? Why are you here?"

She sighed and answered in that smooth older voice, "Let's get straight to the point, Princess. There's a war coming. A war you want no part in. But you just can't let these innocent Zebras become victim to Queen Arcadia's rage. You are old, and with age comes wisdom. Experience. You have seen this exact same thing happen on a much lower scale through multiple ponies. But this time, even you know that Faust will be the only one who can save you from this."

Cadance growled and repeated Celestia's earlier question through grit teeth, "Why are you here?"

"All of you ponies in this room..." She waved a hoof around to the Guards, Princesses, and Prince Consort aiming horns and spears at her. "Know that going up against Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, Saviour of Psera would be suicide. You know she is smart. She is strong. She became a mage of Magic here in her own homeland and expanded what she knew over there in Psera. In my own homeland. She has achieved so much in the relatively short time she has lived on Equus compared to each and every one of you on this entire continent. Beating her would be like an ant trying to fight a dog. Speed alone would barely hurt her. And now she is angry. At you."

All noise ceased to exist in the room. Only her words rang through their minds. She directed her eyes to the unmoving form of Princess Celestia and declared, "You are scared, Princess. The pony that you yourself taught is now stronger than both you, your sister, your niece, even a Giant ancient Draconequus. The student has surpassed the teacher."

Shining growled, "You didn't answer our question."

"The child has already answered it for me." She moved her eyes down to Flurry and repeated, "You need all the help you can get. Because if Queen Arcadia does come here, then it means she has become impatient. It means she is tired, and it means she is no longer taking no for an answer. It means that your time. Has. Run. Out.

"She will not hesitate to level this entire country. She will fire every last single mass destructive weapon she has on Canterlot's mountain if she even suspects you are hiding those Zebras. She will force her way into homes and trash them just to find a clue. At her power in both magic and influence... There will be nothing you can do about it. You know this, Princess Celestia. I can see it in your eyes."

Celestia hummed and squinted at her. At the calm nature of this Pseratep. She knew she was getting to them. And may Faust help her... Celestia could see all of that happening.

She growled under her breath while they continued. "You're afraid that I'm a spy. That I am reporting to my Queen and to anymore Pserateps on Equestria. But I assure you that I am the only one here. And do you want to know why?" She smoldered and answered darkly, "Because when Psera's king and the Princess—Psera's first ever Alicorn-Pseratep—were murdered by Zebras... Every last single Pseratep in Equestria and beyond flew right back to Psera, and signed up to be recruited. Except me."

The shield around her slowly dissipated. The soldiers aiming at her lowered their weapons at Celestia's motion. But not for a second did their eyes leave her. Especially when she decided to walk forward and continue talking.

"Even now, Psera is training a new age of soldiers. The Arcadian Elite Royal Guard is being called back into action. Military exercises are being practiced day in and day out. Aqua Guard Task Forces are being trained underwater for hours straight. New heights are being reached.

"And the Queen?" She stopped directly at Celestia's hooves and stared up into her quivering faded purple eye. "She mourns in aggression and frustration. Shaking and screaming while the sword her husband gifted her slashes through sandbags painted as Stripes. She creates new weapons until she is tired. Then awakens after a nap and makes more.

"She practices her magic as if she were a God and raises the land while managing her country with pride. She goes through her archives of weapons deemed too destructive and sends them back to Congress to possibly be approved while maintaining an unmoving structure of legislative control. You've already seen one class of her weaponry in action. The Marrials. You don't know much about them, so I'll tell you this. Just so you know what you're dealing with."

She rose up on her rear hooves with spread wings for balance to get closer and whispered, "The Marrials... Must be remotely activated before they explode. If they're not, then they just simply crash into dirt. And the pony who armed them... Was Queen Arcadia herself."

Shining instantly denied with a stomp of his hoof, "That's a lie! There's no way my sister would do that!"

"Oh but it's true." This pony walked around Celestia to Shining, Cadance, and Flurry Heart. "She told you she approved the attack. But she didn't tell you she actually set off the weapons that killed all of those Zebras.

"I am over five thousand years old. I was there during the first Gold Wars and was there during the construction and innovation of weaponry. We had weapons similar to The Marrials, but not as destructive. It's strictly forbidden for anyone but the ruling Royal of Psera to arm the weapons as a symbol that they will do whatever it takes to protect us. Queen Molten Ice armed the weapons the first time. Now Queen Twilight Arcadia Nova Sparkle did the second time.

"She is the only one allowed to arm those weapons, which are activated away from Psera to avoid any damage. She personally saw to their destruction. Then went to bed immediately after. Her goal was to wipe them out. But unfortunately, there are survivors in hiding. You know where they are and you're not talking."

She turned back to the Princesses and summarized, "If you do not turn over the Zebras or tell her where they are, those Marrials will be turned on you. If they're in this country but she doesn't know where they are, then she will start searching randomly. Her Aquatas will approach your shores and her soldiers will turn your skies dark while they rain down over this country. Then move on to the rest."

Cadance denied with a shake of her head, "She wouldn't do that. Her life is here. Her memories, her family—"

"—was slaughtered in Psera by the same ponies you are protecting. Right now, none of you are family." She smoldered at Cadance. "You are her enemies. She lost her daughter, and you won't turn over the ponies who committed the crime. She lost her husband, and you defend the monsters who attacked. She watched her subjects die, and you deny her justice. You have the power to give her all of that and refuse when she needs it most.

"You are not her friends, you are her traitors. And that goes for anyone who follows you. If you don't even give her a clue as to where they are, she will fight you. She might not kill you, but she will make it so you stay out of her way. Anything goes in a war. And if you're not going to say anything, then you may as well prepare yourself for her arrival because she is coming."

She turned around and walked back towards the throne. With their eyes burning into her back. "NOW! Let's talk your defense. You have no Navy, barely an air team, and no special combat programs. Psera has nearly two hundred Aquatas, over a million soldiers, weapons that could melt an entire town to coal, and a Queen who's so powerful that she can take your life hundreds of miles away with magic remotely. She fights with her hooves and is trained with a sword."

She turned around to shoot that sneaky smirk. "But there are ways. Queen Arcadia may be the brightest pony in the world, but she sometimes overlooks the most basic of things. Psera has a term we use to get over obstacles using only the things we have. We call them Hacks. We learn about the problem and our enemy. And use household items and strategies to get around them. And your country compared to Psera? It's filled with household items. Queen Arcadia may be the mage of Magic and creator of legendary spells, but you are the land of magic. Filled with Legendary creatures of your own who will fight. Discord is the God of Chaos, lest you forget. Maheera may be before him, but you still have a chance with him.

"Lord Tirek is strong enough with little magic. If he gets some real magic in him, he will be a large beast. The Dragons spew fire and move fast, The Changelings can get behind enemy lines. And let's not forget the Elements of Harmony."

Celestia didn't even know Luna was here until a blue hoof pointed out of her peripheral vision. "How do you know about the Elements of Harmony?"

"I've been here for many years. I've been here before you two were even born. I've seen, witnessed, and heard it all. You have nothing I don't know. But you need all the help you can get. And I can show you the way."

She was willing to help them. To betray her own kind. Celestia and Luna looked at each other through less intense eyes when Shining sternly asked, "Why are you so willing to help us? Why are you not pledging to your Queen?"

Looks like her work here was nearly done. She started her walk around towards the entrance under their gazes and answered, "Psera and I have a really complicated relationship. Queen Arcadia has something that belongs to me. And I intend on getting it back. What other way is there than to side with her enemy? I'll be happy to help you. As long as—"

Luna turned around and interrupted, "—we help you? Forget it."

"Nope." She looked over her shoulder and grinned. "As long as you trust me. I can handle my own just fine. I do not need you, and I never will. But you do need me. You all know that without the help from someone like me, a pony who has seen and been through their wars, you stand no chance against Psera's military. Unlike your past enemies... Psera aims to kill. To blow up. To affect your entire life. All of your lands are places of peace. But let me be clear."

She turned around to face them with her whole body and said, "Her Highness will move an entire continent for her family and for her country. I have seen her in action and what she is willing to do. And she will play dirty to get her way. She may even give you multiple chances to do what she says.

"But you all know that you will have to fight The Queen, pin her down, disable her magic, knock her out, and hurt her before she even thinks about standing down. Queen Arcadia is the strongest Queen Psera has ever had, and the strongest pony alive. Her mind is made up. She will not move. And there is nothing you can do to change her mind. You already have her answer. And she is ready to take what she needs. And you're clearly unprepared for her arrival."

Cadance turned around and asked, "Who are you?"

She opened the doors to look out at all the soldiers staring inside drenching her form in anger. Then looked over her shoulder and smiled. That same smile that burned a hole in their hearts. "I have gone by many names throughout my long life on Equus. There is none permanent. So I will give you a simple one. A sound that has resigned in all of them. My name is Mimi. When your mind is made up, come find me in Las Pegasus. At the old facility. I'll be watching the Aquatas arrive."

Then Mimi turned around and walked out the doors. They could have stopped her. They could have told her to stay. But her words rolled over and over in Celestia's mind again and again. Twilight would fight for her family and country. And she won't drop her weapon. Not even if she was dead.

And she's coming to fight them.

Once again rain poured over Psera's military city-state. A cold rushing storm that would make anyone shiver after being outside for more than two minutes. Pserateps were grounded and inside. Lights, newspapers, and litter were the only things blowing across the streets.

But the temperature wasn't enough to stop Twilight. The rain met her naked hooves, long wings, and glowing mane when she jumped out the portal in front of the Private Mausoleum hosting the lives of her family. The fire in front of Dawn's tomb reflected off her eyes and danced through the tears in them. As usual, The Elite Guard had taken their places around the mausoleum instead of in it to allow their great Queen privacy in this storm. She could carry her own umbrella. Which she happily did.

She stopped in between both Dawn and Madun's Mausoleums, and sat down on the wet concrete. Under the thunder and lightning as a mother and widow. She sighed with the weight of the world and greeted, "Hello, babies. We've launched The Marrials and managed to repay our debt to the Zebras. My goal was to wipe them all out so that there would be no more fatal surprises. Unfortunately... There are survivors. And our friends in the East are keeping them from us."

Lightning once again rumbled across the sky. Lightning that didn't deter the Queen. "But I was honestly expecting them too. Equestria, Mount Aris, Saddle Arabia... They have always seen the good in ponies rather than the bad. As have I, but I admit I was naive. That I was too weak to understand the emotions and feelings of eternal loss. They never stare at what happened, they only stare at what they could do. Their potential. Unaware that they could still do more harm than good. The attacks on Psera are clear examples of my logic. One time was not enough. They had to go again.

"When you both died... Half of me went with you. I fear I've become cold. Heartless. Soulless. Angry. But I watched you both be killed by a country who kills for fun. You were innocent. You didn't deserve it. None of those citizens deserve it. I have the right to be cold, angry, heartless and soulless now."

More thunder and lightning rolled above when she growled with deep and angry eyes, "I swear... I swear upon your graves... I will at least take half of what is left of them. And I will ensure our home's safety. Then they will all come to learn that I can be just as cruel as they were. I love you both. Rest now."

Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle turned around and walked away from her family's Mausoleum with anger and hate in her every step. They weren't going to keep those Zebras away from her. She would pry them from their dead grip if she had to. They disrespected her country, killed her citizens, and spat on her name. And IHT had the nerve to protect them. Narmeelah forbid if they were to get in her way. She would go all out to get to them. She'll tear that country apart with her own hooves if it came down to it.

It could all be avoided if they hoofed over those Zebras. But even she knew that the rest of the world has changed. They no longer thought about themselves. Now they thought about each other. In a way, she was proud. It was her vision for everyone to care about each other.

But Psera was the bad guy, despite being attacked first. The Zebras asked for this war, not them. Yet they are the enemy. They'd tell her that Zebrica is innocent and that she should stop her quest for revenge.

Not even over her dead body.

Chapter 09 - Structure

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None of this made any sense. Dawn's been reading and noting down everything she's read inside of this room and so far, it sounded like a book full of mumbo jumbo.

"She's becoming too powerful," Narmeelah had noted about her mother. On a side note, it looked like Narmeelah was out there alive and kicking, and, apparently, spying on her family. That's already a red flag.

On the wall directly across from the entrance was another large map of a circle cut up by intersecting vertical and horizontal lines in a common intersecting pattern. There was a text above it in Old Pserateopian that read, "Equus". It must've been an older thing in the past. Strange.

But Dawn was still focused on the crossed out faces of her family. Why? It was stressing her out so much that her mane began to frizzle.

First Light bumped into her mind. "Dawn? I think... I think I get it. And I'm not liking it."

Dawn sighed and rubbed her head. Well that makes one of them. "Then please clarify it," she requested.

Dawn's right hoof moved to slap on top of one of the texts they were reading and read it out loud again. "'A twinkling light shall be a bright star that even I cannot contain.' I think she's talking about mom. One thing we have learned about Narmeelah's manner of speech is the fact that she literally puts names in them. Add that Mom's face is on the wall and we got Narmeelah speaking about mom again."

"Right, but why?" Dawn walked back over to the table directly across the entrance and shuffled through the sheets over her pets. They've been in there for so long that they fell asleep on top of each other. "There must be some reason to why mom's face is crossed out with the other Princesses."

First Light couldn't think of it either. Until her half of their mind remembered something "...oh my stars. Dawn? Remember that theory mom told us about? About Narmeelah returning in anger?"

How could she forget it? Dawn was reading through some of mom's books during her probation and saw notes about a possible "Equus reset" upon Narmeelah's return. At first it sounded silly. But then mom's logic hit. If Narmeelah was willing to destroy an entire country because they knew about the Pserateps, what would stop her from resetting the entire planet because everyone knew about them? She had taught her the basis behind it and everything.

Dawn answered, "Yeah, what about it?"

"I think she was right. Remember the note earlier about the Zebras' removal of darkness? I don't think she was talking about cleaning the Zebras from Darkness. According to the ponies here in this place, the Zebras worked for Narmeelah personally."

Oh... Right. Then... "Why would she want to clean the Zebras?" She asked.

"That's just it. I don't think she was talking about cleaning the Zebras. I think she was talking about the Zebras cleaning the Darkness themselves. It's their job. It's why they were created. According to a text in these plans..." First Light flung a stack of sheets off her table then grabbed one from earlier they read. "Before she disappeared, Narmeelah was planning something big. There was something in here about a do-over or something. Then Maheera appeared and mom was put inside her Diary to defeat her in her place. But after that, there was nothing about her."

"Where are you going with this, Light?" Dawn deadpanned.

"Dawn, mom was right! But she was a little late! Narmeelah was planning a reset. According to these notes, Narmeelah was going to reset the planet of Equus because of Maheera! Her mere existence was like, 'This is it, it's over. Let's try again.' But then Maheera attacked. In a desperate move, she sealed herself and her away. But somehow, Maheera broke out and Twilight was there to defeat her.

"But the thing is, I think Narmeelah was already free and planning to reset Equus the entire time. Like a cover up. Everyone thinks she's dead, no one knows. She wasn't worried about Maheera because mom was handling her. She's Narmeelah's equal. That gave her enough time to continue planning. But then something happened along the way. Something she didn't see coming..."

The sheet from earlier was slid into their sights. With a text that Dawn read to herself. "Mom became too powerful."

"Exactly!"

"But where do we fall into this?" She pointed up to her family. "Why are they included and crossed out but not us? That Zebra said that simply because we exist we mean the end of the world. How could they know that if Narmeelah didn't know?"

"That's because the Zebras wanted to get rid of us to at least save themselves and the rest of us. Narmeelah didn't even know we exist. The prophecy was from their leaders or something. We're not even on the wall and even Flurry's up there. The Zebras know that this is happening. Their job is to clean the darkness and keep the nations away from Psera by order of Narmeelah. We weren't discovered until after Narmeelah's disappearance. The only ponies who knew about us is mom, dad, Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. But it's everyone now. Except Narmeelah. That was their goal. And when she finds out that Psera spoke with other nations, and the ruler had a mixed daughter who was actually going to take the throne of Psera..."

"We're dead. We're all dead." Dawn was starting to get it now. But then... She pointed to the photos and asked, "Why are they crossed out?"

"....she needs them out of the way. Mom is too powerful. Only she can stop her because Mom's magic matches her own. As for the other Princesses, I'm not sure. They don't hold a candle to her power."

Dawn rushed back over to the table and asked, "But how? How?!" She was fearing the answer. None of this was good.

"Through us. Dawn, Narmeelah's back. Like I said before, she knows about everything now. Including us. And she's not happy about it. I bet... Oh my stars, Dawn this is all a setup. She set up everything! Narmeelah knew the Zebras would get rid of us through a prophecy by using their Shamans. And they did, just like she wanted. Mom was hurt in an attack by the Zebras, and we're more than likely 'dead' now. What does that mean?"

Dawn knew exactly what it meant. She gulped and whispered, "It means war." Dawn was the first naturally born Alicorn-Pseratep in existence, as well as the heir to the Psera throne. And she was murdered. "Psera is going to war."

"Right. B-but Zebrica is aligned with IHT. IHT would want to settle this peacefully. But I guarantee you that mom already struck back. There's a war going on right now that Narmeelah started, not the Zebras. It was all a setup."

Dawn quickly grabbed as much proof as she could hold in her magic. Then with a whistle to wake her pets, rushed out of the cave with them on her hooves. Dawn huffed through her words, "But mom isn't going to stop. She's going to destroy Zebrica."

"And IHT won't let her."

"Mom's going to fight them to get her revenge..."

"...and she'll mow right through them using up her power or even killing herself..."

"Which will then give Narmeelah an open window to go through with her plans—"

They both shouted at the same time they burst through the cave, "Because no one powerful enough will be able to stop her!!" Then collided straight into another pony with a grunt that flung them into the air before sliding through dirt.

Heated Wings groaned underneath Dawn and rubbed her head. What the buck just hit her? She looked forward and spotted the pony she was searching for. Along with paper fluttering to the ground that she rested her eyes on. Sheets with faces on them. She bounced up and grabbed one to stare at of a pony with Dawn's coat and eyes. It looked like her. Albeit the large X across her body.

She glanced up with cold eyes and asked, "Is this your mom?"

Great, now she knew who she looked like. Dawn walked back over and used her magic to softly take the photo back. "Yeah," she answered.

"She's really pretty... Guess that's where you get your looks from, huh?"

Dawn glanced up from her photograph and quickly started grabbing the rest of them. "I can't chat right now," she urgently said. "I've figured it out."

Figured... Wings shot her head back to the cave. Then once more on Dawn. "Did you go in the cave?!" She shouted.

Dawn jumped back and shouted, "I had to! And I found out everything! It's all been a setup!" Once she had everything in her hooves once again, she zoomed up to Wings and exclaimed, "Narmeelah wants to kill everyone! And everything living! She wants to reset Equus and start over! But it'll wipe us out in the process!"

"Well of course she does! That's why I told you to stay away from the bucking cave!"

Dawn froze and stared at Wings in shock. How did she know? Unless...

Dawn narrowed her eyes and slowly backed away for the forest. "You knew," she whispered. "You knew about all of this. All along, all these years. You want this to happen."

Heated Wings zipped behind Dawn and blocked her escape. "Kid I cared about you," she said. Dawn jumped forward and whirled around before she zipped behind her again. "That's why I gave you chances. I don't know how you got past the runes. But that doesn't matter. All that does is that you have to stay here and keep it quiet. So why don't give me all of that, and we can forget about all of this?"

Sky Blue and Juniper hid underneath Dawn's body while she took up her defensive strategy. A very simple one. Practicing with her mother was about to pay off. "You were never thrown in here," she figured out. "You're our little prison guard. That's why you're so fast. To catch anyone attempting to leave. No one can fly faster than someone who can't even be seen in a trail."

Heated Wings stood on her haunches and tauntingly tapped her hooves together. "Bravo," she sarcastically praised. "You're smarter than I took you for."

Dawn growled and snarled, "Traitor! Why?"

"Why? Oh that's easy, sweetheart. You see..." She appeared on Dawn's right and bucked her to the side hard enough to have all the paper flutter from her hooves. Dawn collided into a tree trunk with a yelp. Then dropped to the dirt with a bruised side. "My loyalty lies with the great Queen." Heated Wings' voice changed. It was much older. More ancient. "My mother... She rules Psera whether you're crowned or not. What she says goes, and that's for all rulers. Now her power is slipping. Psera is becoming known. Magic is out of balance, ponies are in places where they shouldn't be. All because of your mother."

Heated Wings appeared on Dawn's left and bucked her again painfully towards the cave. Dawn slid across the dirt and rolled back to her standing position before she was blown further down inside by a gust of wind. She flew inside and tumbled along the rocks at her hooves before sliding to a stop on her face. It wasn't until then she finally looked up to the real form of her attacker.

Heated Wings slowly approached with a morphing body. Her coat of orange changed to a light green. Her wings spread and glowed Neon with magically spectrum-shifting colors. Her forest green eyes changed to a glowing ice blue that seemed to sparkle with the stars, twinkling in the daylight. Her mane was no longer long and violet. It was now short and fire orange. Just like Aunt Odega's. Dancing on the top of her head like a campfire.

She looked exactly like Narmeelah. "Heated Wings" stood proud and whispered in a much smoother sing-song voice, "Wanna guess who mommy is?" Then took a deep breath and blew Dawn and her pets deeper into the cave. Then with a stomp of her hoof, the ground in front of it rose from the dirt and created a wall. Sealing her inside.

"A shame..." Heated Wings raised her hoof and floated the proof Dawn had with her and stared at the image of the ponies. With a will, she whisked them away by fire into ashes. "I actually liked the kid. She reminded me of myself. Oh well."

Heated Wings turned around to face the town. A rush of flames engulfed her body and changed her body back to what she was before. She had to get back before someone started to get suspicious. Her little boyfriend had asked to find her since she was the fastest. Any longer and things would have became a little strange. Suspicious.

Were they seriously debating this right now? Luna couldn't believe it. After the message from their little Pseratep visitor, another meeting was called the next day to Mount Aris. A place where everyone could get to. And just like Luna thought, they weren't happy.

The first one to shout was President Manamar. She stood up from her seat like a dark yellow lemon and exclaimed, "Are we actually considering allowing her assistance?"

Princess Flurry Heart defended from her place next to her ruling parents, "She knows the ways in and out of Psera. She knows their military, she knows their battle strategies, she knows their history. We need as much info that we can get about Psera as soon as we possibly can to avoid another attack."

Prance's ruler Consort Snow raised his white hoof from his seat and scanned his kind eyes over the room. "As much as I hate to propose it," he said. "None of us know what Queen Arcadia's end result for these Zebras are."

Luna deadpanned, "She just destroyed their entire continent and left their bodies to fry. I believe it is pretty clear what she wants to do with the Zebras. As for the matter at hoof, I too am very resilient on this matter of allowing a Pseratep to assist us. But I believe we have no choice. Flurry is right, we know next to nothing about Psera's defense apart from the fact that they are manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, have a large fleet of Aquatas bigger than anything inanimate we've witnessed in our lives, and a Queen able to attack us literally five hundred miles away. And did.

"Going to war against Psera would in fact be suicide if we know next to nothing about our opponent. As of this moment, we are blind. And this Mimi is our best bet at having even a tiny chance. As of now, we only have twelve days to make a decision before their ambassador arrives. I suggest we make a decision in the next two days to even prepare appropriately."

"I'm proposing we hoof over the Zebras." All eyes moved over to King Chancellor and his stern gaze. "You have all seen Psera's military. We have witnessed their anger. Hay, they were even able to wipe out an entire army nearing their coastline at the press of a button, or did we all forget Railer One? Who's to say they won't do that again the second we say no? Queen Arcadia is furious. The entire country is furious. Our non-compliance may be the death of all of us. Psera has that power. We don't. In order to avoid an uncertain future, our best bet is to hoof the Zebras over to Psera. There is no fight."

The room descended into a depressing silence. Even the Hippogriff soldiers standing in the room were fearful. All understood what he meant. Until Flurry stood and said, "They need us, every creature in this room. From the Creatures underground..." She raised a hoof towards Queen Novo and her daughter. "To the Rulers of the skies." She raised another hoof to the curious eyes of Princesses Celestia and Luna.

Flurry placed those hooves on her own chest and said, "I'm very young compared to all of you. I'm only eighteen, yet I have seen and witnessed many things here in Equestria. Friendship of course. Teamwork, love, wisdom and knowledge, and the power of magic. And I can say without a doubt in my heart that you are not born with these qualities. You are taught. They are inherited through word of mouth. Not blood and DNA."

Flurry bounced over her seat to land in the center of the room with all eyes on her. Even the Guards. "We did not get to where we are today sitting around moping and giving up before the fight began. We rose from our cold beds of depression and sadness and dug our way up into the sunshine of hope and heat of pride. We expanded and grew in knowledge, which grew our strength. When IHT was created, it was to grow our strength and maintain our peace. Not to lie in sorrow and die.

"My parents..." Flurry pointed to Shining and Cadance's surprised faces. "Were separated by Changelings on the day of their wedding. Yet they managed to fight through it all and still find each other. After banishing her sister to the moon, Princesses Celestia and Luna still managed to find each other in a loving embrace once again after a thousand years. After being shunned and isolated, Starlight Glimmer brainwashed ponies and manipulated time itself to have revenge. But after realizing the mistake she made, and the consequences of her actions, she redeemed herself and is now working alongside us.

"In a search for power and purpose, Sunset Shimmer planned to take over another world outside of our time. But she too saw the light and worked hard to change her ways, and now resides once more with us in Equestria." Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer shared a smile before training their ears back on Flurry's uplifting speech. The speech that made her parents smile.

"I know what you're all thinking," she said. "Our dear friend and previous ally Princess Twilight Sparkle was there too. And you're right. Without her, they wouldn't be here. They wouldn't be where they are. But you're also wrong. Twilight didn't force them to be here. None of them were forced. Celestia offered Luna friendship. Twilight offered Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer a better path. Twilight made offers, they were never forced. Those offers were accepted. And through guidance, knowledge, and motivation, this is what got them here today, in this very room. With ponies of power.

"Twilight was given the same thing. She motivated, pushed, and taught herself everything she knows here. In Equestria. In the Dragon Lands, in Seaquestria, in libraries, she was taught. She learned. She had the resources. Well now we do too."

Flurry pointed her hoof out towards the closed double doors and shouted, "There is a Pseratep right outside that door who is willing to help us! To give us a fighting chance! To teach us as a resource. If we don't take this chance, everything that we've accomplished would have been for naught. Everything that we have rebuilt will be destroyed once more. This is the only time we get this opportunity, or an entire race of ponykind will go extinct. We have to fight for what is right. I know Twilight lost her family, and I'm truly sorry. Dawn was my only cousin and she will be remembered as such. But we cannot allow the crimes of a few be paid by the descendants of generations. That is not who we are, and that is not why we were created.

"Please..." Flurry turned around and faced the uplifted gazes of her elders. "Stand with me, with us! And help us defend these defenseless ponies."

The room fell silent as many contemplated their outcomes. But if Flurry's speech said anything, it was that motivation and strength was all you needed to grow.

Madam Singe slowly stood from her seat and trained her fierce eyes on Flurry. "I'll never forget the example Queen Arcadia set for me: That the youngest ponies could be the wiser of us older ponies. South Neighton pledges their allegiance to the war effort. We will provide whatever you need, and accepts the assistance of this Mimi."

This was followed by King Chancellor. Then President Manamar before the Dragon Lands, King Haakim and Queen Amira, Queen Novo, Queen Farue, and Jim Sun.

Queen Novo nodded down to Flurry and told them, "Through the wise words of Princess Flurry Heart, IHT has decided that all are in favor of refusing Queen Arcadia's insistence for the passing of Zebra freedom to the Government of Psera. Do any oppose?" The room was silent. "Very well. Let us take a quick recess before moving forward onto our next order of business: Preparing for war. Dismissed."

The second the gavel was banged, Shining Armor gracefully bounced over to walk up to his daughter, and give her a loving hug and kiss on the horn. He buried her head in his chest and held her lovingly. "I'm so proud of you," he murmured.

He didn't have to say it. Flurry already knew. That's why she hugged him back. It was going to be a tough war, but as long as they stuck together they could get through it.

Chapter 10 - Discoveries

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"What the buck just happened? Did that really just happen?!"

Dawn's slumber was finished. She groaned from the velocity of the voice shouting in her head, and slowly sat up from her place on dark rocky ground to look around. They were back in the cave on Founder's Island. The darkness built on top of secrets. The secrets she had in the form of her notes.

Her notes...

Dawn used a light spell to shine through the darkness and check around. Nope, they were all gone. Dawn stomped her hoof and inwardly groaned from a bruise on her neck. The pony who attacked them was experienced.

"I don't know," Dawn answered to First Light. Then grumbled at the large stone ahead of them. A wall from the outside world. "But we're trapped in here."

"Who even was that?!" First Light shouted. "She wasn't like that before! She looked just like Narmeelah! Dawn, I'm freaking out!"

If anyone could freak out more than First Light, Dawn had yet to see it. The hooves in her head were practically bouncing off the walls. A routine she herself had down packed.

Dawn trotted up to the boulder and placed her hoof on its surface. The thing was covered in runes. Designed to be her grave. "I think it was Narmeelah's daughter," she assumed.

"There's another?!"

"Narmeelah is millions of years old. Saying she only had one daughter is the equivalent of saying I've only read one book my whole life. I'm sure there are hundreds out there. Now, how do we get out?" She tuned out First Light's rambling and focused. As far as they could tell, there was only one way in, and one way out. Physically.

But how about magically?

There was one way. If she could get out, that meant Heated Wings wasn't paying as close attention to her as she thought. Which gave her the upper hoof. Studying Dark Magic was honestly the most fun thing Dawn ever had the pleasure of enjoying. So many spells, so many opportunities. Shadow Jumping was one of her favorites. And there were shadows all over the forest.

After grabbing her pets, Dawn jumped forward at the wall with a light horn of black and melted into the liquid darkness. With a ripple of black on both sides, she graciously careened back out onto the path they used to get up to the mountain. A piece of cake. Heated Wings wasn't too bright. Oh, she was in for a surprise when Dawn got her hooves on her.

First Light peeked out through one of Dawn's eyes and scanned the landscape. "Well," she said in Dawn's voice. "That was easy. Let me take the Princess. I'm more experienced in Dark Magic than you are."

First Light fighting? Dawn took back over. "Sure, why not?"

She jumped into the air with her pets and flowed back home in the form of her black mist. Soaring through the trees in different streams and back into her home's window to form once again in her room. All was quiet and peaceful. Too peaceful. She placed Juniper and Sky Blue down on her bed then tip tapped her way out of her room quietly. Her hooves were so light, her weight was almost non-existent. Her ears were trained on everything she could listen to. Heated Wings could be anywhere.

But apparently not down in the living room or kitchen. However, there was something going on outside.

Dawn walked towards her window and peeked out at the commotion. There she was. Lying to that cute stallion and the rest of the town. She even had the faux worry face down to complete it. Aw, the poor handsome guy was worried about her.

First Light grumbled and scolded, "Focus, sis. What are they saying?"

Alright, jeez. Let's focus on the crazy disguised daughter of Narmeelah instead of the cute stallion. Dawn rolled her eyes but did follow the important matter at hoof. She was talking to Night Life, Lucky, and the rest of the villagers. Night Life was clearly worried about her. It was sweet. But the pony lying to them about her was a good actor.

"I didn't see her," she lied. She pointed a hoof back towards the mountain. "She was heading towards the caves and now she's gone like the rest of them."

Night Life stomped his hooves and stroked his mane. Jeez, must he be thousands of years old? He took a breath and said, "Alright, I'll go search. She couldn't have disappeared."

"AND I DIDN'T!" A large blast of black energy slammed into Heated Wings from her left and threw her into the front of another home. The villagers gasped and jumped before all eyes turned to the source to the voice belonging to an eerie shadow rushing out the newcomer's home.

Dawn trotted out her front door with a smoking horn and narrowed eyes on Heated Wings. "Thought you could get rid of me so easily, huh?" She asked. "Why don't you show everyone your true colors? Over a thousand years of lying is enough, don't you think?"

Heated Wings rose back to her hooves and smoldered at Dawn with hot air billowing out her nose. Her posture took on a battle-ready stance. Just like Dawn's.

"As the daughter of a supposed mogul of magic?" She replied. "I'd find it quite sad really."

Dawn jumped to the side before Heated Wings rushed forward to punch her in the face. And instead hit air. Dawn rolled back to a standing position and raised her wings to face her.

Heated Wings growled and taunted, "You should've stayed out of everything. You cannot stop fate!"

"Funny." Dawn rose to her hooves and took her stance. "I could say the same."

Night Life rushed in between them and held out his hooves before a fight could break out. "Whoa, everyone stop just one second! What is going on?!"

"Simple!" Dawn glared past to Heated Wings. "She's keeping us in here. She works for Narmeelah and I think is a relative of her. She was never thrown, she volunteered herself. She's our warden. She just threw me in a cave and tried to seal me inside."

Night Life looked back to Heated Wings with curious yet stern eyes. "What is she talking about? You're working for Narmeelah?"

Heated Wings glared up to him and rose back up from her hooves. That sneaky little filly. Ruining mother's plans. She spread her orange wings. And with a simple flap, the pony Dawn fought with was standing there once again. It was a literal reincarnation of Narmeelah. The secret was out.

Night Life jumped back when she shouted, "Did you seriously think you could just leave?! Without my mother you wouldn't even be standing there! The end of times is coming whether you like it or not! There is nothing you can do to stop it!"

"Actually, there was!" Dawn used her magic to move a wiggling Night Life out of the way. Then glared across to Heated Wings. "You, however, burned my plans to ashes didn't you? Well that makes me very upset. And it also makes my other side upset too. You see the thing about me is..." Dawn took her steps forward. "I'm not really here. I am a living form of magic."

Heated Wings raised her eyes and looked to the ponies standing nearby. Then back to Dawn. "What are you talking about, you little filly? Magic cannot take on a conscious form."

"You're not the only one with secrets." Dawn's body slowly changed. Her coat gradually changed from violet to black starting at her hooves. The crown on her flank dripped with red. Her coat was as smooth as glass. Her eyes were no longer violet, her mane was black and wet on her face. Heated Wings' face slowly flipped when Dawn grinned her mouth really wide and showed her fangs of sharp teeth."I have a few myself. Have you ever met two ponies in the body of one?"

And this was why Equus needed to be reset. Heated Wings rushed forward and jabbed her hoof with a destination for First Light's muzzle. But just like she was trained, First Light spun around and used her wing to slap Heated Wings to the side. Then bucked her back into the wall of another home.

Before she realized what was happening, First Light burst into existence on Wings' right and grabbed her feathers. Then pulled her out, threw her around and slammed her back into the wall face first. Night Light seethed with Lucky and the rest of the crowd. That had to hurt.

Heated Wings was tired of this. Did she seriously think she could defeat a pony of ancient magical power? Heated Wings sent magic into her hooves and knocked First Light back. Then whirled around and slammed her hoof straight into her chest.

Night Life gasped and shouted, "DAWN!!!"

Dawn's reaction was a slow look down to the hoof embedded in her body. Then an unseen glance up to Heated Wings' eyes. Heated Wings snarled into her face with an evil grin. "You didn't seriously think you could beat me in a fight like this, did you? Your time is up, Princess."

Or so she thought. Heated Wings attempted to yank her hoof back out, but was surprised to find actual resistance. She looked down to the point of impact, at the tendrils that took a tight hold. Then back up to First Light's amused face.

"And you seriously didn't think..." She made her horn glow a deep black. "That you could kill magic itself with your hoof, did you?"

Dawn shot a bolt of black directly into her face that sent her flying out yelling and once again into another building. Then when she looked up, received a nice thick wooden board to her face.

Heated Wings dropped onto her back with her face to the sky unconscious. She would no longer be a threat. Dawn took back over her body with a rush of her will. She faced the astonished crowd of fearful ponies and pointed down to her.

"We have to tie her up and get out of here. A war is coming."

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The clock over the doors leading out of Twilight's office moved the time by. Followed by her work. It was no longer as pleasing as it was before. Just repetition. She no longer had something to look forward to by the end of day. Her family was dead. She would be going home alone.

She decided to go dress-less today and chose only to wear her crown. Then sat back down behind her desk and worked in silence. Breakfast was once again brought in right before she wrapped up. Then stared with a nonchalant eye at a picture of her family on her desk. The one where she and Madun were posing with little filly Dawn in her hooves. Smiling. It was a lovely time back then. When Dawn would run through the garden and tackle her father on her back. When she would break something on accident, get in trouble, then be held after her time-out. Now... Now time seemed meaningless.

Her reminiscing was interrupted by a knock that blew her back into reality. She hoped her babies—like everyone else—were able to find peace in the Everlasting Sky.

Twilight relaxed back into her padded seat and called, "Enter!"

The door opened and in walked Gardeen with five more documents tucked in her right wing. Her white coat seemed to be spotless today.

"The contract," she announced. "Like you requested." Twilight nonchalantly glanced down to them when they were placed on her desk. "The Senate Board and City-State Officials approved of its authenticity. They just want to make sure it pleases you."

"My pleasure doesn't matter," Twilight made clear. She lifted up the sheets with her magic and stared at it. "I'll be happy once I get those Zebras. Then we can finally move on."

Gardeen limped around the large desk to stand at Twilight's side and state, "It won't be so easy. We'll be going up against multiple nations—"

"And they are knowledgeable, I know." Twilight lowered the form and turned to face Gardeen with her hooves tapped together, and a rear hoof crossed in her lap. "But we have so much more."

Oh boy. Gardeen breathed out her nose loudly and warned, "Twilight, if your time in office has taught me anything, it's that you never underestimated your enemies. You were thorough." She placed a tender hoof on Twilight's. "Please be careful with this."

Twilight sighed and acquiesced with a hardened nod. She hasn't been around for ten years, there's no telling what Equestria's been up to. No enemy is to be underestimated. Not even Equestria. After reading the contract, she approved it with a signing of her name at the bottom next to another line.

"Thank you, Gardeen," she said. Then passed it back over. "How is Pink?"

Gardeen always enjoyed talking about her wife. That smile would continue to brighten up Twilight's mood. "Much better," she answered. "She was terrified before, but is now taking it much easier. I feel this is the culmination of our lives. Well... Almost. I was going to ask her a question, but I also don't want to scare her."

Gardeen's thoughtfulness will be the destruction of her happiness. Twilight used her magic to bring over a bottle of water. Still without her horn. Gardeen would ask her about it, but later. "What is your inquiry?" Twilight questioned.

Gardeen took a seat next to her and sighed out how nervous she was. If it wasn't for her fur, Twilight would've seen the beads of sweat on her. "Well... Whoo, this is harder than I thought it would be. I was going to ask... What she thought about, maybe, starting a family?"

Starting a family? Twilight widened her eyes and clarified, "You want to be a mother?"

Gardeen shriveled under her stare and stammered, "I mean, it-it's just something I'd really like—"

Twilight immediately reassured, "No, no, baby that's great! I'm really happy for you! You have no idea how happy I am. Gardeen, I know about your past. The Fire Family knows how much of a struggle it was for you growing up, and saying that you want to start a family of your own is saying that you're really ready to move on. That you're ready to continue your own family line. Baby, I'm proud of you." Her voice lowered from excitement into sadness. "I'm sure Madun and Dawn would be too."

Gardeen knew this would be hard for her to talk about. But she really wanted to know. "I wanted to ask you a question. But I don't know if now is the right time. It may be too soon."

"You can ask me anything," Arcadia assured.

Gardeen scooted closer and motioned with a nod of her head to the family picture on Arcadia's desk. "What was it like for you?"

Twilight moved her gaze back to the photo and willed it to float into her hooves. The one of her family and herself. She sighed and felt a hoof over the glass' smooth surface.

"It was a bumpy ride to get there," she answered. "With a lot of unexpected results. But I managed to hold my filly in my hooves and tell her I love her over and over, again and again through it all. And I... I wouldn't trade it for the world. If I had to give up my throne for my daughter's life, I would. Loyalty is important in Psera, I know. But she was my only child."

Twilight blinked and looked up to smile at Gardeen's face. "As are you. I'm proud of you, Gardeen. And I would be honored to be there."

Gardeen wrapped her hooves around Twilight and pulled her into a hug. A tight one that she buried her muzzle into that Twilight eagerly returned.

"Thank you," she whispered. Then placed a kiss on Twilight's cheek on the pull back. "I'm sure the foal would love to have a Queen as a Grandmother."

Twilight snorted at the term 'Grandmother' and faced her desk again. "Grandmother?" She playfully repeated. "I'm still in my thirties, I haven't reached that point in my life yet. Give me a few years of just doing this and I'll turn into Molten." Their laughter at Twilight's joke died when someone knocked firmly on her door. Once their giggles were down, she cleared her throat and answered, "ENTER!"

The door pushed open with a light groan and in walked a stallion with a light red coat, a silver mane and tail that was as reflective as new steel, and dark blue eyes. He was wearing a white dress jacket bearing a mass amount of medals with a golden tie and white dress shirt underneath it all. He was around the same height and size as Gardeen. A fitting shape for someone like him.

He had a white captain's hat underneath his right red wing that he placed to the side so he could bow. "My Queen," he greeted in a hard voice. "My condolences to your late family."

"General Mack Land," Twilight soothingly replied. She and Gardeen prepped themselves into formal positions. "I was not expecting you today. Your condolences are appreciated. I'm guessing you have something for me?"

He rose back to his hooves and used his wing to softly shut the doors back behind him. Mack Land was a gentle yet stern commander of the Aerial Guard. Twilight met with him at her husband's funeral. When he vowed he would assist on planting spies in their fellow countries. They both knew that they wouldn't turn those Zebras over. It was best to have some ponies on the inside.

He approached the desk and raised a folder out from underneath his left wing. Even though that smirk didn't move, Twilight could already hear the terms "Good News" leaving his mouth.

"Some very useful information," he told her. "I thought I'd deliver this to you personally."

Twilight flipped open the folder and pooled out onto her desk images. These were bird's eye views of the west coast of Equestria. Right in Las Pegasus. Military Barricades along the entire eastern coast made up of Equestrian Royal Guard, Sea Ponies, and Dragons. Their defensive line was impressive, as well as their numbers. A ring of three consisting of magical sea ponies, the dragons on the beaches, and soldiers inside buildings holding spears, crossbows, and magic.

Twilight hummed and said more to herself, "It seems they've already made their decisions." She glanced up to Admiral Mack Land. "What are we doing about it?"

He happily answered, "We're optimizing our strategies and formations. Our spies on Eastern soil report that they haven't seen any Zebras in Equestria. They're going to press forward to the other nations. But they did report that Equestria was receiving military supplies and resources from Mount Aris, The Dragon Lands, Prance, North and South Neighton, and The Forgotten Land."

So a majority were supplying military supplies as a defense to protect the Zebras. Twilight growled and slammed the folder shut. A snap so loud that it made Gardeen jump. "Tell your people to look for weaknesses," she ordered. "If they find anything, note it down and have it ready in twelve days. Dismissed."

He saluted and took the folder back. Then quickly trotted out the doors with a fire to his tail. Once the door was closed, Twilight smoldered at the screen in her desk. "So... They don't want to hand over the Zebras," she said.

"Apparently," Gardeen murmured. Then asked, "So what are we going to do?"

"It's clear what they're already doing. They're preparing for an attack. Setting up defenses, training troops, and mobilizing everything they can get their hooves on. Queen Novo's sea ponies are using the oceans, one half of the Dragons are securing the beaches, the Pegasi, Hippogriffs, the other Dragons are securing the air, and ground ponies are securing the inside. They're waiting for us."

Twilight faced Gardeen and growled, "Well since they're preparing for a war, we will be too. Think we can get those portals running again?"

The portals? Gardeen gulped and answered, "Weapon Underground? Queen Arcadia, I don't think this situation calls for use of that weapon. They don't need to be swallowed."

"It's not for them," Twilight stated. She lifted her hoof and rubbed her chin. "I just had a small thought on how desperate IHT may get. Equestria is an overall friendly nation, yet they still host a lot of big troublemakers. Creatures like Discord, Tirek, Sunset Shimmer too is a reformed villain, as well as Starlight Glimmer..."

Gardeen knew the last two had a past that could only be described as 'life hanging'. Thanks to Arcadia, they were much better ponies. Twilight added, "The Changelings, all of them have a past that should be considered as highly dangerous. Along with many more. Their intelligence does not rival my own, but they are not to be undermined. And it seems IHT may get desperate enough to call upon them. I surely would were I in their place. Which brings me to our next course of action. Odega!"

A burst of flames at her meeting table and Odega was lying over it on her stomach smiling sharp blue teeth her way innocently. "Yes, Queen Arcadia?" She asked.

"I need you... To summon the Legends of Psera. All of them."

Odega stopped smiling and dropped a look of trepidation. "All of them?" She repeated. Even Narmeelah herself never summoned all of them at once!

Twilight's nod didn't appease her worries. "Psera must be protected from any threats," she explained darkly. "And every country off the East coast is currently a threat. We need every last asset we have."

Odega teleported over and worriedly recommended, "As much as I want to defend Psera your highness, there are some Legends even I'm a little scared of. Besides, I get the feeling you want... Her too."

Twilight smirked and stood from her seat. "Of course I do," she confirmed. "Maheera Dark will definitely be on our side once she learns of the events prior to this moment."

Well Odega couldn't argue her logic. Maheera may have been a large ancient Dark Magic wielding Draconequus, but she was also very defensive of innocent ponies, according to her own story.

Odega sighed through her nose and proposed, "Allow me to align the rest of us before we make any trips down."

Twilight could work with that. After all, Psera already had the brains. Now all they needed was even more solid muscle.

Mimi wasn't hard to track down. Well relatively speaking. It was still a challenge.

After IHT agreed unanimously that a war against Psera was inevitable, and that Queen Arcadia was definitely willing to attack all of them in search of the Zebras, the pony who rallied them all up was the same pony to track her down. Flurry Heart's search for Mimi was commenced by first asking ponies for her shape, size, color, and wings of course. Then being pointed in the direction.

They first pointed her to the train station, which then lead her all the way into the bustling streets of Canterlot, then Ponyville, then deeper to the coastline of Las Pegasus.

And only then did she realize what she said before. That she would be waiting at the old ports in Las Pegasus. It wasn't that old. Only around fifteen years of age. According to mom, the Equestrian-Psera Trade Facility was built to allow trade. Psera apparently had something similar in their country. She also heard traveling was expensive. Which meant that the item being traded had to be expensive and worth the time and effort.

The trade facility consisted mostly of Warehouses and docking ports. When Flurry arrived, she could see the tall beacons in the sea far out that would flash in light to attract the incoming Aquatas and direct them to the reported port for docking. Then they would drop off the package, stay for awhile, then disappear again for another three day trip back to Psera.

Flurry had a feeling she would be seeing Aquatas again really soon.

Without delay, she made haste towards "Building B", the first and relatively smaller warehouse in the entire abandoned facility. It consisted of four warehouses and smaller buildings, along with the area where the humongous steel block sat. It had dwindled in size over the years and looked more brown thanks to rust. Psera had sent them more than they actually needed.

Her hooves traveled desolate sidewalks until she arrived at her destination: The doors to Building B. A pair of dark grey steel with a brass rotary handle. Out of everything here, these remained fairly untouched. Strange.

She twisted the knob and pushed it open with a hollow groan to show the inside. It was even more empty than she imagined it would be. There was literally nothing inside. The Pserateps took everything back that they brought with them. Even the lights. All that remained was a shell. Looks like Flurry was using Magic to search around.

She scanned her surroundings throughout the building and came up with nothing. No signs of warmth, something that she could easily track. She slowed to a stop directly in the courtyard of the facility and sighed in frustration. How hard was it to find the only Pseratep left here on Equestria?

"Lesson number one!" Was all Flurry heard before she felt her hooves suddenly sweep out from under her.

She fell with a grunt on her side and used her magic to create a shield before Mimi arrived in all her long winged glory. She dropped down next to her from above and smirked into her bubble.

Her hoof raised towards the sky when she said, "Never look for a Pseratep on the ground of all places. We're Pegasi, we're in the sky a lot more than on the ground. That's the first place to look."

Flurry pursed her lips and nodded up to her after relinquishing her bubble shield.

"Noted," she sourly said. Then accepted the hoof when it was offered to get her upright. Maybe next time just tell me instead of throwing me on my side."

"A Pseratep who isn't me would not do that. They're trained to kill, not talk."

Once she was standing again, Mimi brushed off her coat with a wing and stated, "Now. If you're here, then that means you were looking for me. And since you're alone, then that means either Equestria's just reckless or they have accepted my peaceful proposition."

She's good. Flurry smirked and answered, "We have accepted your proposition. Mother and father along with my aunts aren't fully trusting of you, but they trust my judgement. Do not make them—or me—regret it."

Mimi walked past Flurry and started heading back to where she came from. Building B. "Do not worry," she assured. "When I'm done reforming your defenses, you will be up to par with Psera's. Their queen on the other hand is an entirely different matter."

Flurry caught up to her when the sound of their hooves bounced around the corridor of Building B. "Can you help us stop her?"

Mimi glanced over to Flurry and answered, "Stopping Queen Arcadia is the equivalent of stopping a rushing Psera train with a brick wall."

"So... Is that a yes?" Flurry hoped. A hope that was immediately dashed.

"That is a definite no. Queen Arcadia's magic is strong enough to rival all of the Elements of Harmony, the Magic of the two pony sisters combined, and the Staff of Magic."

Flurry stopped walking and repeated, "The Staff of Magic? What's that?"

Mimi slowed her speed to a halt and turned around to face her. "The Staff of Magic is an ancient relic made of Darkness that was used way before the Two Pony Sisters' great-grandmother was even born. It sucks all the magic and life from the dirt, and shoots it back out in a strong wave. It registers as an eight point five on the Scale, whereas the Elements of Harmony register as a four point six. The Princesses are a three point nine. It's been sealed away in Tartarus to keep out of the hooves of other ponies. And we may need it."

She turned around and continued walking with Flurry who asked, "Wait, we're going to TARTARUS?!"

"There are many a pony whose expertise in magic lie in Tartarus. They are strong and they are intelligent. If you have any hope of defeating Psera, let alone Queen Arcadia, you're going to need three specific creatures I have in mind. They are strong and can take apart your castles with their bare hooves. I will bring it up with the Princesses when I see them."

Chapter 11 - Time To Go

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Night Life has witnessed a lot of things on Founder's Island. He's witnessed two ponies having sex on accident, four ponies having sex, ponies going crazy, hunger, frostbite, fights, a lot. But this takes the cake. Dawn was two ponies. Two in one. Night Life has officially seen it all.

After Heated Wings was knocked out, they took her to Dawn's home and tied her up to a wooden fixture in front of the fireplace. No way was she escaping. She lied there and slept away the pain Dawn gave her, awaiting her sentence.

Then Dawn faced Night Life, Lucky, and a few more to explain what went on. Which didn't take much. She pointed behind her to a snoring Heated Wings, if that was even her real name and summarized, "Narmeelah's Daughter has been keeping us contained here so we don't disrupt Narmeelah's plan in resetting Equus."

Crickets chirped through their minds. Even her pets cocked their heads to the side. Lucky coughed and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Well that didn't go as expected. As a matter of fact, it went the complete opposite. Looks like she had to actually tell a story this time.

Dawn sighed and pointed to her right. "At the top of that mountain there's a cave. Inside of that cave there's a small office space. And in that office space is evidence pointing to the fact that Narmeelah set all of this up. Listen very closely..."

Dawn told them everything. About the Zebras, about Maheera, about the attack, about how Narmeelah left Maheera to her mother so she could perfect her plan, and how Narmeelah feared her mother was too powerful. How the Zebras were tasked to "kill" her to start a war between Psera and IHT. And how Narmeelah was manipulating her mother so that no one could stop her in the end.

Once she was done, one of the mare Pserateps with a dark blue coat asked, "So this is about... your mother?"

Dawn shook her head and answered, "No. It's about power. Something my mother has to stop her. My mother is the key, yes. But the Princesses also hold something important. I just don't know what. Once mom runs out of energy, that's when Narmeelah will strike. I guess she doesn't have the power to just get rid of us without knowing we'll put up a strong resistance. So she's taking out the head players before the fight even begins. Smart. But now that we know, we have to get off this island and warn them."

"Well good luck." Dawn whipped around and faced the glowering eyes of Heated Wings awakened glaring at her. Her glowing eyes pierced into her violets. "You honestly think you can escape time and space? Ha! Foolish filly, you will never escape! You're stuck here!"

"And that's where you're wrong." Dawn slowly trotted up to her and gradually changed back to First Light glaring at her. The darkness of her eyes peered into her soul. Wings could see her own trepidant expression in them. "Time and space can be very much manipulated, or else we wouldn't even be here in the first place. We shall not stand by and watch our world crumble simply because Narmeelah doesn't like the way it turned out."

"Well you're fools!" She spat out. "You are not smarter than your creator! You will never escape!"

"We will." First Light straightened up her stance and glared down to Heated with the eyes of a thousand angry ponies. Her right half of her body changed into that of Dawn, complete with two cutie marks and spoke in two detuned voices. "We are the daughters of King Shimmering Madun and Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, the greatest mage of magic that has ever lived. We have studied every last single form of known magic on this planet and prepared to sit on the throne to rule the greatest country the world has ever seen. The world is our subject, and we are their protectors."

Dawn took over completely and glared back down to Heated Wings' eyes. She growled through her teeth, "And I will not let Narmeelah come in and disrupt peaceful lives and manipulate my parents. We're getting out of here. Even if I have to use your head as a battering ram."

After Flurry Heart grabbed Mimi, they both flew through the winter air to Canterlot to speak with the two ruling Princesses over all of Equestria. It took all of Flurry Heart not to barrage Mimi with questions about what was needed to stop Psera and their weaponry.

It was already clear that stopping Queen Arcadia herself was next to impossible. Even Mimi knew that Psera alone stood next to no chances at defeating her with their military. She was just too powerful.

Flurry couldn't remember the last time she actually landed in Canterlot at the guarded Castle gates. Most of the time she would teleport in. But since she had a guest, Customs took charge. The suited-up soldiers stationed saluted, then unlatched the wrought iron gates and pushed inwards. Flurry wasted no time leading her inside. And only then when they were on private Government property away from public ears did she speak.

During the trek along a dirt path Flurry faced Mimi with worry. "I'm not sure going into Tartarus would be such a good idea," she admitted. "I'm sure the Princesses would think that too."

Oh ye of little faith. Mimi smirked when the double doors leading into the castle were pushed in and they stepped their hooves onto smooth marble. The sound of ponies moving back and forth as government executives, assistants, and others alike worked through the halls. It was a busy day in the Canterlot Castle.

Without taking her eyes away from the path ahead, Mimi countered, "You are too young to see, child. But the stories you here about Tartarus are just that: Stories. And just like every story ever told, there are exaggerations. Even your Princesses know this. And I will show you."

Flurry said no more, despite the words burning on the tip of her tongue. Whatever Mimi had for a proposal, it was on her shoulders.

Instead of heading upstairs to the Throne Room and going straight for the more obvious meeting place, Flurry took another passage. Princess Celestia was certainly busy. Luna on the other hoof was in her office handling paperwork.

As obsolete as she seemed to be, Luna was as much a ruler of Equestria as Celestia. They were both crowned at the same time and held the same amount of power. Luna just wasn't seen that often. And due to her absence of time, she was in the back of anyone's mind. As a matter of fact, Flurry would forget where her office even was if it wasn't directly next to Celestia's further down.

This area of the floor was cut from public eyes and allowed passage by only rulers, assistants, secretaries, and immediate family. And Flurry was immediate family.

They walked past the brass doors of Celestia's office in favor of another pair further down. A pair of doors painted blue with many embossed marks on the surface of stars, the moon, even glowing rocks that shimmered like diamonds. Flurry rarely comes to Luna's office. Out of her entire life, she's only been here a few times that fell less than five. Including now. But at least she knew where it was. Then again, it wasn't actually hard to miss. There were the only pair of blue doors in Canterlot.

Upon arrival, she held up a hoof to hold back Mimi. Then knocked on that door with the same hoof three times. The reverberation on the other side painted a picture in her mind before Luna shouted, "Enter!"

Flurry took a deep breath and closed her eyes to gather her nerves. Luna was always a wild card. Instead of having the patience and care to listen, Luna was always fairly in a rush of life. Her face during dream-walking on the other hoof was much different.

With a careful hoof, Flurry pushed the doors open and stepped into a semi-darkened room. It had the same grace and care as Celestia's with its heightened bookshelves on the walls and wine bar, albeit a lot more cool, in a sense. First off, the atmosphere was dark and cold. Silent and still. The floor had a custom made black carpet with an image of her and the moon getting personal, a small fountain on the right growing from the floor made of stone, and a table in the middle of the room before her desk.

It was a dark brown wood stacked with decorations. Pictures of her and Celestia, Cadance and Shining Armor, even Twilight when she was a princess and smiling all the time. So clogged with memorabilia that it would've been nearly impossible to see her if it weren't for her sparkling mane and those fierce eyes.

Flurry cleared her throat and crept through the darkness to stop in front of Aunt Luna's desk. She didn't even pay her any mind, but she was sure she knew she was there.

"Flurry," Luna deeply greeted. "And to whom do I owe this pleasure? I rarely see you outside of the Crystal Empire, let alone in this castle. For you to visit me seems... Desperate."

Well she wasn't too far off the marker. Flurry answered, "Well I located Mimi and learned a few more rather unsettling things concerning the actual lengths Psera may go to fight us. I would've brought this up with Aunt Celestia but I think she's busy today."

Luna silently chortled behind her desk and set down that pen she was writing with. She smiled at Flurry with kind yet mysterious eyes that seemed to chill Flurry's soul to a cube. "Celestia busy?" She repeated. Then let out an exaggerated snort. "Ha! She is good at multitasking. But nonetheless, what concerns you?"

"Aunt Twilight's power," Flurry admitted. "Mimi has said that Queen Arcadia's power goes beyond that of understanding. Which means us fighting against her... We would be fighting blind. We need stronger help."

Stronger. A word that meant more than it's original definition in this conversation. Ever since Queen Arcadia came to power. Flurry wanted something restricted.

Luna smoldered and replied, "We have enough military help, Princess Flurry. I'm afraid we do not understand what you're getting at."

"Mimi suggested... We go into our past and drag out the ponies of ancient power to help combat Queen Arcadia herself. It's our best bet."

"Are you suggesting we summon creatures of... Dark power?" Luna quickly assumed. After she rose from her desk did she finally spot Mimi standing near the doors watching patiently. Her expression was a touch more emotionless than usual. There was just something about this Pseratep Luna didn't trust. A bad vibe she was giving off.

"What do you think would help us, Mimi?"

Well since she was so politely called upon, Mimi rose from her seat and treaded forward. "Before you immediately answer Princess Luna, please remember the power, ferocity, and strength Psera nurtures into their inhabitants. And the power their Queen holds." Luna firmly nodded before she stopped in front of her desk next to Flurry. "I am requesting that we call upon the inhabitants and relics... Of Tartarus."

"You want special soldiers from Tartarus?" Luna summarized. "That would be a huge risk to not only us, but the rest of the nations. Let alone our citizens."

"But remember Luna," Mimi reminded her. "Queen Arcadia is strong enough to lift without a sweat a thousand-ton block of steel, a fish out of the ocean bigger than the Front Lawn, and admittedly defeat the strongest known creatures in existence. She is not one to come to with little to no arsenal. It's important that we face the fact, Princess: Queen Arcadia herself will be coming to Equestria for the Zebras if we put up a strong fight. And we must be ready. For anything."

Luna and Celestia were having a conversation last night about that with glasses of wine and eyes on the moon. Arcadia would eventually become desperate enough to actually fight in the war herself at some point. She will be coming back to Equestria. But would they be ready for her arrival?

Luna hummed and answered, "I will bring this up with Celestia when she is free. Until then, keep this quiet. As much as we need help in this war, we do not need the entire country knowing how desperate we are to get it. It is not a good image." She turned her mind on Mimi. It was clear in her eyes that she didn't trust her as much as Flurry. "What can you tell us about Psera's battle formations?"

"That they always change each century," Mimi answered. "Psera's military is elite and refined. And since the ruling of Queen Arcadia, she probably had them rotated again. There is usually a pattern, but that was during Her Majesty Molten Ice's ruling. Queen Arcadia is more thorough."

"So there's no telling," Luna assumed. A nod confirmed it. "Well that makes things a little difficult. Either way, we must be ready for Psera's arrival. As of this time, we have twelve days before the war officially begins. Let's make sure our defenses are up to par. Flurry, would you be so kind as to tell your father to prepare the Fourth Pegasi Air Team?"

Flurry nodded and replied, "Absolutely." Then turned to leave.

"And Flurry?" Luna smiled when they once more met gazes. "I'm proud of you. I know this must be hard to see all of this. I just wish it didn't have to be."

Flurry wished the same thing. There were clearly some things off. Like the Zebra's motivation for attacking Psera in the first place. But she had a feeling they wouldn't be learning anything soon.

As Queen, sleep was a given and a requirement at the same time. There was no telling when Psera would be going through something new. When a sudden emergency would pop up. Therefore it was imperative that Queen Arcadia get as much sleep as possible. And with that sleep came the dreams. Or rather, the memories.

The castle wasn't attacked, no blood lined the halls, and a three year old Dawn and her father were in the Garden peacefully tending to the flowers. Their backs were turned to her and their eyes were focused on Madun's hooves clearing out dead weeds in the Primrose Garden. They had their crowns, their dress, and their smiles. Something that crawled onto Twilight's face when she approached.

Dawn turned around to her first and grinned brightly. In a burst of black, she was in front of her mother jumping up and down. "I planted Petunias!" She cheered.

"That's great, sweetheart!" Twilight praised. She leaned down and nuzzled behind Dawn's ears with a kiss here and there. Then watched her scamper off to run through the garden.

When Madun appeared by her side, he placed a loving soft wing on her back, and brushed his muzzle next to hers.

"She's going to be strong and smart," he predicted. "Just like her mother."

"And father," Twilight added. She leaned up and nuzzled under his chin. "You're as strong as I am."

"Oh please, sweetheart, I'm nothing compared to you." He kissed her forehead and pierced his violet gaze into hers. "You are what Psera needs most right now. They don't need a king."

Twilight placed a hoof over his lips before he could continue. "They need you as much as they need me."

"... But I'm not there anymore. They need you. Psera needs you, Twilight. Wake up."

The visage of sleep slipped away from a knock on her bedroom's door, forcing Twilight away from her family. Her eyes snapped open to face reality. The knocking, the deaths, the loss of her world. Her place in power.

Queen Arcadia yawned and effortlessly teleported into a standing position at her bedroom door with a stern gaze and high head. Years of quick risers allowed her to awaken at the stomp of a hoof. As a mother it was important.

She slipped her crown on her head and opened the door herself to see...

"Merry?" Arcadia asked. As much a surprise as it was to see her at nine in the morning, she was more surprised at what she was wearing. Her eyes glanced up and squinted. "Is that... A tiara?"

Merry was wearing a small yet still noticeable Princess Tiara littered in red Rubies, alongside red and orange diamonds. It looked off on her. But that might be because she never had it on. It was more suited for Daisy and Lightning Fire than for her.

Merry glanced up as if she didn't know it was there then trained her eyes back on Twilight with a sarcastic reply. "Well I am a Princess. I need an adornment."

"Yeah, I know, but..." Twilight awkwardly shook her head. "It just looks... Odd on you. I've never seen you wear one before so it's strange. But I doubt you're here to show off your crown. Come in." She turned around and walked deeper into her room first before Merry followed. Then softly closed the doors back. She wasn't due for anything until ten. And even then that time was filled with paperwork. A little company would do her some good.

She brought Merry into the office towards the couches and took a seat. Once Merry was on the opposite end and comfortable, Twilight queried, "Alright. What's up?"

Merry sighed and calmly spoke her mind. "First, I noticed you stopped releasing your magic. In favor of more power. And there's only one plausible reason for that in this time. Are you planning to go to Equestria and fighting them?"

Them. The Princesses. Her family. Twilight sighed her way into a brief silence. Then after a moment strongly admitted, "If push comes to shove, I will go over there and fight them. We got a feed recently of the Eastern Borders barricading their seas and creating aerial defenses. I admire their persistence and strength, but I also realize they'll go to extreme lengths to protect these Zebras. The same ponies who attacked my country and slaughtered innocent Pserateps, including my husband and Daughter. If they don't hand over the Zebras, and the Guard just happens to fail then I will go over and take them out myself."

Merry placed a hoof on Arcadia's shoulder and quickly pleaded, "Psera needs you here, Queen Arcadia. They don't need you chasing revenge. I understand how you feel. Madun was my brother and I watched Dawn grow up myself. I love her as if she were my own daughter and I kick myself every time I see her torches. I know it hurts. But Psera needs their Queen. Please consider Psera first."

As angry as Twilight was at the Eastern Borders, her citizens always came first. She took an oath upon the Tome. But that didn't mean she had to like it. So Queen Arcadia promised, "Psera will always come first forevermore. But those Zebras will perish one way or another. Is there anything else you wanted, Merry?"

Now that they got the first order of business out the way, Merry nodded her head and answered, "Yes. I want to go to Equestria to get IHT's answer."

Twilight almost blared a big fat "No." She already lost her husband and daughter, there was no way she was going to lose her beloved sister-in-law. But then she smoldered at Merry to think. The sister of Psera's late king would hopefully make them understand the seriousness of the situation and turn in the Zebras.

Twilight smoldered and suggested in order, "I'll have to let The Guard know, a form has to be signed, and it's a long trip over. I won't be using my magic because they'll know I'm watching. Things could get out of hand, so you would have to take Aquata Zero. A lot of hidden dangers on Equestria, Merry. Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'm hoping they'll surrender when they hear what I have to say," Merry factually answered. "And I'll have security."

"Yes, but it's a matter of getting in." Twilight teleported a document into Merry's hooves. The same image her General gave to her of Equestria's sea hosting IHT's defenses on water. "They're waiting for us, and there's no telling how they'll respond when they see Aquatas moving towards their shores."

"I have a plan for that," Merry assured. "I spoke with one of the executive technicians at Serl who engineer your Comm Blocks. They said that every last one of them sold throughout the years were given an emergency protocol that allow an override breach into their frequencies."

Arcadia glanced away and mumbled, "That explains how they were able to find out something happened here in Psera. An emergency broadcast must've been sent out for all Guards stationed everywhere."

"Either way, we tell them we're here to speak. Not fight. And that I want to speak with IHT."

Twilight glanced back up and repeated, "IHT? You want to speak to all their members?"

"All of the East is working together to protect the Zebras. They all have the say so, I'm sure you know this. You created IHT after all."

"And I'm ironically proud to say that my image of a unified future has come to life. Yet it's working against me." She narrowed her violet eye and growled under her breath, "Along with my kingdom, and my family."

Arcadia couldn't sit on tense hooves. She rose and started pacing in the space between her technologically inclined desk and Merry watching from her seat. "Apparently, I am the one who is evil now," she brooded. "The death of my family and my citizens caused me to turn evil. They could never see the pain we have seen. The blood on the castle walls. The bodies we've had to bury. The coffins lining my streets, the destruction of my cities. Yet, they defend the ponies responsible for this senseless brutality. And I created the organization they are in."

Merry didn't care if anyone called her crazy, but she was positive she witnessed Arcadia's eyes be surrounded by purple rings before taking a deep breath. They were gone as quick as they came.

Her pacing over, she faced Merry and ordered, "Fetch Gardeen for me and tell her to bring form Z-Nine. I'll permit you to travel after I give it a go myself." Arcadia swiftly raised her hoof before Merry could respond. "Have you asked Her Majesty? You have my permission to go, but you are her daughter. I'm not too eager sending you there to the same ponies who defend our country's pain in the first place."

Merry smirked and proudly answered, "She picked out my attire herself for the meeting. She's hoping it'll go well and they deliver the Zebras in favor of bloodshed. Princess Celestia is a wise mare. She—"

"Don't speak her name around me," Arcadia sternly ordered. Merry immediately stopped talking once more. "Each time I hear it I'm reminded that she does not approve of my actions of a retaliatory attack on Zebrica. Even after attacking my country. It's ridiculous and frustrating and it makes me angry."

Merry didn't speak a word while Twilight paced behind her desk and took a seat in her chair. Her eyes burned a metaphorical hole into the screen inside of it. "Celestia and I have a familial relationship with each other. Fighting her is the equivalent of fighting my mother. And I never fight my mother." Arcadia glanced back up into Merry's unreadable eyes and smoldered. "But she is standing in between my country's justice. She, the rest of Equestria, and beyond. I don't want to hear of her name. Am I clear?"

Merry swallowed and stammered, "Y-Yes, Queen Arcadia."

"Get the form, apply, and send it to me. Dismissed."

Arcadia was stirring in anger and frustration clearly. But all Merry could do was bow and see her way out the office quietly. One thing living with a Queen was never get in her way when she was upset. Leave it to someone else.

Once the doors were closed, Arcadia closed her eyes and breathed out a sigh of relief to slow her racing heart. That feeling of darkness had only briefly risen to the surface. But it was enough to cause anger. Hopefully Merry didn't see anything.

A burst of flames signalled the arrival of another pony. One she's been waiting on for a few days to report. Arcadia glanced up to Odega bowing her head with a hoof to her chest.

"They are assembled, your highness," she relayed. "All except Maheera. As for their terms, well..." She glanced up obliviously to meet Arcadia's gaze. "You already know them."

Reinforcements have finally arrived. Now it was time to break them in the ol' Psera way. Queen Arcadia once again rose from her seat and made her way through a portal she conjured behind Odega. On the other side she was wearing her tight fitting suit showing a violet gem in the middle. Complete with her crown, sword, and a long lace cape to top it all off strapped together at her neckline.

"Good," she replied to the doors ahead. "Tell them I'm on my way. If they want a fight, they'll get one."

Chapter 12 - Anger

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All eyes were on Dawn now. She was the only one to discover Heated Wings wasn't who they all thought she was. She was the one to discover a war was being created by a third party. And that it was because of her death and possibly others. She had to stop it. And now they were counting on her.

After the mini interrogation, Dawn bolted out of Wings' makeshift holding cell back into the town with Night Life and that dragon named Lucky following on her tail. According to Night Life, Lucky was put here because Wings told her something about Psera. Now they were both here.

That was immediately rendered a lie. She's been living here for no reason. Dawn had no idea how she was feeling about that. She herself would be boiling in fury.

Night Life trotted in front of Dawn and swiveled around to get her to stop. "Wait, wait!" He pleaded. Dawn slowed to a stop and stared up to him. "Hold on a moment. What... Exactly are you? How are you two ponies right now? I'm so confused about it."

Well he wasn't the only one. Everyone had some questions. Dawn reached up and boldly ran a hoof through his pink mane. "You're adorable when you're confused," she teased. "Follow me and I'll clarify." Dawn quickly walked around him in favor for the edge of town. Whatever she needed was out here away from the little civilization present.

After a whistle through her teeth, Sky Blue fluttered in to land on her head by the time they walked through the shrubbery into the forest. She's been absent with Juniper upstairs back at the house. It was good to see her out and flapping her wings again.

Only when they were deep into the woods and their village was far behind did Dawn speak.

"Okay," she started off. "So... I'm made of magic. Technically, I was overwritten. According to my relatives, my mother was almost assassinated by a pony from her home country of Equestria. In a desperate effort to save my life, she used Dark Magic to keep my blood flowing through my body. However the spell never cut after she slipped into a coma for two months. And it overwrote flesh and bones in favor of full on magic."

Lucky jumped into a Tree's branches overhead and asked below, "So... You're literally a pony made out of magic. You weren't pulling my tail. How's that even possible? Who is your mother again? I wasn't really paying attention the first time around."

Dawn jumped over a thin crevice hiding a stream to the other side and answered, "She goes by many names, but she's commonly known in Psera history as Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, Saviour of Psera. She helped save Psera multiple times. Like a superhero. Then she met my father, settled down, and had me."

When they reached a beautiful clearing with only grass, Night Life trotted to a stop next to Dawn and assumed, "Now she's about to go to war against her home country."

"Because they're keeping her from the Zebras most likely," Dawn clarified. She rotated her body to face him. "If they weren't in the way, this would just be between her and the Zebras."

Lucky jumped down from above and landed with a crunch next to Night Life facing Dawn. The orange sky casted light down onto her reflective Dark Green scales. As far as Dragons went, Lucky wasn't bad. More curious than anything. She asked Dawn, "And what are your views on this?"

Dawn sighed deeply and closed her eyes in dismay. "I... Don't know," she admitted. Her eyes reopened to look into Night Life's. "Of course I don't like to be dead, but I also don't want anyone else to die. However, my mom was hurt during the attack, and she was at the Castle. Which meant something happened at the castle and other ponies got hurt too. But I won't know in here. We have to get out."

"How?"

Sky Blue jumped off of Dawn's back and into the afternoon sunlight bathing their clearing. "I think I know what's going on," Dawn answered. "There's a theory in Psera, centuries old about there being a reality within another reality. Called 'Pocket Dimensions.' Just another one of the crazy theories for the cause of Narmeelah's disappearance."

Lucky queried, "Was it ever proven?"

"None of the theories were proven because no one ever found Narmeelah. But the idea was simple. A pocket dimension and the real world have a specific matter that keep them bound to each other. Like bridges and anchors they're both connected. I could see a rock here that I saw in the real world and that would be our bridge. We would use that point to rip a space in time and get out of here. I know it sounds farfetched, but that's all we have right now. We need to find that bridge."

Night Life timidly asked, "And if we don't?"

"Then we'll be stuck here. Forever."

Outside of all of Psera's cities were plains. In order to get to the next one, the Pserateps would have to fly over these plains in order to get to the next part of the city. Free land was usually unoccupied and Psera would love for it to stay that way. It was the one place where couples could stay and watch the sun rise and set. Where concerts for musicians would be held at mobile venues.

Today they were going to be using them for a different reason. After Queen Arcadia had Gardeen tracked down and a team at the ready, she left Safe Haven in a small escort pod all the way towards the southern edge of Psera near Lavender. The air was thick with silence and humidity. The sky was gradually turning gray. Arcadia had a feeling it was going to rain.

They landed near her old refugee apartments. Reformed into a museum of sorts that was closed today. Arcadia could see Odega waiting for her on the other side of it further from Lavender in the grassy plains. The wind was blowing the grassy strands of grass in waves. She could see the air blow Odega's embers into the air when they landed and rolled to a stop from the gray skies above.

While the Guard escorting her took up their positions, Gardeen asked Arcadia, "Are you sure this is a good idea? Odega is already enough I feel like."

Arcadia adjusted the sword on her hip and hopped out the chariot when her door was opened with Gardeen on her tail. Her violet lace cape flowed in the wind and the darkening atmosphere while she walked to Odega away from her team. Matching the sparkle in her eye.

She looked over her shoulder at Gardeen and answered, "As long as Equestria is willing to upgrade their defenses, so shall we." Then she continued forward to the grass with determination as her engine.

Odega rose to all hooves when she approached and flared her wings out behind her to bow at her shoes when approached. "Your highness," she greeted.

Arcadia didn't respond with a greeting of her own. She instead glanced around and asked, "Where are they Odega?"

Odega rose back up to her hooves and turned around to face the grassy plains leading towards the mountain range of Cop. She cleared her throat of any distortion, took a deep breath and shouted, "Mahloo and Marloo are incredibly gross, Crystaltite is the last pony who should be even considered for anything, Soymenar is greatly annoying, and Leacrope has serious mental issues!!"

Instantly after Odega's rude shouting, the ground in front of them burst up after a pony jumped out from below their hooves. Their physique implied they were male, but he definitely wasn't the average pony. He had a smooth dark green coat with brown spots here and there, a long brown mane that draped down to the middle of his hooves with small pinecones, a tail made only of thin leaves, and completely white eyes as bright as the sun glaring at Odega.

Next a long tube of water shot out of the hole he made and splashed in front of Odega to compress into the form of a female Pseratep. But only made of water. Even her eyes were clear.

Next were two familiar faces. Mahloo and Marloo. Their scales reflected the fading light from above and danced across Arcadia's nonchalant expression. Their fangs flashed with a hiss and the flaps on the sides of their heads expanded and shook like rattles. Those claws could slash a head off.

And finally a great wind from behind rushed over Odega to nearly blow Arcadia over and gathered into a gray twister in between all of them. After a second of high winds, blowing manes, and maybe some lightning, the twister dispersed an older white coated Pseratep mare with a lot of fluffy fur that make her look almost like it was made by hoof. A windswept light gray and white mane and tail resembling a cloud that dances on its own, fluffy white hooves with mist, and sun-white eyes like the green one.

All eyes had zeroed in on Odega and began shouting.

"How dare you!"

"You are the one with mental issues if you think I'm going to let that little comment slide!"

Odega ignored their ranting and instead bowed to Arcadia. "As requested, Your Highness." Then slowly backed away into the silence with the guards and Gardeen watching from behind.

Once she was far enough away, Arcadia focused back on the Legends of Psera staring at her with an unmoving gaze. "I am Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, Saviour of Psera," she greeted. "Psera is requesting your assistance in a war for the massacre of over two hundred Pserateps. The Zebras are guilty, but the East defends and will not hand them over. Psera is going to war with all of the East."

The first pony to speak up was the last one to arrive. The mare with a white coat. She stepped forward and greeted, "I am Leacrope, Queen Arcadia. Commander of the Air. Of what degree was this attack? And the war so far?"

"They slaughtered my husband, King Shimmering Madun. And my daughter, Princess Fresh Veola Dawn. Heir to the throne. We struck back with thirty Marrials and rendered Zebrica a wasteland. Now the East wants to protect their survivors."

"Our loyalty lies with Narmeelah," Leacrope stated. "Not with you, Queen Arcadia."

"I beg to differ." Arcadia moved her eye to the far left. "Isn't that right, Mahloo and Marloo?"

In a stunning turn of events, Leacrope slowly turned her head to see Mahloo and Marloo bowing with their wings raised. "Yes, your highness."

The green stallion gasped and asked, "What is the meaning of this?"

Marloo rose to her hooves and answered, "Queen Arcadia got past us with the world's refugees after Maheera Dark returned in an attempt to conquer Equus. We swore ourselves to her after a very painful defeat. Maheera Dark was defeated by Queen Arcadia herself."

Leacrope and the other two Legends whipped their heads back to Arcadia mildly surprised. The green stallion asked, "Maheera Dark returned? And you solely defeated her?"

"Well I am not called Saviour of Psera merely for my status as Queen. It is because of my protection over my country I was deemed Queen in the first place." Arcadia narrowed her one visible eye. "And I will do anything to ensure my country's safety."

Lacrope made the same glare and scuffed her hoof as if she were about to charge. "Well if your tactic is to coerce us through a fight, then I'm afraid you will have quite the issue on your wings. No one has ever been able to defeat us."

"Until now."

Leacrope blew forward like a rushing wind before Arcadia teleported out of sight. She landed and skidded her hooves through the soil she was in just before. She growled at the spot and shouted, "As long as you are in my air, I will find you Arcadia. Where are those skills that allowed you to defeat Maheera Dark, as so testified?"

The dirt below Leacrope burst up with a long violet wing that slapped her to the side with a loud grunt, and a flinch from the observers. She rolled through the dirt while Arcadia pulled herself from it, and shook off everything from the world below that covered her. She teleported her crown over to Gardeen to hold and focused on the fight in front of her.

"Who said I was in the Air, Leacrope?" She taunted. "The greatest weapon is not strength, but knowledge."

The green stallion grunted and flared his wings out to spin into the air. The pulled them back and shot them forward. "Then I believe it is time you learned I am not so easy," he boomed. His voice sounded as though he was a teenager, or at least that of Odega's age.

The grass underneath him quickly grew in length, and shot towards Queen Arcadia in the form of spikes. It would've skewered a normal Pseratep, let alone any pony.

Twilight was far from a normal pony.

The grass froze in place before it could pierce her skull and was yanked from his control. Then whipped around and flown right back. She smirked and replied, "You're right. It was much easier."

He gasped and ducked from those makeshift blades while the pony made of water made her own attack. She broke down into a pool and expanded as an ice rink that froze Arcadia's hooves.

That was a tricky move in Arcadia's mind. It did in fact make things difficult for her. Especially since the three of them were charging at her now across the rink. But there are a few things Queen Arcadia's learned throughout her life: She was the Element of Magic. And magic existed everywhere.

With a glow in her eye, the ice below entrapping her broke down into snow that was suddenly whipped up from underneath them like a snowstorm. Leacrope's vision was blinded by white particles before she and the rest of the Legends were blasted away by a strong violet wave of magic.

Yards away watching were Queen Arcadia's Elite Security Detail, Gardeen, and Odega. The rumbling of thunder in the sky rolled vibrations onto the ground under their hooves. But it was hard to tell which vibrations were coming from the Queen, or the sound of lightning. Gardeen just went with the more obvious answer.

Odega seethed and commented, "I hope this doesn't become a common thing. Watching a bunch of fighting. I sort of miss watching Queen Arcadia do boring politics than watching her beat the crap out of the strongest ponies I know."

Gardeen flinched when that Legend made of water was suddenly slapped into raindrops by Arcadia's wing. Without ripping her eyes away from the fight, Gardeen replied, "Well you're in luck. Queen Arcadia has a few new bills that are being debated before Congress next week, a briefing at SERL, then after that takes the throne once more in another location during the day. Fire safety, what speed is allowed at some time during this season, and recycling. Very important stuff. She has to go back to Cop. She's clearly been avoiding going back."

"How? Oh Leacrope really shouldn't do that cloud thing." Their spectators covered their eyes when Leacrope attempted to fog the region and pierce Arcadia's sight. Well Arcadia used it to her advantage and created an extremely bright flash on the tip of her horn, and wiped the Fog away with a swipe of her wing. Now there were three blinded Legends stumbling around before Arcadia blew them back on their flanks again.

Gardeen sighed and answered her earlier question, "She's been ordering everyone come to Safe Haven to hold meetings there instead of Cop's mandatory district downtown. This time she has to go to Cop. This is the first time since the tragedy that she's conducting politics outside of Safe Haven."

"I'll definitely be watching that just to get my mind off of all of this. And there they go. Game over."

After a really bright flash of light and a very large boom, the Legends of Psera were sent flying back into a groove their bodies created. At that moment it just had to start raining and ruin coats. The Guards raised umbrellas and held one over Gardeen. The Secretary mustn't get wet. Let alone the Queen.

Arcadia ignored it and let herself bask in the sky's tears. The water was a coolant to her burning soul of vengeance anyway. She slowly walked over to Leacrope eating soil and stopped at her eyes staring up to her. Her glowing eye pierced through the dark atmosphere and into Leacrope's soul. The lightning painted Arcadia in an aura of intimidation.

"You work for me now," she stated. "And you will help me protect my country. Understood?"

Leacrope rose back to her hooves and dusted off her pristine white coat as if it were no big deal. Then bowed gracefully with the other two. "We swear ourselves to you, Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, Saviour of Psera. 'Til death do us part."

The green stallion rose back to his hooves and finally introduced himself. "I am Soymenar, your Highness. Commander of the Earth."

The pony made of crystal clear water pulled herself together and turned into a solid of ice. Her wings were much sharper than they were before and her eyes were as blue as the sea beyond their borders. "And I am Crystaltite, Lordess of the Sea. At your service. I sense the blood of Narmeelah flowing through your veins."

Queen Arcadia nodded sternly and turned around to walk back to the Chariots. "I am her distant relative," she answered. "She and I have similarities. Before we venture further, you must be warned." She looked over her shoulder and said, "We must grab one more creature of strength and power."

Crystaltite stopped trotting behind her and asked, "You make it sound like it is a bad thing."

"For you three, it may be. We must grab Maheera Dark. But not anytime soon." Arcadia faced forward and moved to the Pods with a smolder. "I have to pay my family a quick little visit."

It's been a rather long day in the Crystal Empire. Canterlot was the center of military action in Equestria. So all military leaders of different countries aligned with IHT met there. Including Shining Armor.

Preparing their Fronts, Air Teams, and Special Operations units were all commenced from a chair in front of a very large but round table for hours. Today it was for Equestria. Tomorrow it would be Mount Aris, in case Psera zipped over them.

Once it was over, Shining wasted no time in getting back to the Crystal Empire. Where the crystal ponies waved and smiled his way during the trek back to the Castle. To the security guarding the City's airspace, buildings, and patrolling the streets. If there was going to be an attack, then they were going to have an issue getting past. Pserateps may be fast, but Equestria had its own tricks.

When he made it back, his wife was waiting for him at the steps leading up to the inside. Princess Cadance in all her love and glory. She smiled and leaned into that kiss he placed on her lips.

"Good afternoon," he deeply greeted.

"Good afternoon, Shiny," she replied. Then walked with him back into the quiet tall crystal structure of their castle. Their hooves were the only sound among the silence. Their guards didn't so much as move from their posts.

"Princess Luna wants you to prepare the Fourth Pegasi Air Team," Cadance told him.

"That was the first team we did today. They're placed in Ponyville with close eyes on the Whistling Woods. If the Pserateps were to storm Ponyville, that would be their best bet."

Ponyville. Another reminder. Cadance sighed and thought aloud, "None of this should have to be."

"I know. But Twilight has become adamant. She feels anger and resentment towards the Zebra race and wants to wipe them out."

Cadance quickly added, "I too am a little upset for the tragedy that occured. The Zebras killed King Madun and Princess Fresh Dawn. She wasn't even sixteen yet. So young and full of potential. And had her life stripped from her."

When they reached the lunch hall doors, Shining stopped and turned to face her before they opened them. "The Zebras aren't talking about the attack. They claimed they were never informed and that it was never authorized. Nor would it have been authorized. And get this: The body of Queen Tarsafani was found at the foot of one of their rivers stabbed to death."

Queen Tarsafani was dead? Now that she thought about it, Tarsafani was one of the leaders she hasn't seen from Zebrica. "She was murdered," Cadance assumed. A word normally used on Psera.

"It was dated back to July. Do you know when that was?" Cadance shook her head. "It was when Queen Arcadia sent us back home from Psera. She was under that penalty for her health. When she came back, Tarsafani was killed. And their Shamans had no clue."

"It wasn't a lawful punishment then," Cadance said. "Which meant..."

"Something was going on in Zebrica that involved Psera. She was murdered months before the attack. I have two theories: That Queen Tarsafani was a spy and actually giving them information for an attack like Twilight thought, or she was honestly there to delegate. I'm leaning towards the first choice. There wasn't much delegation."

Cadance sighed and pushed open the dining room doors herself. "Yes, but we have..." Cadance suddenly glared ahead. Their conversation had officially been ruined by none other than the source. "What are you doing here?"

Shining followed her glare and narrowed his eyes himself. Sitting in the chair at the far end of the table facing the door was the last pony that needed to be on Equestria soil. Queen Twilight eating a plate of a Pseratopian delight wearing the same outfit from earlier. The one with the glowing gem in the center that confirmed it. Her mane was thick and flowing with energy, and her crown glistened with the riches of Psera.

She wiped her mouth politely and answered, "Waiting for you." Her one eye glanced up in their direction. "Why else would I be here?"

Shining didn't understand why the guards didn't ring an alarm or something. As of this moment, his sister's appearance was a threat! Then again, they were standing way more still than usual. He glared at one nearby then back to Twilight. "You froze our staff," he assumed.

After another bite and swallow, Twilight replied, "It is better if we're not interrupted by a raging Alicorn, don't you think? I still have a lot of anger building up for watching the murders of my family. I'd rather not take it out on your guards."

"But you'd take it out on us?"

"You're the ones calling the shots."

"Because you're the one declaring war," Cadance sternly reminded her. She used her magic to shut the doors behind her and Shining.

"Only because you're defending the ponies who attacked my country and slaughtered my civilians. For the second time in history, might I add. We were lucky it was only in the castle. The first time it was the entire city of Cop. They flooded our streets and slaughtered our foals. Children." Arcadia pushed her dish through a small portal setup next to her then closed it back.

"You know where the Zebras are. So either Equestria tells Psera, or they step aside and allow us to search. They don't, then we force ourselves in. Well Equestria chose to restrict us from searching for the Zebras. Along with IHT. So we'll be knocking you to the side and getting them that way."

"Twilight, listen..." Cadance made her way towards a seat next to her. This would be the first time she's gotten this close to Twilight since the attack. She wrapped a wing over her back and sighed deeply. "I know this is hard for you. I don't know what it's like to lose your husband or daughter. Let alone watch innocent lives be taken. But you're not alone. We're here for you, Twilight. We're your family too and we love you. Your mother is worried about you. Your parents are grieving for your loss. Equestria is here for you, Twilight. We're here for you and your country. We love Psera because you love Psera, and everything they have done for us.

"And you're right, they were all innocent ponies welcoming you back to the throne. And the Zebras are guilty and will be penalized. But Queen Twilight, now they have nowhere to go. Their land is nothing but ashes now."

"Cadance, this is a war," Twilight pointed out. She swiftly raised a large wing towards the back of the room and shouted, "They knew the consequences of their actions! Yet they still attacked! What do you want us to do, withdraw our soldiers from storming their borders?!"

"We don't want you committing genocide, Twilight," Shining sternly answered. "We just want to reach a compromise. Everyone needs to relax and take it easy. The Zebras had no known motivation."

"They were after my daughter," Twilight informed them. She waved her hoof around in obsoleteness. "Something about a prophecy and Dawn's existence as a sign of the end of Equus."

The end of Equus?! Cadance gasped and asked, "Are you not worried about that? You of all ponies should know that the Zebras have never told a false prophecy."

Arcadia growled in Cadance's face and snarled, "I couldn't care less about their prophecies, or the Zebras that came up with them! Because they still slaughtered my people!! They are still guilty of a mass homicide!!! And I will!..."

Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath to quell that rising darkness inside her being. Now was not the time. "But I am not here to talk about that. I am here to tell you that I wish Flurry a happy upcoming birthday, and that you better hope you don't see me again. I am passing the reigns of this war to my generals and Secretary of Defense. I'm needed on Psera with my citizens, not at sea with my enemies. So you better hope you never see me on your shores."

"So what, you're backing out?" Cadance assumed.

"I am sitting on the side," Twilight clarified. "My soldiers will be doing the fighting. If you see me in your country again, it is because I have become impatient. So you'd better hope I don't arrive."

"Twilight, we don't want to go to war with you," Cadance whispered. She reached out and felt a hoof along Twilight's relaxed cheek. Smooth to the touch and a dash of warmth. "We don't want to hurt you. We don't want to fight you, you're our family."

Twilight sighed and internally admitted she didn't want that either. She didn't want to hurt her Equestrian family. She raised a hoof and softly pulled Cadance into a hug. "And I don't want to fight you either. I love all of you. And I don't want to hurt you." She pulled back and sternly glared. "But you're in the middle of a war between us and Zebrica. Fighting against Psera, even though they are the ones who attacked first. We retaliated, and now you want to protect them, despite everything Psera has done for you. I showed you what they did to our king, to my little Veola, and the battle of blood in my castle.

"Yet, you still choose to protect the Zebras. Despite them staring this war. After I put my reputation and my life on the line to make sure you were all protected from Maheera. I had a family back on Psera and I still gave you protection there. I brought your troubles to my country and could have very well endangered my family. I fed you, kept you warm, kept you safe. I gave up ten years of my life to keep all of you alive. Yet you will not help me bring these monsters to justice. Instead you choose to stand side by side with them, ready your borders with them, and prepare for a fight against the ponies who actually died to protect you against Maheera. It is beyond dishonorable."

"Twilight—"

She bounced up from her seat and faced Cadance on the other side of the table. "You are lucky Canterlot still stands. We gave you our resources to rebuild. Yet you use them against us."

"Twilight, listen—"

"And you keep the real monsters from us! To protect them! They don't deserve to be protected! They deserve to die!"

"Twilight! Listen to yourself! This is not who you are!" Shining took up a position next to Cadance. "The Zebras as a whole are innocent! You cannot take your anger and frustration out on the innocent or else you will become like the rest of the creatures in Tartarus!"

"And just what is that, Shining?" Twilight taunted. "Intrigue me, just what are the creatures in Tartarus?"

Shining stomped his hoof and answered sternly, "Vengeful, angry, and prone to make a mistake they will regret, forging the consequence of being locked away. Forever."

They were unmoving. Both Equestria and Psera. They knew they wouldn't stand a chance against Twilight in this room. She could clean the floor with them. Yet they stood tall and firm against her.

She sighed from the back of her throat and took a second to gather herself. Then after a moment said in a much calmer tone, "I am giving you one more chance. One more to make the right choice. To give my citizens the closure they need. To give me the closure I need. So I can go to my family's mausoleums, and tell them that we did it. That their deaths were not in vain and so I can finally sleep at night without reliving the painful experience of watching everyone I love die in my hooves."

Cadance sighed and with a somber regret whispered, "I'm really sorry, Twily. But... We can't. I'm so sorry."

Another tense silence with Twilight staring nonchalantly at them. An unpredictable emotion so thick Cadance was softly shimmering her magic on her horn.

"Then..." Twilight peacefully raised her hoof in their direction that their eyes locked on. "I'm sorry too. But family ends here."

She threw her hoof swiftly to the right and sent them flying off their hooves into the doors. Cadance yelped on impact and dropped to the ground before she and Shining were sent flying back to the table shouting. They rolled across the surface knocking off candles, plates, and dishes before being blasted away by a beam of magic.

After impacting another wall, they lied limply and unmoving on top of each other. Bruised, battered, and overall tired. After only five seconds, they lost the battle. Cadance groaned and shifted her gaze up from underneath her husband to catch Twilight's eye. Only, she wasn't there anymore. She was gone. After she attacked them, she left with destruction in her wake.

The Guards were breathing. One of them gasped and shouted, "Your highness!" Then ran over with the entire room. "Your highness, speak to me! What happened?"

Shining coughed and rose back to his hooves with the assistance of his guards. "We... We were attacked," he answered. "By Queen Arcadia. Tell the Captains to raise their alarms nationwide. They're coming."

Chapter 13 - Prep The Future

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As cute as Night Life was, he was undoubtedly annoying at the moment. After they had a game plan, Dawn quickly led her team along. Consisting only of Lucky, Dawn herself, and Night Light running through the woods. Oh, and Juniper and Sky Blue, her little helpers. They were lounging on her back during their walk through quiet woods.

But Night Life still had that motor mouth. When Dawn saw him staring in the corner of her eye she sighed and drawled, "Alright, what is it... Now?"

"What's your special talent?" He quickly asked. "if you're half Equestrian and half Pseratopian—"

Dawn muttered, "I'm actually half-Pseratopian and a Quarter-Equestrian with magic making up that last twenty-five."

"—Then you have a talent, right? Like you can do something special that no one else can."

"I have two," Dawn answered. She slowed her pace at a stream and bent low for Juniper to climb from wet rock onto her back. Once she was comfortable she jumped across with Lucky and Night Life.

"Well what are they?" Lucky asked. She's never heard of Equestrian ponies having special talents like Night Life said. Let alone one with a Psera bloodline.

After they made it, Dawn answered, "Well one of them is like an Out-of-Body experience. When I go to sleep, I seem to extract my soul and float around."

Float around. She said float around. Like a ghost. Night Life and Lucky glanced awkwardly at each other before Night Life commented, "How...creepy. What's the other talent?"

"I heal injuries." Dawn trotted to a stop at another rushing stream and gazed around the forestry for something familiar. Something she could make out in the blink of an eye and recall. So far she's been hitting dead ends for the last half hour. Finding it in a day was next to impossible. But Dawn wasn't going to give up. Especially so soon now that they had a theory.

Lucky gasped and roared excitedly, "So you can heal wounds? Like if I lose a wing, you can give me another one?"

"That's not a wound, that's an amputation," Dawn deadpanned. "I can't heal that. You'll be working with a lot on your own without a wing from that point on."

"Oh... Well... Crap."

Dawn chortled and silently admitted Lucky was good company. Unlike Night Light. She asked, "So how long have you been here on this island?"

Lucky flew onto another tree and answered down, "I've been here for maybe... Thirty years?... I think, time becomes meaningless after awhile."

Dawn completely understood. Nowhere to go, nowhere to be, what was the point of tracking time? Dawn focused on Night Life for his answer. "I don't know," he answered. "I just roll with it. How long is this going to take?"

Dawn stepped her hooves out into a large grassy field then swiveled around to face them. "I'm not sure," she tirelessly answered. "Problem with this theory is that the Bridge could literally be anything. Hay, it could even be the grass, or a pebble or something smaller. We just have to recognize it. And since you guys are so old I believe I'm the best bet you have at finding it. I know all the latest builds internationally speaking among everyone on this Island."

"Do you recognize anything out here?"

Dawn whipped around and eyed the grassy field. At the way the grass moved and swiveled with the wind that blew her red mane. "Well... It looks like the grass outside of Ponyville. But I don't sense anything strange about it. Nothing magic about it all. We may have to go further."

Terrific. Night Life sighed and said, "Well let's keep looking." He started to walk forward, but Dawn raised a large wing to block his path. His vision clouded with cold and soft violet feathers.

"Let's take a break for now," she suggested. "We've been traveling for an hour with no progress. It'll be some time before we come across anything."

She sat down on the grass and lowered her wings to take a break. As much as she wanted to keep searching, her stamina was only but so much. She didn’t have nearly as much to fight, then keep trekking through the woods afterwards.

Lucky dropped down to her belly next to Dawn and stated, "So this Psera must be some serious business, huh?"

Dawn and Night Light shared a look before focusing back on Lucky. "Very," Dawn answered. Her look downcast into sadness. "I just don't want anyone to get hurt because of it. They're about to go to war and mom's leading the charge. And all on Psera knows the Queen always gets what she wants, one way or another."

After Princess Celestia had finished up her court, Luna quickly met up with her in the quiet abandoned halls and told her Mimi's idea. To say she was onboard was a complete and utter lie.

"No," she blatantly answered. "The creatures of Tartarus stay in Tartarus." Then walked with Luna through the halls of the castle to continue. "I appreciate Mimi's help. But even I know Queen Arcadia is not strong enough to get past a horde of our soldiers."

Luna quickly asked, "How can you be so sure? We're talking about Twilight Sparkle, Celestia. Even before she moved permanently to Psera, she was Equestria's top mage."

"But she is not a strategist." Celestia turned around to face Luna and said, "She is a mage and a fighter. But even she has her limits. We will make use of all of our soldiers."

"And what if you're wrong? What if Twilight herself attacks and creates a stunning blow to our defenses or even our generals?"

"That won't happen."

"Twilight is an angry Alicorn with enough power to desecrate an entire continent, she can do what she wants."

Celestia nodded and stubbornly agreed, "Well yes, but she is also smart about it. She would not be so reckless as to jump into an attack so suddenly. There are always signs."

Their conversation was interrupted when a Hippogriff stationed in the castle ran up their hallway and saluted. "Princesses!" They locked their irked gazes on him. "It's been confirmed that the Castle in the Crystal Empire was infiltrated, and Princess Cadenza and Officer Armor were attacked!"

Their conversation was immediately tossed out the window in favor of this new event that jumped in. Luna immediately shouted, "What?! How?!"

Celestia jolted towards him and asked, "Where are they now?"

"Crystal Empire. We just received word by Dragon Fire."

She rushed past him and loudly ordered, "Tell all Commanding Officers to triple their Guard rounds around every single city! I don't want a single soldier sitting around, I want them moving!"

"We're already on the move!"

Once he was out of earshot and they were moving down the halls, Luna asked, "You don't think..."

"It was an inside attack," Celestia said before they arrived in the cold world outside the Castle doors. They were immediately joined by their own personal guards for the trek to the train station. "Or else an alarm would've been triggered."

"Of course, but even if it were inside, a guard or somepony would've rang something during the attack. Who could've gotten inside, successfully stage an attack and get out without being noticed or touched?"

Celestia and Luna slowed to a stop and glanced hard at each other with the same answer at the front of their minds before hightailing it once again for the station.

"The Pserateps are coming," Celestia said through her huffs. "We need to prepare our Coastlines. Now."

The time for waiting was over. IHT still stood firm. After Twilight arrived back on Psera in her office, she did what she usually does when thinking. She paced. She paced in front of her desk fuming. Glaring at what was in her mind.

No. The word 'no'. Over and over again. No, we will not hoof over the Zebras. No, we will not allow your country justice. Well their no was strike two.

As much as she wanted to just send her soldiers over the seas to pull those Zebras out, she still made a promise not to. Queen Arcadia turned her stare back to her desk and trained her stern eye on the document Gardeen placed there before she even arrived. The one allowing Merry to try her part. This would be the official meeting on whether they go to war or not. Queen Arcadia's attack in anger was strike two. Merry would be strike three. If they deny her, then they will attack.

Queen Arcadia trotted behind her desk and grabbed a pen in her magic. She sternly scribbled her printed name and Signature, initials, and date before slapping her hoof on a bell on the corner of her desk. At once, one of the doors to her office were pushed open and an Elite saluted. "Yes, ma'am?"

She held the document out with her magic and requested, "See that this gets to Secretary Gardeen immediately. First Priority."

He took the document in his hoof and bowed briefly. Then shut the door and shuffled off down the hall to fulfill the orders.

Once she was alone once more, Queen Arcadia sat down and eyed the screens in front of her. She had an excellent view of the Armada awaiting the signal to start their procession towards the East. All Queen Arcadia had to do was give the cue to Secretary Manny. She was quite eager to start a small maritime invasion after all.

Queen Arcadia sighed and calmly called, "Crystaltite."

At her beck and call, the humidity in the air gathered into a single point in front of her desk until it was a large mass. Then condensed into the form of Psera's legend Crystaltite. Her body was made of frozen water. White and cold. Almost snow.

She bowed and spread her reflective wings. "Yes, your highness?"

Queen Arcadia smoldered and ordered, "I have a special mission for you. My sister-in-law needs an escort in and out of Equestria."

Crystaltite rose back to her hooves with a quizzical expression. "How do you know they will even let her pass after that stunt you pulled in Equestria?"

It came as no surprise that she knew of what transpired in Equestria. She dipped her hoof into that runoff of anger originating from the ocean of fury building inside her soul. The one she was scared to even acknowledge.

Arcadia placed her hooves in front of her muzzle and smoldered. "Because Merry is not me," she darkly answered. "Equestria's rulers are too kind even for their own good. They will let her in, I assure you. I need you to provide close contact protection with Psera's Guard. Stay by her side at all times when they allow you through."

Crystaltite rose back to her hooves. "Yes, ma'am. But why not send Odega?"

"Because I need someone literally fluid for this mission. I want you to protect Princess Merry Fire. But I also want you to infiltrate the castle's water supply while you're there. So we have ears in the castle."

"Are you preparing for them to say no?" Crystaltite suspiciously queried.

"They will," Arcadia assured. "Equestria is unmoving. They always seek solutions to solve problems peacefully, even though there are none. Just watch her back, infiltrate the water, and prepare yourself. Equestria is on their hooves right now. Be prepared for a fight. There may not be one, but be ready. Mission summary? Escort Princess Merry Fire peacefully to the meeting, and infiltrate their water supply. Dismissed."

Crystaltite bowed once more. Then blew away like snowflakes with the sudden wind that appeared in her office. Once she was gone, Queen Arcadia focused all her attention back on the fleet. Those Aquatas would be moving soon. Very soon. But until then, she had work to do. And a meeting into Cop to prepare herself for tomorrow.

The Crystal Empire was attacked! Celestia couldn't believe it. That was the last place ever thought of to be attacked first in this war. It took them a little under an hour to get there. But when they arrived, it was exactly what they thought it would be: Armed, tense, and under lockdown. All the streets were lined with Equestrian Royal Guard, the airspace was thickened with Pegasi and Alicorns, and access to the city-state was impenetrable.

When they arrived in the train station, Princesses Celestia and Luna urgently made their way through the barren streets of the Crystal Empire and burst through the doors of the castle upon arrival.

"What happened?!" Luna demanded.

Shining Armor was waiting for them by the doors when he got word of their appearance. He had one of his hooves in a sling and a small bandage on his head. His expression was glum and sorrowful when Celestia pulled him into a hug,

"We just heard," she said. A kiss was placed on his cheek. "How are you? How's Cadance?"

Once they separated Shining sighed with remorse and answered, "She's sleeping it off. Flurry, doctors, and the Guard are with her. A few bruises and cuts from glass, but the doctor said there's nothing major. I'm fine, just a sprained hoof."

Luna let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in relief. The family was okay. Everyone was fine. Now only one question remained unanswered:

"Who did this?" Celestia whispered.

Shining tightened his lips and responded, "Who else would sit us down first to try a bargain?"

"Twilight," Celestia and Luna said at the same time. It was no mystery. Underneath that hard exterior, Twilight was still willing to give her family a chance.

"She said the peace was over between us," Shining added. "Then attacked. We have no idea how she got in but assumed magic was involved. She froze our guards and staff."

"Psera's coming," Luna assumed. "We have the coast secured and informed all other members of this development. How did she get in? This castle is impenetrable with all kinds of runes." To prove her point, Luna timidly used her magic to highlight all the runes drenching the hallway from the ceiling to the floor.

Shining sadly answered, "We're not sure. My mages tell me a standard teleportation spell would've bounced off, and her mirror spell wouldn't even exist in here. There's no explanation."

Celestia wasn't so sure. She raised her hoof and suggested, "Her portal spell. We need to secure this place from her portals."

Her... Shining stomped his good hoof and cursed, "Crap, I forgot about her portals."

“It’s alright,” Celestia assured. Her hoof motioned towards the crystal walls around them. "We just have to setup now before anymore surprises.”

“Like what?” Shining answered. Luna walked past him for the rest of the castle with Celestia. They either ignored him or they were coming up with their answers. “Like what, what else could she possibly have besides an all-powerful military, magic unlike anything we’ve ever seen, and an insane amount of influence?”

“Well...” Celestia stopped walking and answered. “That’s the problem. We’re not sure. Twilight could have plenty more than all of that based off of her fear of what is coming. Whatever she has created to battle what we think is Narmeelah she may in fact use against us as well. If tempted.”

“I don’t think she’d…”

“And before you say anything else...” Celestia turned around to face him with a steeled gaze. “Remember that your sister is filled with rage. A dangerous trait to tamper with. Queen Twilight clearly wants justice for her family and country. And based off of her magic and power, she can push this entire country aside.”

If it wasn’t obvious before, it was obvious now: Princess Celestia was fearful of the future. There was no more denial. Things were getting out of their hooves. Luna knew that quiver in her eyes. She hasn’t seen it in decades, but she could never forget that emotion. Fear.

Celestia faced Luna and admitted, “Mimi may be right, and I wrong. At Twilight’s level of magic, we may need all the help we can get our hooves on.”

Shining wasn’t liking her tone. Or that glint in her eye. He approached closer and asked, “What help are you talking about, Princess?”

“The dirty help.” Princess Celestia shot her steeled gaze his way. “We need help from everyone that has dared step a threatening hoof on this continent and defeated by legends such as Twilight herself. We need the convicts from Tartarus and any weapons down there we can get. And anyone else out here that we need. Even the Changelings.”

It was official. Smack dab on the front page: "Psera Declares War on Zebrica! IHT Interferes!"

The newspaper was not Rainbow Dash's recommended piece of literature. Each time it came into her mailbox in Cloudsdale, she would typically take it inside, throw it in the corner with the rest of them, then get back to her Daring Do. But Scootaloo did read the newspaper. And she was here this morning.

Rainbow Dash’s Cloudominium was silent. The sun brightened up the white around them from the world outside, but it did not brighten what news was dropped on Rainbow Dash this morning: Scootaloo was shipping off. She was one of those special guards serving under IHT. And they were going to war. Which meant Scootaloo had to leave Ponyville.

Ever since Twilight saved them from Maheera Dark so long ago, Scootaloo decided that she wanted to serve in Equestria’s military. That was her goal. As for the rest of The Cutie Mark Crusaders? Apple Bloom was helping her sister out on the farm, and Sweetie Belle had moved all the way to Manehattan to help her sister out with her chain of stores there, and following her own passions of starting her own jewelry logistics business. So far, they were all doing well for themselves.

In the kitchen at an island, Rainbow Dash looked up from her book to see Scootaloo reading the newspaper directly across. Her Magenta mane had been shaved off in favor of a buzz cut. Her orange coat was hidden underneath a dark blue military vest with a rank of Corporal. She would be leading her own team out of Ponyville with a group of others to the coast of Las Pegasus. They were going to be on the front lines if they landed on the coast. Rainbow forgot the name of their Unit, but there were a lot of soldiers living here in Ponyville. In a few minutes, they would all be heading out.

Scootaloo sighed and shut her paper in exchange to her gaze on Dash. Both of these were depressing stories. Tales of loss.

“Stop it, Dash,” she said. “I have to do this.”

“I know,” Dash whispered. “That doesn’t mean I have to like it.” She took a moment to stroke her face. “I know this is your dream, Scoots, and I am very proud of you. I wish I could be there with you, but I’m needed in Canterlot if there’s a quick evacuation. I just wish you were there with me.”

“I know.” Scootaloo reached out and put a hoof on Rainbow’s lying on the table. “But I have to do this. If I can do anything to assist in the war then I will."

"But you're being placed on the front lines, Scoots." Rainbow rose from her seat and walked around the table to deliver a hug on the other side. “That’s where everything happens. And I don’t want to lose you."

Scootaloo breathed in Rainbow during their embrace. "I know," she murmured. "But I have to do this."

Rainbow knew that. And she would never doubt that. Scootaloo had always been a strong pony. But she never thought that she would actually enlist to be in the Equestrian Military. She wasn't a guard. She was above that. She was on the front lines taking the fight to them. Not staying within city limits and protecting the citizens.

Rainbow squeezed Scootaloo tighter and whispered, "I'm proud of you, little buddy. I'll make sure everything'll be here when you get back."

"And I'll be back before you know it. I love you, Rainbow Dash."

"I love you too, Scootaloo."

Chapter 14 - Equestria's Reinforcements

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Another day, another job. The cold winter rain has passed and spread a dash of warmth over Psera this morning. The skies were blue, the atmosphere cold. A sign for Arcadia to put on that fluffy dark violet coat to match the long dress that covered her wings. A crown that glimmered in the sea of light around them. And The Second Sword of Arcadia attached to a belt.

She donned on a thin violet veil before she stepped outside of Safe Haven's doors with Gardeen. Her hooves clopped onto the stone path leading from the security of Safe Haven to the safety of her ride up ahead. Waiting for her.

The sound of the chirping birds reached her ears. The Comms from the Guards escorting her. The zips and silent pops of Pserateps far away breaching the sound of Psera.

Twilight closed her eyes and breathed in that scent of winter grass. A wonderful smell that reminded her of the garden in the castle walls. Madun's garden.

When she and Gardeen stopped in front of their parked chariot Arcadia asked, "Do you smell that?"

Gardeen limped herself out of her chair and replied, "Smell what?"

"The scent of a promising future."

"Someone's a little eager for that future." Eager was a moot term to put it.

Queen Arcadia used her magic to lift Gardeen over the door of the chariot before she herself could get in. The Guards could deal with her chair. "I'm not as eager as I am optimistic," she pointed out. "I just wish someponies wouldn't rain on my parade."

Someponies. It didn't take any genius from SERL to know who she was talking about. Once Gardeen was comfortable and Queen Arcadia was seated, their escort of three Chariots rolled out from the clearing of Safe Haven into the forestry that made up its ring of security. A concrete path in the woods outlined by Elite Guard leading up to a thick steel gate currently being pushed aside.

When the chariot picked up speed, Gardeen queried, "Are you sure you're ready to get back out here, Twilight?"

Twilight sighed and breathed out her wise words. "One is never truly ready to run into the wings of change. Only be prepared when change arrives. Am I ready? No. But am I expecting change? Always."

Gardeen didn't have to hear it from her mouth to know that it's true. Change was always abundant in Psera. Was Twilight ready? She was constantly caught by surprise. But she also knew what to do at the stomp of a hoof. She never let Psera down, she always had a plan.

Their chariot roared out of the gate back into Rayray with the force of a thousand cannons. Then angled up into Psera's skies. This would be the first time the public has seen the Queen outside of Rayray and Lavender. For Two months she has been under the protection and watchful eyes of the Elite Guard. Any exit from Safe Haven, Rayray, or Lavender unauthorized was strictly forbidden. Arcadia's security advisor was even a little hesitant to let her take the chariot out.

But the time for defense was now up. And business was once again back in session. Offense was now in play.

Gardeen scooted closer to Arcadia across the velvet seating and fell into her embrace during their aerial journey. "So what's the news on Merry?"

"She departs tomorrow for a trip overseas." Arcadia moved her gaze down onto her surrogate daughter. "This is the third attempt at attainment. If they still insist on withholding information, then I will be placing the reigns in the hold of Secretary Manny."

Gardeen sighed silently and turned her head back to the mountain range. If they say no this time, then the war officially begins. There would be no more games. No more plans of negotiation.

Arcadia used her hoof to turn her head to face her. "Do not worry, Gardeen. We will get them back for what they have done."

"I know, Twilight. I just... I'm tired of the losses."

"Fear not." Twilight tucked Gardeen underneath her wing like a mother protecting her foal. "We will lose no other citizen." It was obvious Gardeen didn't want to hear about the war any longer around her. So twilight smiled and queried, "Did you ask Pink yet?"

The faintest hint of a stutter let Twilight know she was successful in distracting. "I-I haven't gotten around to it," she admitted. "But I am working on a way."

"Are we planning a big reveal?" Twilight moved her nervous sights down to the Mountain Range of Cop. The border into no return. She could see the Castle of the Gods and all the exterior construction going on amidst the city's surrounding skyscrapers, magnificence and beauty of the city-state, and the technology. The Castle would be updated to match.

And only she would be walking along its halls. This time her family would not be among them. Maybe she'll request a single suite like how Molten has to rid of the obvious reminder.

Twilight turned her head back to Gardeen and the conversation they were having. She shrugged and answered, "Well it's not so much as a reveal as it is a question. I just want to know if she's ready like I am. If she's not, then we can wait."

That made sense. Light Pink was already nervous around others. According to her wife here, she was getting better everyday. But even Twilight knew there were some instances when Light Pink would have her fallback points of stumbling over her words.

"She will be ready," Twilight promised. "Take the plunge."

All too soon, their chariot was making a soft landing on an interstate leading towards the western edge of Cop. Where all other legislative buildings were held when the Castle wasn't necessary. Well this time they had no choice.

It was a little smaller and resembled a fancy college campus more than a single location of power. This was where all ponies of power go and hold their gavels. Queen Arcadia could see the campus up ahead. A mountain of ability towering over the small and tall businesses of Psera. The sun sets behind it to show that even at the end of the day, they were the ones to get the last word in.

Pods and other vehicles on the bridge they were crossing along pulled over to the side out of respect. The flashing lights announced their show of power and influence. That and it's been on the news all week of Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle's return to the public after two months of intense protection.

The campus was secured by a steel spiked gate that covered it's entire radius. The adjacent street was wide enough to host a college party with enough room for businesses, and the road leading up to its open gates was wide enough to add more. Governmental businesses made up the street dubbed Ruler's Table. Whatever you needed that you couldn't find anywhere else, it was here.

The sidewalks, the cobbled streets, they were currently polluted by the multitude of Pserateps awaiting her arrival on the side. Elite Guards stood in formation and outlined a perfect strip for their escort. Holding flags that flailed in the wind. Everything was the same. Then... It wasn't.

Queen Arcadia's smile was no longer on her face. Hidden behind the veil of mystery. Her hair was no longer in its shimmering bun but a cloud of mystery hiding her wound from the world. Her gaze as empty as a stoic Secretary Manny, one of the most emotionless ponies Queen Arcadia has had the honor of calling her friend next to Maud Pie.

When they finally arrived and rolled up Ruler's Table, ponies on the side cheered and waved her way. Cameras snapped and ponies called her name. Arcadia's gaze remained forward and empty. The same, but different. Much different.

Their chariots slowed and turned adjacent to the gates of the campus where noblemen and women, Senators, and lawmakers were waiting for her. She could make out the Congressional Judges. They've been under the throne for many years. Rumor has it one of them would be retiring soon.

Once their Chariot was parked, the Elite unstrapped themselves and took up positions. Two opened the doors for the Queen and her Secretary of Royalty, the rest provided a secure radius around them saluting.

Once Arcadia's hooves were on the cold cobble street, cheering and waving commenced. As usual she waved back with a soft smile on her face. Not as big and influential as before, but still a smile nonetheless that her subjects focused on.

Once Gardeen was by her side strapped into her chair, Arcadia waved her way to the gates of Founder's Circle. Towards those bowing to greet her.

Judge Sunlight remained the same. Long flowing yellow mane that had sparkles trapped inside, dark yellow eyes, and a serious attitude old as time itself.

"A privilege to have you among us, Queen Arcadia," she greeted.

"Rise, Judge Sunlight." She and the rest of the available Congress did as requested to face Queen Arcadia. If it wasn't clear by this point, she has definitely changed. She was at least three inches taller, and her expression was stern. Cold.

Arcadia asked, "How are the rest of Congress?"

Judge Sunlight raised a hoof behind her towards the gate of Founder's Circle. "They are well, your highness. The hall has been modified for your arrival."

Of course things have been changed. Just like the rest of Twilight's life. She internally shivered and nodded. "Then let's move forward."

Gardeen and Arcadia aligned with the high-headed ponies of Psera into the gates of Founder's Circle. With their eyes set on the tallest of them all. A round dome with a golden exterior. A sun halfway in the ground with Arcadia and Madun's statue in front of the entrance.

Twilight's nightmares would be that these still depictions were all she would ever see of her husband. Stars above, nightmares for any place in power were real.

Soldiers continue marching through those nightmares. And she was a soldier.

Guards up ahead pulled open two thick glass doors for the large approaching party. Then bowed out of respect when the Queen stepped off of gravel onto luxury vinyl flooring. Pserateps of all different positions stood around conversing. A clamour of noises blew through the air. Walking past delivering information to others.

Shushing one another and bowing when Queen Arcadia was recognized until the entire hall was as silent as Safe Haven at night.

Queen Arcadia and the rest of the party passed them all in favor of the escalators at the very end leading deep down into the ground.

During the trip down, the Queen was updated on certain events that have occured beyond Safe Haven's walls. Events that Arcadia has heard about but was beyond her power to uphold without a hearing.

Once the briefing was completed, Arcadia queried, "And what are we doing about the war?"

"We have not discussed it yet prior your arrival. But discussions are currently in place should the Zebras not be hoofed over. Military action of course along with deals and trials."

Deals and trials? Arcadia didn't want deals and trials. As a matter of fact that was the last thing she wanted. She smoldered and requested, "Are there any specifics for these... Deals and trials?"

One of them answered, "None have been proposed but they are in the agenda."

"I honestly hope it stays that way."

Judge Sunlight glanced over confusedly. "Your highness?"

Twilight stepped off the escalator they were riding down and faced the group with contempt when they were close enough. "I want no attacks on my country from outside threats. And the only ponies who seem to pose a great threat to Psera at this hour are the Zebras and their IHT allies."

"With all due respect Queen Arcadia, you seem to be attacking in fear. And I must reiterate from your own wise words, fear amplifies anxiety. I suggest we think and discuss more on our plans and response. Perhaps a war is not what we need at this time."

"Our King is dead along with hundreds of our citizens," Arcadia pointed out. "Not to mention The Princess of Psera. A placeholder in Psera history and heir to the Crown. As well as my daughter. All of the Pserateps are family. And they murdered my children in cold blood. The Zebras will not stop until they are firmly controlled."

"I understand your majesty," Sunlight spoke up. "But maybe we should explore options that aren't Priority A. Maybe we can try to find less violent ways before getting violent, turning Priority A into Priority B."

Arcadia sighed through her nose. All ponies had a right to their opinions. One half wanted the war, the other wanted to extinguish it.

Twilight turned and continued walking for the guarded doors up ahead. "We will save this discussion for the meetings today. Psera comes first. After we finalize these bills we will elaborate more details on the responses to the Zebrican attack on our nation."

"Yes, your Highness."

"But worth mentioning..." She stopped in front of the doors and faced them once more. "I am so happy to see all of you are well since the attack. I know this has been quite the change on our way of life these past few weeks. Some more than others. I am so happy to see you all here when Psera needs you the most."

Judge Sunlight and the rest bowed. "When Psera sings her songs, we will answer the call. Anything for Psera."

"I am so proud to hear you say that." Queen Arcadia turned around and smoldered a glowing violet eye at the doors out of sight. An eye filled with anger and distrust. "Anything for Psera."

Flurry was absolutely scared. So scared she was practically hugging her mother, breathing in the dirt on Cadance's nearly flawless coat. One would have said a pony with her ability shouldn't show fear. A Princess is brave when wondering through a land of unknowns.

They Princess who came up with that would've been cowering too were they walking through the hot land of Tartarus.

The air was scorched, the ground under their hooves moist with condensation. Each step further into Tartarus' burning fields were accentuated with the thumping of Flurry's heart. She could make out the numerous cages up ahead containing the colorless antagonists of Equestrian tales. The tall mountains of endless rock laid shadows over their bodies when they travelled between them.

Cadance, Celestia and Luna lead the charge at the very front between four Royal Equestrian Guards and two of Mount Aris' hippogriffs. Quite surprising to see them here. Flurry was sure water was more their charm.

No one spoke a word during the entire trip. The only sounds were the clopping of bare hooves, the clinking of hooves with metal, the rustling of battle gear from the Guards and the nervous fluttering of Flurry's wings.

But it seemed their trip was finally coming to an end. They walked out from around the corner of the mountain into a clear circle leading no where. One of the many corners of Tartarus.

On the sides outside of the actual circle were three cages holding prisoners. And—whoa! Two of them were holding fillies! Fillies the age of Flurry herself!

Flurry paused in place briefly while Luna and Celestia walked up to them with a brave pace in their steps. Luna walked over to the the one on the very left holding a minotaur and Celestia to the very right where one of the fillies were.

She had a curly pink mane and a light pink coat that definitely didn't spell evil. Her cutie mark was an orange circle that gradually faded to black. Her eyes were closed, sleeping away the time of eternity.

Celestia ran her hoof along her cage bars to create a loud ring. "Wake up, Sun Waves," she ordered.

Sun Waves jumped out of her sleep and trained her pink eyes through her hooves. What's going on? She blinked once and two more times before her mind focused on what was in front of her. She knew those long alabaster hooves anywhere. She didn't have to look up to know who they belonged to.

Sun Waves smirked and glanced up to Celestia's face. "Hello, ol' friend. I see you decided to visit," she said. "Change of heart?"

Celestia firmly stated, "This isn't a change of heart, Sun Waves. You committed a crime to magic and you must serve your sentence."

"Well it's been a breeze so far." Sun Waves mocked a yawn and smacked her lips. "It's as if I was thrown in here yesterday. How long has it been, Celestia? A day?"

"Almost two thousand. But we're not here to count your sentencing, that's Cerberus' job. We're here to make a deal."

The word that finally roused the remaining cellmates in this small corner of Tartarus. The big Minotaur resting snapped his eyes open and trained them on the guards, and the last filly rose from her place facing the wall.

She had a light blue coat accentuated by dark blue eyes, and a short periwinkle mane and tail to fray out as if static were in the air. But that wasn't nearly the shocking thing about her.

She was an Alicorn covered in black fading runes, mainly on her wings. She rose to her hooves and floated even higher without the use of her wings towards the bars of her cell, smirking with mischief.

"Ohhh, what gives Princesses" She asked. Her voice was as smooth as fresh new milk. "Someone peepee in your cereal? Oh how I hate that. You're expecting smooth almond milk but you get something rather sour."

Luna and Celestia were unmoving in her approach, even when she was right there in their faces. "Intrigue me. Why strike a deal with the last ponies you would ever talk to?"

Luna smoldered and boldly answered, "The lands above you are at war with a nation of incredible power. All countries have bonded together to create a uniformed military against this powerful threat. Their Queen has been deemed the most powerful living pony in existence. After an attack on her country by what is believed to be a Zebrican Cult, they responded with a retaliatory attack that flipped their country into charred inhabitable land for, what our experts theorize, a century. After learning there are more Zebras, she is ordering they be handed over in Psera-custody. In the next few days, we are expecting an envoy from their nation to get our decision."

"Let me guess." The biggest Minotaur any have ever seen rose to his hooves and snorted out his nose. He crossed his bulging muscles and asked, "Equestria has already made their decision: No."

Celestia nodded to him and answered, "You would be correct, Tritanium. We are offering you, Sun Waves, and Sky Duster..." Sky Duster winked in the corner Celestia's eyes. "Freedom, in exchange for your services in this war. Despite your colorful personalities."

"Hmmm, I don't know..." Sky Duster floated down to the floor of her cage and kicked her hooves up. "I kinda fancy my little home I have here. You know there's no food, water, entertainment, any light whatsoever, and it's summer all year long, but it's still home."

Flurry groaned and rolled her eyes. She could already tell Sky Duster was the more psychotic of the trio.

Sky Duster trained her attention on the source of that groan and assessed the two Alicorns in front of her. She waved a hoof and asked, "And who are these two lovely rays of sunshine?"

Luna raised a wing in their direction amd introduced them. "This is Princess Mi Amor Cadenza and her daughter Princess Flurry Heart. Of The Crystal Empire."

The Crystal Empire?! Sky Duster straightened up and stated factually, "The Crystal Empire has been frozen in Ice for centuries."

"Not anymore. It's been unearthed for almost fifty years now."

Sky Duster smoldered at the Princesses with a tense feeling. What else had she missed? Hippogriff guards, an unearthed Crystal Empire, a war above their heads?

"I'm in," she decided. Her hooves were firmly crossed. "But I want to see how bad this war has become so far."

Luna nodded and responded, "We'll show you once we're back in Canterlot."

Tritanium bowed from the side and decided, "I too agree to assist in this war."

That just left Sun Waves. Flurry wasn't sure, but it seemed she and the Princesses had a more personal conflict than the other two. She was glaring up at them. Making a decision in the back of her mind.

"I'm in," she decided. "But we still have to talk, you two."

Yep. Definitely some bad blood.

Chapter 15 - Intermission 1

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Apple Bloom swore she wouldn't cry. She promised herself in her bedroom facing the mirror that she was going to be strong this morning. And that nothing was going to make her cry. She was an Apple. And Apples were strong.

But when she saw Scootaloo in her camouflage Equestrian Fatigue flying down into Ponyville's square next to Rainbow Dash she burst into tears.

Today was the day when all of Equestria's military were mobilizing away from home to their assigned locations. All teams, squads, and divisions were on the move. The morning was cold. The cobbled ground under the mass of trampling hooves vibrated with each step the crowd took.

Ponies setup Equestrian flags outside of their windows to flail in the winter wind over the gathering of other combatants saying their farewells to their families and friends. Chariots from across the country were lined up and tagged with their Squad's designation.

When Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash landed in the square from the Cloudominium to join the rest of the fray, Apple Bloom ran up to her fellow Cutie Mark Crusader to yank into a tearful embrace with Sweetie Belle. She buried her face in her flight jacket surging with emotions.

"You can't go!" Bloom cried. "You can't go to Las Pegasus, you can't!"

It was no secret that if any place was going to be hit first, it was definitely going to be Las Pegasus. They were right in Psera's path. And Scootaloo's squad was placed directly in the middle of it.

Scootaloo gave her helmet to Rainbow Dash to hold and held her two crying friends as close to her body as she could. "Sorry, girls," she whispered. "But I have to do this."

Sweetie pulled away and wiped her face. "Well we're still going to miss you when you're gone."

Scootaloo playfully hip bumped Sweetie as gently as a pillow. "I'm coming back, you know," she said. "Because I have my secret weapon with me."

"And what's that?"

Scootaloo opened her wing and let a black scooter fall to the ground. Brand new with a matte finish. Chrome handles and spinning black wheels. She winked at Sweetie and joked, "They're not getting rid of me that easily."

Apple Bloom, Sweetie and Scootaloo shared another hug before she moved for the ponies behind them. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

The second she was near they pulled her into a group hug so tight she was sure she would melt into one of their coats.

"Careful how you go, darling."

"Don't be reckless, ya' hear?"

"Keep your energy up with something sweet each day."

"....meep."

After Fluttershy's quiet yet heartfelt line, they let her go. All except one. Rainbow placed both her hooves on Scootaloo's cheeks and stared deep into the eyes that mirrored her own. "I'll be seeing you again soon, Squirt," she said. Then leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "You better come back home."

Scootaloo grinned and hugged Rainbow one last time. Her face buried into her neck and breathed in her scent of sadness and grief. "I will," she promised. "You better come home too."

"I'll have some food ready for you."

If Rarity had a camera with her, she certainly would've taken at most twenty photos of this priceless moment. Her hoof was fanning at her face to dry the tears pouring down her cheeks and ruining her makeup.

"Corporal." Scootaloo separated from Rainbow and looked back towards the Square. All the soldiers and combatants were jumping into their chariots with their teams.

The one who called her rank were what they called "The runt of the litter." First Private Majority Green. She was nineteen, but she looked to be fifteen. A small Pegasus mare with a green coat, silver mane and tail complete with dark green jealous eyes. Majority was their tech and communications specialist. She had a knack for engineering and could build a complex trap within a minute using what she had around her.

Majority Green saluted and reported, "They're ordering us to move out, ma'am."

Scootaloo nodded to her and replied, "Thank you, Private. Kick the Unit into gear for me will you?"

She nodded then jetted back to one of the emptier chariots. "Mixed! Red! Watts! Corporal wants you in here!"

Scootaloo turned back to Rainbow and plopped her helmet on when it was offered to her. "Well that's my ride."

Rainbow Dash sadly laughed and tapped her helmet. "Keep this on."

"And you better wear a helmet."

Rainbow Dash nodded and promised, "I will. Now get going. I don't want you running twenty miles because of me."

Scootaloo definitely didn't want to do that. Again. She turned around and trotted over to her board to sweep into her wing. After a quick final hug to her two best friends, she ran over to the second to last chariot being hooked up to Private Red Mass and Tough Watts.

Majority Green was already inside of it looking over their briefing. When Scootaloo plopped down next to her she hoofed the document over and said, "We're being placed in T3. The sand dunes behind the beach."

Scootaloo flipped the brief and reviewed their mission. For now it was to setup a secure post with weaponry, medical supplies and beacons. She set it down and sighed with a foreboding sense of fear. "Well let's get moving. How's your family?"

"They're okay. They're way over in The Crystal Empire, you know. They moved for safety."

"Alright, listen up and listen closely because I'm not telling you again!!" All eyes and attention snapped towards the Staff Sergeant walking down the chariots where they were placed. "We're riding into Las Pegasus! The world's first line of Defense! There are Dragons! There are Hippogriffs! There are Alicorns! Then there is you! When we get there you hop out and you set up! I don't want to see any ponies off their hooves until all structures are ready! Am I clear?!!"

The Platoon saluted and shouted, "Yes, sir!!"

The Staff Sergeant huffed out of his nose and pranced over to the first chariot. "Then let's move out!!" The second he was inside, the chariot pulled off west towards The White Tail Woods, beginning the parade into war.

Ponies on the side cheered while the soldiers waved from their seats. Riding into the war with their wits, weapons, and strength. Only a few of them would return, everypony knew it. The Pserateps were a strong force, and IHT were still exercising their strength. Rumor has it though they're growing each day.

Scootaloo turned around in her seat and locked eyes on Rainbow Dash when they started moving. They shared a salute. A final farewell. But they made a promise to return back to each other once more.

No one broke eye contact with anyone until they were completely out of sight deep in the whistling woods. And even then, they could still feel their eyes bearing deep into their souls.

Fresh Dawn had a thought. An important thought. Not as important as getting out of here of course, but still something worth mentioning while they had the time.

When Fresh Dawn, Lucky and Night Life crawled out from inside of a thick rain forest next to a beautiful waterfall, she asked, "So... Where am I sleeping tonight? I am not sleeping in there with Heated Wings."

Night Life peeked over the edge of the cliff they were standing on and swallowed hard. That was a deep drop. They all could fly, but it was still something to just look at. He straightened up and turned to Dawn. "You can sleep at my place. I have two rooms and two beds. The more the merrier. Do you sense anything?"

"Not yet. But things do feel a lot colder magic-wise in this region. There's absolutely nothing here. So deserted I can feel the difference. That..." She looked over her back past her sleeping pets into the rain forest. "Is where everything is. I just wished we can find something. But it won't be done in a day. We should start heading back."

Lucky suddenly fell from the trees below and landed face first into the soil with a loud thud. "Ow! What?!" She pulled her snout from the earth and brushed off soil and grass. "Head back? Let's take a dip first, come on!"

Fresh Dawn looked peeked over the edge and followed the falling of water all the way down to the body below it. "I don't know, Lucky."

First Light took over in a flash and argued excitedly, "I'm totally on board!"

Ugh, every time! Fresh Dawn yanked her back down and shook her head. "No way, it's too far down there. If we hit that surface we'll break every last single bone in our bodies. Well ... Magic bones. Let's just head back."

Dawn turned around and quickly bounded back into the forest before they could stop her. Honestly, swimming in a pool sounded really good right now. Dawn could take a moment to relax but getting out of here sounded a lot more important than dropping hundreds of feet into the biggest pool she's ever seen. Nope. No way.

A second later, Dawn zipped past them and sprinted off the waterfall's ledge exclaiming on the way down, "You made me do this!!"

Puh, yeah right. Night Life shared a knowing smirk with Lucky filled with mischief. Then cheered and dives off the ledge behind her to the blue shimmering lake below. How hard could it actually be to let loose for awhile?

Canterlot was not like this when they were imprisoned. Sun Waves has never seen a castle so big before. Modern buildings with cobbled streets, light poles on actual poles powered by magic, libraries with thousands of books, just so much!

And the castle. Oh the castle brought glee to Sun Waves and Tritanium's hardened heart. Tall and magnificent at the tallest peak in the country. Such green grass protected by a wrought iron fence on Canterlot's bigger roads. Restaurants lined in front of it alongside popular stores! Truly magnificent.

Sky Duster on the other hoof was more or less unimpressed, and remained that way until they were walking into the Castle's halls.

"Pretty city, Celestia," she commented from above. Her wings floated over the important ponies traveling for business. "All you need now is a husband and you got it made."

Flurry rolled her eyes at her character but Celestia and Luna remained steadfast. Luna replied, "It has taken years for Equestria to get to where it is. Twice. We'd rather it not be destroyed. Again."

Tritanium glanced down from behind Cadance. "Again?" He repeated in a deep voice.

Their trajectory lead them through the halls towards the throne room. Where the stained glass beared images of the Princesses, legends, powerful ponies and Element Bearers. Only then did Celestia speak. She stopped at the glass of the Element Bearers and stared a hole into the pony in the middle.

Sun Waves knew those relics. She joined Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Flurry Heart's side. "The Elements of Harmony," she whispered.

Celestia confirmed her suspicion with a firm nod. "Yes. Nopony commands them. We have taken the Elements of Harmony and put them under thick locks and keys in an undisclosed location. After learning that one of the ponies has the power to command her Element at will."

A golden ring outlined the face of Twilight. She was young and an Alicorn. "This is Equestria's current greatest threat. Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, Saviour of Psera, formerly known as Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship here in Equestria."

"She is family," Cadance added. "She's my sister-in-law and Flurry's aunt. Her brother is my husband and her father."

Sky Duster rotated back to face the glass with a foreboding feeling of dread. Sky may appear young, but she's seen a majority of powerful ponies. They've mostly been the tip of the iceberg. She's getting a twitch in her wing that this Twilight may be the entire iceberg.

"So she's our bad guy," she said. "What's her itch?"

Luna boldly answered, "Grief, anger, frustration, and revenge. Queen Arcadia's family and over two hundred Pserateps were slaughtered in an unprovoked terrorist attack by the Zebras. It was later confirmed that this specific company of Zebra were part of an underground cult who pledged their lives to an entity the Pserateps worshipped named Narmeelah, the creator of Equus and First Queen of Psera. The nation of Zebrica declared no responsibility to the attack, but Queen Arcadia was not going to let this slide. Zebras attacked them..."

Luna glanced back at them with the darkness of Nightmare Moon. "So she struck back."

Celestia teleported a folder from a remote location in front of all of them and opened it up to display the contents. "On Hearth's Warming Day, estimated to be midnight, weapons that Psera developed were launched from their country and made landfall on Zebrica later that morning."

Sun Waves took hold of the folder in her own magic and shared the folder with Tritanium and Sky Duster when she landed. "What happened?" Sun Waves asked. She had a cold feeling she wasn't going to like the answer.

"Our nature experts decreed that Zebrica won't be habitable for at least a century. Multiple ponies lost their lives and are still dying due to disease and illnesses. But there are still a few hundred more survivors. However Queen Arcadia knows. And she wants them in Pseratopian custody to punish as they see fit."

Tritanium snapped the folder shut and sighed. "Equestria said no."

Sky Duster rolled her eyes and mumbled spitefully, "Figures."

Okay, Flurry's had enough. She faced Sky Duster and jabbed a hoof into her chest, demanding her attention. "IHT exists to mediate and resolve issues without physical assaults. Only 'til our last straw is broken do we fight back. We wish to make a bright and peaceful future with the Pserateps with a possible alliance, not a bloody one."

Sky Duster slapped Flurry's hoof away and pointed a threat at her face. "Okay, one? Never do that again, and two? What the buck is an 'IHT'?"

Celestia answered, "The International House of Trade. Created by Princess Twilight when she was still here."

Sky Duster slapped a hoof over her face upon learning this unbelievable news. Sun Waves was no better. "Wait, so our enemy is the exact same pony who created Equestria's defense?"

Celestia sighed and faced the glass again. "Unfortunately, yes."

Tritamium stepped closer to the glass and asked, "Would it not benefit you more to go on the offense—?"

"No!" All the Princesses shouted at him. He raised an eyebrow while Cadance took this question in a panic.

"Not only would that tactic be fruitless, but it would also lead us straight to unimaginable losses. Despite IHT acquiring the assistance of the Dragons, Alicorns, both Neightons and the rest of the countries, Psera's military and weaponry is still the known greatest in the entire world with the strongest Alicorn-Pseratep in existence at the helm of it all."

"Not to mention..." They turned their attention down the hall to Shining Armor and the rest of IHT's captains. "Psera rules the western seas off the Coast of Las Pegasus. If we venture into those waters, we will perish within fifty miles at a wave of a hoof, claw, or talon. Psera's massive fleet alone is a crime against reality. Their weaponry is a threat to imagination."

Celestia smiled and introduced him. "This is Shining Armor, General of IHT's Unicorn Force Guard and brother to Queen Arcadia."

Another hoof to the face by Sky Duster and a mumbling of this being the worst family fight Sun Waves has ever witnessed. Luna ignored them both and stated, "We cannot travel to Psera, it is out of the question. We visited one time and we suspected a weapons test was commenced that wiped out our magic. We had nothing for hours."

Great. This Psera sounded extremely wealthy in... Practically everything. Sun Waves asked for a list of what Psera had. "Okay, wait, how big is Psera?"

"One city in Psera is factually as big as Manehattan, Ponyville, Canterlot and Las Pegasus combined. There are seventeen cities stretching for miles. So big they refer to them as City-States. Their castle is called the Castle of the Gods."

"Populace?"

"Between twenty million."

"Military?"

"Psera's a military country."

"I'm afraid to ask but... Weaponry specifics?"

Cadance answered, "They have a single Aquata nicknamed 'The Front Lawn' as tall as this castle we're in. They launched projectile weapons from overseas and managed to turn an entire country to ash. And... They have a living pony made of fire who can turn into a giant bird."

Sky Duster groaned and assumed, "So Psera is the golden plate on the table with all the fancy food, and everyone else are the ants working to eat at the bottom."

"Well... Yes."

Sky Duster flew up to Celestia's face and said, "I'm sorry Princesses, but this seems like a battle already lost. I'm intimidated and I've never even heard of a Pseratep. This Queen of theirs sounds like the real deal."

Tritanium however was not intimidated. He huffed and crossed his arms. "How do you plan to defend yourself?"

Celestia led the group back down the hall towards the throne room and proudly explained, "We have a most terrific asset who has been helping us setup our defenses these past few days. She has insider knowledge of Psera and has been supplying us with Psera's weaknesses that we can exploit."

Celestia threw the doors open to the throne room to see Mimi and Novo talking in front of the thrones. Hushed whispers so no one else could hear them.

Celestia cleared her throat and ceased the conversation with a firm eyebrow raised. Whatever they were talking about, it clearly wasn't good news.

When Novo spotted her she pointed down to Mimi and explained, "We have been informed of rather troubling intel regarding our coastal defense."

Looks like things turned up. The group trotted or flew over to this long winged pegasus when she unfolded a map and passed it to Celestia.

"According to my theories and knowledge of my Queen," Mimi explained. "There is a chance she will be using a front on Las Pegasus as a distraction while using another city as a way to get into Equestria."

Luna took the map and examined it. Multiple locations were circled labeled "weaknesses." Quite the way to point it out in her opinion, but the Pseratep knew what she was doing. She hoped.

Luna asked, "What cities?"

"Neither of them are concrete, but Manehattan or the Crystal Empire are both possible targets. Psera has been developing new Aquatas called UAs or Underwater Aquatas. At first it was to go on expeditions and explore the world underneath our hooves for hours on end. During that time, they were experimenting with other variants for military gain."

"And now?"

"The UA's concept was first introduced half a decade ago. When our King and Princess were still alive. Did they finish, I'm not sure. But the developmental location, Queen Arcadia is personally in charge of the entire facility. And when she's in charge..."

Flurry assumed, "The UAs might not only be done, but even improved beyond expectations just for the war."

"Precisely. The risk of Psera utilizing them for the first attack is fifty-fifty. However, there are more risks we are taking here. You have weaknesses in the following cities, from South to North: San Palomino Desert, the Undiscovered West, Vanhoover, Luna Bay, and Tall Tale. What I'm most concerned with are all the coastal cities."

Celestia walked past her for the Guarded thrones. "Why exactly are they concerning?"

Mimi cleared her throat and locked eyes with the rest of the group. "According to your geographical surveys, Luna Bay is a nesting spot for cruises, supplies, and shipments from different Equestrian Coastal Cities like Vanhoover and Las Pegasus. Even small businesses who don't want to get their packages moving by train. Designers who fish at sea for pearls. Anything like that. And try as you wish, protecting the Coastal Cities will prove to be utterly impossible."

Sun Waves crossed her hooves and glared at her. "Once again, why is that?"

Who were they? Mimi glanced to Celestia for information. So she introduced them to one another. "These are the creatures of Tartarus as requested, Mimi. Ponies? This is Mimi. She's our expert in Pseratep relations. Registered citizen of Psera. Without her, you wouldn't be here."

Sky Dancer floated down to ask her a question but Mimi beat her to it. "Yes, Psera's Queen is extremely powerful. Yes, Equestria barely stands any chance against her or her military. No, I am not a spy. And you would do well as to be quiet and listen. No more questions please."

Mimi focused back on the Princesses in the room. "When Psera's Navy reaches those ports, they will take control of not only them, but as well as transportation back and forth to different cities for all ponies. For instance. If they reach Luna Bay they will gain control of the rail system going in and out the Crystal Empire." She faced a steel gaze to Cadance and Shining Armor. "They even have an opportunity to invade the Crystal Empire and use your resources against you. And don't even get me started on Baltimare. You're really lucky Equestria isn't a ring of islands or else you all wouldn't even stand a chance, even with me on your side. Psera's secondary strength is the water."

"Do you believe Twilight will take advantage of the ports?" Shining Armor asked worriedly. If Twilight managed to land her soldiers in between cities then hiding the Zebras would be so much more difficult.

But Mimi shook her head and answered, "I personally believe Queen Arcadia would not. Knowing her personality, she is a fair Queen and is still offering you chances to hoof over the Zebras' freedom peacefully. So she will more than likely just go straight for Las Pegasus. However, if you do in some way manage to pull her last cord, then she will be ruthless. And that's what I'm worried about. Equestria could very well be housing Psera spies right now."

Shining quickly reported, "Our soldiers are currently on the lookout for anything strange in all the cities."

"That's excellent. But while we're trying to protect ourselves from Queen Arcadia's coming wrath, there's no way to tell how she will attack or when. Queen Arcadia has the power to spy on us from overseas without moving from her office chair while we remain blind and nervous. There's no telling what's coming. We just have to be prepared for anything."

The Princesses shared worried looks and glances. It was as if that horde of magic in the air were crawling over their coats as they spoke. Tracking every single nerve in their bodies. The way Queen Arcadia moves is a feat in itself. Her range of magic was unfathomable. And they knew how dangerous it was.

But three present creatures didn't. Sun Waves snorted and laughed hard. The funniest thing she's heard ever since she was locked up in Tartarus. If she wanted to she would be rolling on the floor banging her hoof. Even Sky Duster was a little amused. The others however weren't.

Sky crossed her hooves and repeated, "How exactly can she spy on you from that distance?"

Tritanium chortled and admitted, "Yes, I believe you ponies are becoming a little paranoid now."

But Luna smoldered and spat, "She has done it before. Plenty of times. And could possibly be spying on us right now. Very recently, she attacked both Cadance and Shining Armor in their own castle. And no guards knew about it. She choked me at an IHT meeting through magic from the safety of her office back on Psera. Queen Arcadia's magical strength is no joke."

Celestia rose from her throne and trotted down to them. "I know all of this seems impossible. But we guarantee you that all of what we speak is true. Psera's might and power is unmatched by anypony or any nation. In a few days, an envoy appointed by Queen Arcadia herself will arrive to discuss our response to their demands. When we say no, they're going to officially declare war against IHT as a whole, not just Equestria. Then you'll be able to see how serious this truly is."

Chapter 16 - Departure

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Yesterday was filled with the flashes of cameras, the speeches of Arcadia herself in actual public and the eyes of millions watching her. The donation of millions of her own Shims to businesses and hospitals all over Psera. Then turning in before another busy day in a few hours.

This morning was going to be slightly less stuffy. It would be lunch when she would be moving back and forth. First it would be a two hour weapons test at SERL that would be registered for the War. A weapon of her own design.

But first, she had to see her family leave for the meeting with IHT. A scowl breached Queen Arcadia's face at the splashing waves off Lavender's shipyard facing the East. That acronym. It may have possibly been the worst mistake she's ever created. The sun had barely risen, but she could see the Aquatas off the coast of Psera patrolling their blue seas. Watching over and protecting their country of wealth and love.

Arcadia sighed and closed her eye. Relieving her soul of the stress she was under. With a wave of her hoof a glass of water from her office back at home was in it. She took a sip then held it out to Gardeen. But not to take. The cup crumbled down into sand at her hoof and poured to the ground.

Gardeen smirked and asked, "A new spell, Arcadia?"

"Not a new spell, an improved spell." Arcadia turned and walked past Gardeen for Aquata Zero, and the procession in front of it. "It's one of the first spells I brought here to Psera. It seems so long ago that I set hoof on Merōl. Since all of you were swept into my life and I into yours."

Gardeen caught up to her and joked, "And when you were much smaller." Twilight stopped walking and looked at herself. Did she get taller? It's been so long since she's cared about her height. "You've grown maybe five inches. Can't tell or just choosing not to acknowledge it?"

Twilight cantered forward with her head held and spirits high. "Both."

Their trek brought them over to the main entrance of Aquata Zero to meet up with Merry Fire. Dragging in more suitcases than were honestly needed. Of course. Arcadia took a place next to Her Majesty Molten Ice and Blazing Fire. He's been awfully silent through all of this. Even through the funerals. Arcadia made a mental note to speak with him later.

On the positive side, things were looking up with the Royal Family. The twins have stopped fighting and somehow managed to get along, Molten had made herself more presentable these last few days, and Gardeen was thinking about conceiving with Pink. Everyone was moving on. Except Arcadia.

Out of all of them, she lost the most. The signs were everywhere. Everywhere she went her family wasn't there. Her castle was attacked. Blood stained its walls. Madun's mausoleum was occupied. And Dawn's remains dangled from her neck.

Arcadia glanced back over her shoulder through the security line to the Mausoleums on the hill. Protected by the statue watching over them forever. If only they weren't in there...

The ones who did this were going to pay one way or the other.

Molten's wing on her back and a soft sad smile pulled her from receding back into grief. "It is better not to think about it. It gets easier if you don't."

Easier to move on, or easier to forget about them? Queen Arcadia wasn't sure if she could do either.

Mary walked back down to them and pulled her daughters into a hug. She had put her mane into twin braids today, a visual representation that tells foreigners of her status in Psera. She was a Royal Princess representing family, not just an Envoy. Dawn too had put her mane in a braid when she went across seas. Twilight had gotten her hooves on a picture to prove it. Oh she was so proud of her filly.

"Be good," Merry told them. "Listen to your father."

"Yes mother," Lightning and Daisy both said.

Merry kissed them both softly on the foreheads and shared a small peck with Blazing. "Until I return."

Blazing tenderly nuzzled Merry's cheek and requested, "Please don't hit anyone. For the love of Narmeelah, don't."

Merry smiled and playfully jabbed Blazing's chest with the strength of a foal. "No promises." She moved down the line to Gardeen and kissed both her cheeks. "Until I return. Take it easy on Pink."

Gardeen was totally used to Merry's teasing around her and her girlfriend. Now it was her turn. "Too late, I'm already pregnant."

Merry shot back with wide orange surprised eyes. "You're joking." Merry referred to Queen Arcadia and that knowing smile. "She's joking right? How's that even possible?"

Queen Arcadia pulled Merry into a warm hug and promised, "Come back and we'll find out together. In the meantime..." She let Merry go and gripped her hooves. Her eyes rotated back to the aura of seriousness her citizens have come to know ever since the attack. "IHT may require you to stay grounded while on Equestria. Remember, we are peaceful and our problem is with the Zebras, not the rest of them, until further notice. Do you have the treaty?"

"It's secured in Aquata Zero's locking bay," Merry confirmed.

"Good. They sign and agree to hoof the Zebras over within fourteen days. If they refuse, then we officially declare war on IHT as a whole. If they don't agree, you let me know the second you board Aquata Zero."

Merry firmly asked, "How will they know we are arriving on peaceful terms?"

"I will tell them as soon as you leave regarding your peaceful arrival. We may be in the midst of a cold war but this is still diplomacy. They will not attack you as long as you don't attack them. And Merry?... Keep your cool."

Merry was sure she could promise that with no words. After a hug with her mother, Merry waved back once more before moving up the Aquata's steps. Arcadia kindly waved up to her, but drifted her eye down to the corner of the steps to meet Crystaltite's.

She was standing among the guards as a pony made completely of snow and ice. A coat made of pure white and a tail of ice in violet ceremonial gear embossed with her Queen's cutie mark. She's been ordained as Merry's Official security captain. Whatever she says regarding Merry's safety goes.

Arcadia and Crystaltite shared a firm nod before the Guards followed Merry into the Aquata. It wasn't until Aquata Zero was joined at least a mile off-coast by three more Security Aquatas did Queen Arcadia turn around and make haste for her Pod.

Arcadia could feel them drifting through the waves. She could sense everything occurring on Aquata Zero. Merry dropping into bed and falling back to sleep, the cranking of steel. Arcadia's magical Aura was growing in size.

While they walked Arcadia announced, "I'm going to do a magic release before the hour is up. So let's route over to Lavender's fields on our way to SERL. Send a report and inform any surrounding parties."

The Captain up ahead saluted next to the Pod's doors when Arcadia and Gardeen slid inside. Then shut the door back to allow them privacy.

During the drive, as promised, Gardeen transcribed a written letter of arrival for Queen Arcadia. Each fluid word she spoke from across was written with expert precision. "...a peaceful meeting with Equestria and her allies. I, Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, Saviour of Psera, have personally dispatched an Envoy currently en route to Equestria's Western Borders. Weapons will only be drawn in the event a threat is made. The selected Envoy is an important piece of Psera and will be treated with respect. Any disregard to I, Queen Arcadia Nova, and you will be hearing from my Arcadian Elite Royal Guard. And not in a kind manner.

"Sincerely yours, Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, Saviour of Psera."

Gardeen dotted the last line and hoofed the document over for Arcadia to sign officially under her print. It was quite perplexing to believe that her name alone holds power and grabs the souls of anyone who reads it. Whether they obey or not is up to them. It's best they do.

Once the letter was ready, a dark violet sheet written with bold white ink, Queen Arcadia grabbed an orange-red ribbon and tied it around the scroll. Then tossed it carelessly to the side. It instantly snapped and disappeared from the cabin.

"Great work, Gardeen," she said. "Your calligraphy always astounds me. Your serifs are always top-notch."

Gardeen smiled and replied, "Thank you, Twilight. I've been writing a lot more lately."

"So I see. Someone's going to be writing their own stories for a foal soon." While Gardeen giggled, Arcadia looked out the window and gazed across the grassy plains of Lavender slowing down past them. They knew what to do. Slowly pull over and park the Pods, then open the door.

Queen Arcadia rose from her seat and told Gardeen, "I'll be back in a little while. I have to release this excess."

Gardeen was in no rush. She reached under her seat and pulled up a book to read when the Queen left. Before she knew it, Queen Arcadia would have finished her magical release. There is no better time than now to get this chapter out the way.

The morning was cold. Queen Arcadia's coat flailed through the wind while she walked further and further away from their escort. Once she was at a comfortable distance, Queen Arcadia closed her eye and took a deep breath. She focused on what was around, feeling her environment, getting in touch with her magic. Then slowly raised her hooves to the side and tilted her head back to the sky.

She breathed in the air of her home and let go of all the troubles raging through her mind, and instead replaced it with the sense of magic around her. The magic in the air, the magic making up matter's existence, the magic that made up the entire planet of Equus was at her command. She could feel it all. Swarming over and within, pouring out of the tallest mountains and flooding the deepest seas. Making up entire structures.

Queen Arcadia's eye snapped open to a bright violet glowing essence. Her horn fired a bright beam of violet magic into the sky. Piercing the overcasting clouds and turning the atmosphere dark at her command.

Gardeen slowly lost her light from the sun hiding behind the growing layer above them all. Gradually pulling her focus from her entrancing pages to outside of the Pod's safe interior, towards the magnificence of the great Queen. It was no secret her magic was off the scale. Trying to keep up would be about as pointless as understanding it.

Violet lightning crawled through the clouds above and over the seas. Thunder rumbled through the air and vibrated glass windows. The waves remained smooth and stable, even when tubes of oceanic water sprouted from the sea and back down in huge arches without endangering Aquata Zero and its escorts, or even the massive defensive line ahead of it.

Magical creatures made of the ocean burst through its surface. Giant crystal-clear whales reaching for the Everlasting Sky above. Dragons the size of Maheera Dark pulling themselves out from underneath the security of the sea.

Unrestrained power. Magic.

Breakfast with IHT was awkward in a sense. All members scrambling to get their defenses ready for a war were all that seemed worthy of a conversation. Of course being in Canterlot was an entire different ball game than being home where they were needed. But being on the front lines of the coming war was important too. And Equestria was the first up to the plate, hoping to swing a home run.

The Trade Room in both the Crystal Empire and Canterlot had never seen this much usage at such a constant rate. Everyday it's been active. Breakfast during each update involving all rulers and military commanders. Lunch for strategy updates. And dinner for a report of progress.

It was a much colder temperature here in Equestria than in Psera. Something Flurry seriously wanted to take part in but couldn't. Instead, she was trapped within Canterlot Castle's walls listening to the latest updates involving Equestria's military. Ugh, so boring.

If anything, her position was more an advisor's than a direct contributor's. But mom insists that her ideas and assistance have contributed more than she realized.

So, she put her crown on her head, brushed her coat, mane and tail, then headed up to Canterlot with her parents to sit through the longest breakfast of planning. How mom and dad could do this all day was a mystery. Actually, how could her entire family do this?! Even Spike the Dragon was an ambassador! And Aunt Twilight was a Legendary Queen! The only ones who couldn't were Grandma and Grandpa; they were standard citizens.

Was she destined to take on a position of power too?

Princess Luna was giving a report from the opposite side of this table. Her voice intensified when it turned in Flurry's direction, forcing her back to the breakfast and situation at hoof.

"I am saddened to say," she reported. "That the EEA has closed all educational societies and institutions during these hard times. Since we have no clue or knowledge of a possible attack, they have taken the best interests in the safety of our foals to keep them at home. I am hoping that all members of IHT have instructed their own institutions to do the same in some relative form.

"After Mimi's report of a possible strike against coastal cities, organizations and businesses managing these properties are shutting their doors temporarily and abandoning their locations for safety deeper within Equestria. Hopefully within a week, we can have IHT Military Personnel move in and build defenses.

"The city of Las Pegasus is currently under physical construction to provide lookouts to the Western Sea and outposts to watch our oceans and airspaces. Thanks to the Hippogriffs, we have applied powerful telescopes to monitor these regions twenty-four seven. The City of Canterlot is under lock and key and Guards patrol the streets to search for any possible spies. As for any Psera updates, the Hippogriffs have reported—"

A loud snap in the room cut off Princess Luna, then something soft dropped on Celestia's head. She grunted and laid her eyes on the scroll when it landed on her agenda. All eyes directed to it.

Celestia cautiously raised it up and smoldered intensively. It was violet with a red ribbon, a scroll she's never seen before. It was certainly interesting, as was its unorthodox arrival.

"Lucky you." She glanced over to Mimi sitting by the doors smirking next to Sunset Shimmer and Starlight. "Not many ponies get a private letter from Queen Arcadia herself."

A private letter? Celestia cautiously pulled the ribbon off and unfolded the text. Right away she knew this was of vital importance. She recognized Gardeen's signature immediately, and the stamp of approval by Queen Arcadia along with her signature.

Celestia cleared her throat and read it aloud. "'Dear esteemed members of the International House of Trade. On the day of January twelfth, year to date twenty-twenty, I, Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, Saviour of Psera, have dispatched an Envoy currently en route to Equestria's Western Coast with a treaty as an act of peaceful diplomacy for a response to Psera's demands with Equestria and her allies. The selected Envoy retains an important position in Psera Government and will be treated with respect. Any disregard to I, Queen Arcadia Nova's, peaceful attempts at a bright future and you will be hearing from my Arcadian Elite Royal Guard. And not in a kind manner.

Sincerely yours, Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, Saviour of Psera."'

Celestia slowly concealed the scroll and met the concerned gazes of the rest of the room. "We just got word: Psera is officially on their way for talks. We must inform the Guard at once to ready their soldiers on borders at this time and create a firm defense. A strategy must be written out concerning their arrival and or response. The letter sounds peaceful. But we will keep our weapons sharp."

Shining Armor stood up and reported their current defenses. "At this moment, we have approximately four thousand troops securing our coasts on the Western Edge and two thousand managing the sky. Weapons are being distributed across the nation as we speak, and our mages are working on effective spells to dispell any possible future interference from Queen Arcadia."

Madam Singe finally spoke up and asked, "Do you think they will be enough to keep her back?"

Before anyone could answer, the lights above in the Trade Room flickered off, bathing their bodies in darkness and creating an even more thick atmosphere of dread. The Unicorn Guards standing on the side lit their horns and illuminated the room as much as possible. A faint glow on their coats while eyes danced suspiciously.

This breakfast didn't seem so boring after all.

King Haakim grabbed Queen Amira's hoof and assumed, "Your lighting must be on the fritz, Equestria."

But Celestia shook her head and replied dreadfully, "Our lights run on magic. There has never been a fritz."

The doors were knocked on before they were urgently shoved open, letting light stream into the room. Captain Tempest stood in the doorway with her eyes narrowed.

"Your Majesties," she said. "You may want to see this."

The unicorns in the room teleported to Tempest first before everyone else jumped from their seats and followed her out into the halls. The first thing noticed was how abandoned it was. Before the meeting a little over an hour ago the halls were bustling with business. Lawmakers were running around making sudden adjustments to bills and agendas and Guards were patrolling the halls. But now they were as quiet as the night.

The second thing noticed were the windows. Even though it was mildly frigid out there, the sun was still shining before. Now it looked as if a storm was approaching. Clouds quickly took over the blue sky, shadowing the land beneath it as the blues turned gray.

Tempest lead them through the halls all the way to a balcony facing the front of the Castle. She burst through the doors and slowed her speed with the rest of the rulers, eyes trained on the sky. Celestia held her breath and cautiously walked to the edge. The world was grey. This time it actually looked like winter.

A violet glow flashed over the front of their bodies from the lightning crackling across the sky with a Western origin. From here she could see the arches of water crest the sky, despite them being miles away. They were as big as the towns spotting Equestria. She could only imagine what the coast looked like up close.

The entire city of Canterlot remained untouched, but as the highest point in Equestria they could see raw unfiltered magic ravage the skies. Birds made of clouds flew to the ground. Sea Dragons sprouted from the ocean, magic hit the earth and vibrated the mountain. Equestria was in an utter magical turmoil.

Another bolt of lightning flashed and hit the middle of the waves out there. A giant flash that condensed into a small violet ball before rapidly expanding in Equestria's direction, forming a violet wave.

"...everyone get inside," Luna muttered. Then shouted when one of the glass windows in a building below burst. "Now! Get inside!"

The Guards and rulers all scrambled back into the castle and dived to the floor. Celestia raised a shield over all of them at the exact moment the spell hit. The stained glass windows shattered and rained down over the hall. Hitting the walls, cutting anything that wasn't protected. The spell was so strong, Celestia could barely hold it up after it hit. But it turns out the wave carried a few hidden surprises.

Celestia shot her hooves to her ears when a loud high-pitched ring hit her drums. So loud she couldn't even hear herself scream. Was she screaming? She couldn't tell. All noises turned white.

It was a moment before the spell cut and the sounds ducked with it. Celestia blew her shield to propel any glass sitting on top and quickly rose back to her hooves in a panic.

"Is everypony alright?" She queried.

The members of IHT stood once more and brushed their coats. Shining Armor helped Flurry and Cadance to their hooves with an answer leaving his lips. "Well apart from a rushing heart, we're fine."

Everyone else were brushing their coats, shaking their manes and brushing through their wings to dispell any remaining glass from their fur. Luna huffed and walked back to the window with a stern gaze on the horizon. "Was this another attack on Equestria?"

"Highly doubt it." Cadance walked forward and stepped close to the window next to Luna. "Out of the times Twilight has attacked us, even before Maheera Dark, I noticed a pattern. She focuses on and only attacks specific points. And she doesn't attack unless provoked. She would let us know if that were the case, despite us being at each other's throats."

Cadance turned her back to the window in favor of the crowd's attention. "I believe Queen Arcadia is either trying out a new weapon, practicing a spell, or releasing magic. It's the only logical conclusion considering she just informed us that an Envoy is on its way with a peaceful treaty. I suggest we send out a memo to all cities and camps and tell them not to be alarmed. Whatever this is will pass within the hour."

Cadance's words rang true when the clouds above began to disperse to show the sunny skies of Equestria once more, the lightning ceased and the arches of sea water began lowering back down. In a few minutes, it would be like it never happened. The only evidence that it did were the broken glass windows littering the ground outside and the carpet beneath their hooves.

Celestia stepped over a shard on approach to the window. "To answer your question, Madam Singe..." She looked over her shoulder with a look of fear. "I am afraid we are nowhere near prepared for a fight with Queen Arcadia herself. And maybe not even their military. If this was a result of Queen Arcadia releasing even less than a smidgen of her magic, I can only imagine what it would be like if she released it all in the midst of a battle."

A snap and Sky Duster teleported into the meeting pointing a hoof out to the balcony. "What the buck was that?! What just happened?! That's impossible!"

"Language please, and that was Queen Arcadia. We believe she was releasing a little magic. We just got word that an Envoy just left port this morning and currently on their way to the Western Coastline." Celestia looked down to Mimi and asked, "Is there anything we can do to protect ourselves from Queen Arcadia's magic?"

Mimi widened her eyes and pointed at herself. "You're asking me? I know next to nothing about her spells. Just the Pserateps. As a matter of fact, only a small percentage of Psera's populace know about her magic's true range. So far..." Mimi turned her expression into a concerned one. "We have underestimated her magic's intensity."

"It doesn't matter." Flurry stepped into their line of attention and pointed out the window pane. "She has magic, so do we. We must rally together the mages of Equestria and see what they can show us. Anything can help. Spells, runes, curses. We need everything we can get."

It sounded so simple. Just to grab some spells and learn how to use them. But even Flurry knew that attempting new spells in such a short amount of time was not only dangerous, but it was bound not to work.

"Weaponry. We don't need casting magic, we need weaponry." Queen Novo stepped forward and firmly explained, "While we're trying to create new theoretical spells, Psera can develop successful weapons that can attack us from afar. They are armed with Marrials that have the power to destroy an entire continent. Weapons that can fire from a distance that we cannot reach, let alone see. We may be able to hold a shield. But one hit by a Marrial and not only will the shield shatter, but it will certainly kill the caster and anything surrounding it. I suggest we develop our own weapons that can counter from afar like they have. Ways to communicate from distances so far away we can have a plethora of plans read to go at any given moment in case something doesn't work out."

Sunset Shimmer gasped and suggested, "Just like Queen Arcadia's Comm Blocks. With those we could report different plans and information from so many different distances. From the Frozen North all the way to Appleloosa and maybe even further."

But Celestia was still unsure. She hummed and moved her worried gaze back out the window. To the world covered under the blanket sewn by a pony toiling in darkness. Maybe the best way to defeat magic was not to use it at all.

Celestia sighed and decided, "We do need weaponry." She turned around and faced the ragtag group of IHT members before her. "You're right, Novo. Fighting magic with magic would be foolish. Not only is Queen Arcadia all-powerful, but she's incredibly intelligent. We are going up against a Queen of an ancient country with advanced technology, standards, and a populace larger than our own combined.

"We need weapons. Engineers, scientists, anypony with a degree, we need them. Send the word out to hire these ponies. We still have that steel Psera lent us years ago, we'll use it for construction. We'll use every asset we have." Celestia looked back out the window with a worried gaze. "Because Faust knows... We're going to need everything we can get our hooves on."

And they were right. All the way across seas SERL too was busy meeting with the Queen. But for an entire different reason.

Northwest behind the compound was a mass of desolate land. Hot to the hooves and completely uninhabitable. No grass, no water. Just a desert landscape. Perfect for testing.

Between this space and SERL were a multitude of ponies from the compound and government with Queen Arcadia at the helm. Generals flanked her side along with Bright Gold, SERL's second-in-command behind the Queen. In front of them lied a weapon. A rotary cannon to be exact. Steel shining under the light coming from above.

But the cannon wasn't the weapon. No, that honor belonged to the steel-tipped shells feeding into it aiming towards the distance.

Queen Arcadia's magic floated over a pair of binoculars from one of SERL's technicians into her hooves. She raised them to her face and stared out into the dusty world beyond.

She sighed and requested, "Let's make this quick. My agenda is packed."

Bright Gold nodded and turned back to the crowd. She raised her hoof to signal the pony stationed at the control box. "Precos up!"

Queen Arcadia put on a pair of headphones and safety goggles like everyone else. The kickback may be quite jarring. Bright Gold raised her hoof one more time. Then threw it forward. "Loul!" She ordered in Old Pseratopian.

The rotary cannon whirred and rotated around. Boom, boom, boom, boom! Four golden streaks shot out and flew the distance. Then made connection with the ground less than a mile away.

On impact, tall mushroom clouds as big as a single apartment complex in Rayray grew towards the sky. Flames before the dark grey smoke. These weren't regular shells. Average shells were big enough to wipe out a street in five seconds.

These babies were big enough to blow up an entire neighborhood and anything around it within eight. Queen Arcadia lowered her binoculars and raised her hoof outwards. The incoming high winds split and went around the observing group instead of into them. Nopony likes sand in their mane.

"Impressive," Arcadia said to herself. "What do you think Manny?"

Secretary Manny smiled next to her and said, "It'll blow straight through their Western Defenses. Those ponies won't stand a chance. And the Zebras won't be able to hide."

One of the Aerial Guard Generals approached and said, "Not only will it affect the sea but it will definitely affect their aerial defenses. It'll blow them right out of the sky. Any clouds will be blown apart."

"Bright Gold?" Arcadia rose to her hooves and faced her. "Begin development. I sense no kickbacks and we will have a lot of value in these weapons. I will sign the form in the morning tomorrow. And Secretary Manny?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Tell your generals to keep their eyes out for any strange shapes above Equestria's coastline. There may be aerial bases for the Pegasi."

Chapter 17 - Eventful Night

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It were centuries ago Celestia feared the time was nigh when every creature in Equestria would bear arms. When all would aim their spears, arrows and swords to the blue skies in one another's direction. When every creature would fight each other and only one kind would prevail. She wasn't even alive during the age when Pegasi, Unicorn and Earth Pony were raging against one another under the snow and ice. Yet she feels that the upcoming days will top even her ancestors' nightmares.

Celestia couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned under the safety of her comforters and the cool glow of her sister's moon. Awash in the cool evening light. The situation was too great to even permit the closing of eyes. She rose from under the comfort of her cotton bed sheets and moved for her bedroom's door. Even her shadow, dancing among the many delicates of her personal space, seemed restless.

Celestia quickly slipped on a robe and stepped out into the castle's quiet halls. Save for the passing of Guards, she was completely alone. All of IHT's members were sleeping the night away. Bathing in the blue hue of the moon pouring through their open windows. Except for two apparently.

Celestia stopped walking when she spotted Cadance and Luna pass through a connecting hall up ahead in favor of the left side of the castle. What were they doing up? Especially Luna, didn't she have dreams to tend to?

She eagerly followed them to an open balcony commanding over Canterlot below. A mental note was written to have them secured in the event the enemy reaches the city. Because they were coming. There were no doubt in their minds.

Only when she walked out into the moonlight and air did they finally notice her presence. Cadance and Luna were on one side talking to each other underneath the stars and moon. But ceased when Celestia made herself known.

Luna asked, "Couldn't sleep, sister?"

Celestia sighed with a slow shake of her head and dropped her flanks down to the stone. "There is too much to be done," she solemnly replied. "Some tasks are long overdue than others."

Cadance nodded and agreed. "Yes, we must begin organizing shelters in the events ponies become homeless. There's no telling what Psera is bringing our way."

"That's not what I meant, although that should be prepared immediately." Celestia turned her attention to the stars shining upon them from above. As if they were a long distant memory, she stared upon them with longing. "Dawn and Madun were family. And we never said goodbye."

The space to her left grew quiet. A shadow of the life below them and beyond. The songs in the wind were the only source of sound. Cadance asked among the melody, "Do you think Twilight would even allow us?"

Celestia honestly wasn't even sure. Let alone hopeful. After everything that has happened threats were the only answers that have been coming out of her mouth. But it was the right thing to do regardless, whether she responded or not.

Celestia answered, "If she doesn't, then it's okay. At least we tried. All we need to do is ask."

Queen Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle was always listening. Whether they believed it or not, the odds of them coming out of this war currently approaching their shores unscathed were less than none. She was always one step ahead. Even with Mimi's help, they would be behind. Something disastrous would happen, and it would be big.

But since they had her undivided attention... Celestia cleared her throat and said to the air, "I know you're listening, Twilight. And I know you're watching."

She was right. While the rest of her family and friends were sleeping, Twilight was staring out the windows in front of her room watching her country rest. The bright lights of Rayray matched the glowing sclera of her eye, flowing with magic. Sleep didn't come naturally these days. Especially after her face was burned. The doctor prescribed her medicine to ebb the pain, but it was still hard to sleep knowing her family wasn't alive within hoof's reach.

So she turned to the wine cabinet in her office, poured her a drink, and watched the world around her settle until she slept soundly into the next morning. The nights afterwards were the same. Tonight would be no different. Standing in front of the window, swirling her glass cup nonchalantly. Hair dancing in an unseen breeze highlighting the hallway. But her mind was on Celestia's words, flowing through her ears like a ghostly river.

"We're extremely sorry for your loss. Dawn was an amazing filly. She always looked up to you and 'how much mommy knew.'"

Twilight smirked and let out a small laugh. Mommy knows a lot, sweetie.

"Madun and Dawn were family to us. And just like anypony, they deserve the right to have their family say goodbye to them. We never had that chance. Cadance, Luna and myself are requesting permission to step onto Psera one last time to say goodbye."

Once Celestia wrapped up, Cadance asked, "Are you certain she will allow us?"

"I am not certain of anything in this time. We can only hope she will accept." The Conversation died to let the winter breeze blow the snow into the air. Attaching to their coats and robes. Soon Equestria won't look like this. Really soon, the streets below the castle will remain silent when the envoy arrives.

"You know, Dawn looked up to you." The Princesses turned around to face the voice of their fears. Queen Arcadia standing behind them in an elegant Violet Robe. Staring with an emotionless expression with a wine glass in her hoof before the patio's entrance. The moon's glow wrapped her in its essence, bathing her in a calming blue. But it was pretty obvious she had anything but calm thoughts running through her mind.

They held a stare off before Twilight raised the glass to her mouth and took a sip of the wine. Alcohol, Celestia could smell it from here. When she lowered it, Twilight smacked her lips and swirled it around ominously. "She told me about what she heard ... The rumors that 'Celestia raises the sun.' But she couldn't see it herself. She was too busy being a Princess in training.

"Then she told me about everything she saw here in Equestria during her visit as an ambassador. But she knew it were much bigger than the skies above Canterlot. Her father knew only a little, but nowhere near as much as I. So I told my baby girl what it was like. About everything I saw under the care and guidance of Princesses Celestia, Luna, and even Cadance. What I learned, what I experienced while I was reprimanded from the throne for 'crazy theories.' That my country was in danger and that we needed to get rid of that Zebra."

Again they didn't respond. Instead, they listened and watched Twilight gulp down her pain. Then walk forward to them with her eyes glued to the wine glass. She could see her daughter's mane in the liquid. "Dawn enjoyed listening to my stories. About..." Twilight raised her head and stared at them with an empty glowing gaze. Unreadable, full of emptiness. "About how the nation of Equestria, full of magic and power, held all wonders of friendship. Where she could meet ponies like her. And practice magic under the same guidance of the ponies who taught me."

She stopped directly in front of Celestia. Her eye smoldered into hers. Blazing with a violet fire. "But if she were alive today, I would forbid her from even speaking that name anywhere in my country again. Because Equestria is the reason disharmony exists."

Celestia calmly replied, "You know that's not true, Twilight. Things happen. Some we don't like. We are really sorry about Madun and Princess Dawn—"

"Sorry isn't going to cut it!!" Twilight bellowed. She used her magic to pull aside the hair in front of her face. To show the burn that took up half of what was under it. To pierce her blind eye into their seemingly concrete souls. "I witnessed my family die!! I witnessed my civilians die!! My people perished because I saved your lives!! The least we are asking for is that you hand over the Zebras! That's it! They killed our kings, they killed our Queens, they killed our Princesses!! And they will do it again!"

She was scared. Twilight was fearful for the safety of her country which was pushing her to make decisions based off of that and that alone. Cadance strode forward and tried to appease those fears. "Creatures change, Twilight."

"Puh!" Twilight glared at her foalish sister-in-law. "No they don't. Deep inside of all of us are the feelings of remorse. Pain, suffering, anger, disgust, jealousy, a hole where something should be!" Twilight dragged her long wings over to Cadance. "Only to discover that nothing will ever be the same. The hole that those Zebras burned into my heart will always be empty and nothing will let me move on. All I can do now is ensure it never happens again. And you're denying me that. You are denying my country the peace they need. Molten watched her family die first. Then she watched her son die."

Cadance was magically yanked forward into Twilight's snarling face. "How would it feel if The Crystal Empire were attacked, and you watched Flurry Heart, your daughter, die in your hooves? Then you learned that it was us, Psera, who took over, murdered your citizens and killed your daughter. What would you do?"

Cadance gulped but didn't answer until Twilight yanked her closer. "Answer me! What would you do, huh?! What would you do if you had the chance?"

Luna stepped in front of Cadance to shield her from Twilight's vocal wrath. "That's enough, Arcadia!" She bellowed.

Arcadia smoldered and turned her back to them. Her words came out in a sad whisper. "My ponies, my innocent civilians died... To save your lives. My ... Family is dead..."

"Twily—"

"DON'T!" She whipped back around with tears streaming down her face. Eyes clenched, teeth barred, muscles quivering in unbridled anger. "Don't call me that! Only my family calls me that and you are not my family because my family is dead!! And you defend the monsters who murdered them in cold blood!"

"The Zebras were innocent too," Luna countered. "Two wrongs do not make a right."

"Do not try and guilt me with philosophies, Princess Luna," Twilight gravely warned. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be here. You'd still be on the moon. If it weren't for me, none of you would be here. Do not try and keep yourself from that truth because you know it is so."

"Enough, Arcadia." The voice wasn't from the Princesses in front of her. It wasn't from the sources of her anger. It came from an alabaster Unicorn behind her.

Queen Arcadia slowly glanced back to see Madam Virtue Singe standing by in a robe. Watching, listening. She bravely approached on careful hooves and warned, "Do not let this grief control your heart. This pain, this sadness, it's turning you into the creatures you helped put away. You are stronger than that darkness, Arcadia."

"Singe," Twilight whispered. Arcadia's fury calmed and her posture righted. "I certainly would not have expected you to say such words."

"I say them because you need to hear them." Singe placed a soft hoof on Twilight's chest. A place where her heart should be but seemed to have disappeared. "Your heart is what brought us all together. Your beliefs for a brighter future is what helped bring all of us to this day. It's what bonded us, strengthened us, it's what created Unity between our countries. Without you, none of us would be here. We don't want to fight you, we want to help you. Without bloodshed."

"Blood has already been shed."

"Do not add to the pool filled with the blood of your first family. We're very sorry for your loss, Twilight. You had a beautiful daughter and a loving husband. But now... It's time to move on."

Her words reached the surface of Twilight's hardened heart. Licking at the flames of her anger and pain. But they weren't strong enough to pierce it. Twilight respectfully removed Singe's hoof from her chest and walked around her. "Thank you, Singe. But..."

She stopped in front of the entrance and turned to face them with an ominous expression full of suspicion and angst. "Psera is not like the rest of your nations. We may be ponies, but we're not weak. We do not stand idly by while our friends and family are hurt. I cannot simply 'move on.'"

Cadance took a step forward and argued, "Looking for a peaceful resolution is not weak, Arcadia."

"Of course not, I was taught better than that and I teach the same beliefs to my subjects. But unfortunately, a peaceful resolution is not in this stack of them. We were attacked and we struck back. This is a war you're in the middle of and you are instigating. Denying my country its right to response. This war between the Zebras and Psera never ended. We only strike when we're attacked."

Arcadia walked back over to stand in front of Madam Singe. "Now Psera is tired of being attacked. This all began when we tried to help the Zebras. They slaughtered and stole from my ponies. So we slaughtered them back. This time, there was no stealing. Just killing. It will happen no more. My ponies are nonviolent in nature, but Psera will forevermore be prepared for an attack, warranted or unwarranted. We will strike back and it will never happen again. The Zebras are a plague to Psera."

Twilight pressed a glowing hoof to the stone below them and slowly raised it up to show a rapidly growing flower. "They infest our country with kindness, like a pretty dandelion. But when that dandelion is big enough, it will spread and take over either destructively or non. This is the second time, the first for me. And I was a direct victim."

Twilight wrapped her hoof around the stem and yanked the weed out from between the cracks. "Their target was my daughter. And they killed my daughter. They killed my husband. And they killed my supporters. Not only did they attack my country and myself. They tore down everything I worked so hard to achieve. Let me explain something you don't know, Princesses and Singe."

She threw the Dandelion over the edge of the balcony, uncaring where it landed. "It was already tough having ponies trust me. Even as Queen, I was looked down on. I could feel it, I could hear it, and I could definitely read it. Keeping my seat on the throne meant long nights behind my desk, fulfilling or denying late wishes and dreams with sweat and tears. My ride in Psera was not easy."

Arcadia walked past Singe, Cadance and Luna over to the ledge to look down on Canterlot. "I wasn't a Natural Pseratep. I wasn't born on Psera, I wasn't raised on Psera. But I came, healed and took over. Earning a Pseratep's trust is an acquired honor that doesn't exist overnight. And I wasn't there nearly long enough to reach that point. I faced jealousy, I faced hate, and I faced all forms of disrespect, despite what you saw when you came there. Many ponies did respect me, but a majority did not just yet, although they gave me a chance."

Twilight turned around and stood tall once more. "But I faced their hate with love. I respected the Pserateps because I could understand. I too would have mistrusted me were I in their position. You wanna know why I have so many guards?"

Cadance already knew. "Because you're a mare, you told us a long time ago."

Twilight was honestly surprised she remembered that. It was so many years prior to this conversation. She smirked and answered, "Partly. The mares in the Fire Family were targeted by dark individuals, but also because I faced ridicule each and every day I was with Madun, and even more when I was Queen. Whenever I walked the halls, I faced the misgiving stares. The glares, the slurs, the disrespect. Molten knew I wasn't going to fight back, no matter what they did. She knew I could, but also knew I wouldn't. So she assigned The Elite Guard in place of the Royal Security to me and my family. They're there because I'm there.

"Even on the throne it was hard. If Blueblood hadn't attempted an assassination on my wedding day, another Pseratep would have. Each day I was watched to ensure I didn't mess up and even then, it wasn't simple, despite how I make it seem. In all my years, I never knew that true hard work came from doing nothing but pushing forward."

She walked back to stand in front of Singe. "But eventually, Psera trusted me. I was given the title Saviour of Psera. But there were more unofficial titles such as 'Kind's Daughter,' 'The Great Love,' and 'Violet Queen.' I had officially earned Psera's trust. But do you know what happened next?"

Celestia had a feeling she wasn't going to like the answer. But she whispered, "Tell us."

"Maheera attacked. And all of you begged for us to assist you. This was my first test to show my loyalty to my country. A majority of Psera's Council and representatives wanted you to stay out. They insisted I create a shield around Psera to keep anyone from crossing over. But I offered them another choice: To help in this war. To show Maheera Dark that we were ready for her and to give everyone else a fighting chance because Psera is not selfish. We are strong. At my word, they decided that they would help. But it hurt my reputation by a relatively small percentage."

Cadance knew it. She knew Psera looked down on Twilight at some point, it made sense. But she didn't know by how much.

Twilight raised her glass and took another sip of the wine before continuing. "When I brought you back, I lost rep once again by using our land as a place of shelter for you. And finally, the biggest attack that put me down hard: Dawn's birthday. The CPC Disaster. Magic destroyed those towers. And because I didn't inform the Capitol, I was abused with words. Even my husband looked down on me. I was back at the beginning, if not further.

"But I never gave up. I didn't send the military to Equestria to fight Maheera because I didn't want those soldiers to die protecting us. Especially myself. It would be pointless."

Luna whispered, "What do you mean?"

"If I weren't sealed away, I would have, more than likely, been dethroned. I would not be Queen, despite what Molten said. I would be deemed untrustworthy. And there's a chance I would've been forced off of Psera. It's happened before in our history. Queen Vellomantra.

"An explosion in Events at Eventa trapped over two thousand Pserateps inside an inferno. All because she failed to acknowledge a major pipeline circulating into this Sector was under threat of over-pressure. And she was warned. But she waved it off. She thought that pushing more gas through the line would help lower prices of essential productions. Instead it destroyed a fifth of Events of Eventa and killed thousands. She was exiled to the unknown west, and soon the Fire Family took the throne. She was never heard from again. One of Psera's epics.

"If I didn't sacrifice a decade of my life, that would have become of me. I would have been exiled, and my daughter would grow up without a mother. I could beg and plead for my daughter but by all rights she belonged to Psera. And I would have to leave her behind. But despite the consequences, that did happen, didn't it?"

Twilight smoldered with distrust back to Celestia. "I know what Molten told you. That I would have been given a small pop on the wrist. But that's just not true. If I didn't sacrifice myself, the life that I built on Psera would have to go on without me. Of course I could just come back to Equestria, but my family, the one I worked so hard to have would be across seas. Five hundred miles away from me. And I would suffer for the rest of my life knowing that my daughter is growing up without her mother because I decided to protect and help you."

Luna argued, "But Maheera Dark was an enemy of Psera—"

"And we didn't have to fight her," Twilight rudely pointed out. "I could have raised a shield using the Obelisks as advised. It was an option. We could have easily created a barrier. We would have known about the threat and our defensive line would be strengthened. I did not have to help you! But I did because I loved you! And because of that, I paid ten years of my life for it. I missed Psera grow, I missed my family grow. So many timeless moments passed me by because, at the root, I decided to help you. Maheera didn't even care for Psera until she saw me and the army I had behind me ready to attack."

Twilight took another swig of her drink, an endless cup of misery she eventually threw over the edge of the balcony. "I lost everything because I helped you over and over again. Even before I became Queen. I lived here as a lie and I still helped you because I loved you. So now? You owe me. Personally. If anyone here is getting any request filled it would be me. Because I have lost so much because of you. I sacrificed all of me for you. No one here gets the honor of even seeing my family's graves until you pay up your debt. I have sat by and swung my sword protecting long enough. I have suffered unimaginable losses. Maheera Vs. The World? Psera lost thousands of lives while IHT lost at most over two hundred."

Luna swiftly reminded her, "Getting back to this level of civilization after the war was no easy feat."

"And helping you even get the chance to even return took children. The sweat, the blood, and the tears came from my ponies. Mine, not yours!" Twilight wiped her eyes to rid of the sadness leaking from her soul. "My citizens suffered protecting you and now we're calling for the debt you owe. If you do not pay up, then we will strike not only at the Zebras, but also at the rest of you. You owe Psera for everything that claimed thousands of Pseratep lives and you're refusing to pay up."

Cadance bargained, "Twilight, there must be another way. We'll pay you back with anything but the Zebras. We'll come up with something."

Twilight smirked and chortled darkly. "Then you'd better find something quickly. The Envoy will be here in a matter of hours."

Luna quickly asked, "I thought the trip would be for two days."

"It's a wartime effort, Princesses. Transportation is getting a little boost. You owe me a lot more than you realize. And tomorrow is your only chance to make up for it. You had better make it count."

Twilight teleported back home before they could respond. Leaving the cold news hanging in the winter air. A day and a half? No. Psera would be here tomorrow.

"She's right, you know." Luna turned back to the moon. "We owe Twilight our lives. Ever since I've known Twilight Sparkle, whenever we needed something, Twilight was there for us. But we never considered what she gave up to help us. Not even her time."

Celestia sighed and faced the city of Canterlot with the other three ponies. Speaking of... "Not to seem thankless, Singe, but what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for water," Madam Singe excused. "That and I don't sleep too well these days. I'm sorry about all of this. My soldiers will fight as much as they can to the very last."

Cadance sighed and said more so to herself, "I'm not even sure if there will even be a war. Have you seen Psera's military?"

Luna hummed to the distance and tapped at her chin. "What Queen Arcadia said gave me an idea," she announced. Her words reached their ears and pulled their attention to a dim spark of hope. "It's a long shot, but it might just work."

Celestia walked closer to her sister intrigued. "Well what is it?"

"We raise a shield."

Celestia sighed and lost her hope. "Luna raising a shield over the entire continent of Equestria would drain almost all of our resources. We don't have nearly the amount of magic as Queen Arcadia, we cannot simply raise a shield overnight."

Luna slowly turned around and faced them with a grin. "Of course not. It'll take a day or two. That gives us enough time. Tomorrow the envoy arrives then it'll be maybe a day and a half before Queen Arcadia's military storms Las Pegasus. The shield should be up by that point."

Cadance sighed and asked, "Not that I am against the idea Luna. But where exactly are we going to get a shield?"

"Easy. Everything we need is all around us. The love for one another will power the shield. Just like how The Crystal Heart generates power to keep back the everlasting snow, we can use Equestria's Friendships to power the shield."

Chapter 18 - The Envoy

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They would use Equestria's famed friendships to power a shield. A supposed crazy idea, and an immediately looked down one when it was brought up the next morning. Even Mimi was on the fence of shaking heads. But just to be sure, it was brought to the attention of the only few ponies left who knew their magic like the back of their hooves.

Secretaries Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer were brought to Canterlot Castle's trade room to listen to the idea: Use Equestria's Friendships to power a shield over the entirety of Equestria. Their response?

A single light was cast down upon the podium Sunset and Starlight were occupying, hitting their expressions of confusion. They shared a look of contempt before Starlight answered, "Well, scientifically speaking, it shouldn't even be possible."

Celestia knew it. She closed her eyes and sighed before Sunset came to the rescue. "But then again, it makes sense. The concept is quite fathomable."

Princess Cadance requested from her seat next to Flurry Heart, "Could you please give us an explanation?"

"It's simple really. Equestria has faced plenty of monsters and creatures multiple times throughout its life, and all of them have been defeated by a physical form of Friendship magic. For instance, Discord was turned to stone by The Elements of Harmony. Princess Luna was brought back from Nightmare Moon by The elements of Harmony. The Crystal Empire is kept alive thanks to The Crystal Heart. All of that is powered by love and friendship. So to create a shield using the same elements is completely understandable.

"But to create a shield big enough to protect the entire nation of Equestria, I don't know how that would be possible. That's a lot of ground to cover. We would need a really big relic to get it to even stretch all the way to Ponyville. Not to mention powerful enough to handle that energy for days."

Queen Farue spoke up next. "But it is possible."

Starlight and Sunset shared a look one more time before the former answered, "Well yes, but we need to find a relic big and strong enough to power the entire country, and don't know of any."

There was the problem. The tools used were worn or created by a single user. And it was only strong enough to protect just them. Not an entire country. Was it possible? Yes, the Crystal Heart was a prime example. Was there a firm chance of success?

IHT shared a look of doubt before Flurry asked, "Does Equestria have anything in the archives about a relic big enough to gather Friendship energy?"

Shining Armor answered, "I'm not sure, Flurry. But I doubt that even we would be able to find it. It has to be big enough to gather magic from all over the country. That has to be pretty big. I don't think we can just stash that."

Suddenly, Starlight gasped and stomped her hoof on the floor. Then slapped her face and dragged it down her features. "Oh my Faust, it's been right in front of us," she groaned. "Princess Luna, you're a bucking genius."

Not exactly the words she would use, But Luna smiled warmly with pride. "Why thank you Starlight. Now how am I a genius?"

The answer was there this whole time. They walk past it everyday. Everyone from Canterlot could see it in the most historical town in the nation.

Sunset waved her hoof in front of Starlight's frozen face and called, "Yoohoo! Starlight! What gives, what's right in front of us?"

"The relic. The biggest and most influential relic in the entire country."

"And what's that?"

"The Castle of Friendship in Ponyville!" A look of realization slowly dawned over Sunset's face. Along with Cadance, Luna, and Celestia. "The Map inside is able to detect friendship magic all over Equestria by using the castle around it."

Sunset whispered to herself, "It's already receiving Friendship magic; and projects it in the form of a map."

"It's the relic we need!"

Queen Amira stood up from her seat and asked, "I am sorry, but what is this Friendship Castle? We've never heard of this."

Celestia answered, "The Castle of Friendship is what would now be classified as a Class A Abandoned Structure in Ponyville that used to serve as The Psera-Equestrian Trade Hub when we still had relations. But before that it served as Princess Twilight Sparkle's home and a space of Friendship. Inside lies a map used by the embodiments of the Elements of Harmony. When it detects a friendship problem in a city or town it summons a pony, duo, or even trio to solve."

Starlight pointed to her cutie mark and said, "When our cutie marks glow, that's when you know the map is calling you."

Flurry deduced, "So you think the castle is receiving Friendship Magic?"

Sunset smiled with pride. "We know it's receiving magic. Or else it wouldn't be working. All it needs is a little kick in the ol' magical butt."

As on-board as this seemed, Luna asked, "Are you sure it will? Psera sort of chipped away at the castle's integrity for quite some time. That and Twilight's original rampage knocked down its star."

"There's only one way to find out. It's a risk we're willing to take."

Then they had a plan. Celestia quickly summarized the strategy for the entire organization to hear. "Our primary plan is to create defenses across Equestria using Mimi's techniques while a shield is generated by Friendship magic to cover the map of Equestria."

But Consort Snow of Prance inquired, "But what about the rest of us? Queen Arcadia's target is clearly Equestria but at a moment's notice she could set her sights on any one of us."

"Military outposts have been stationed across all countries. You are correct to assume that Queen Arcadia could send her troops to other borders but it is clear that her mind is directly on Equestria. This will be her first target and our first stand against Queen Arcadia. If we show her that we are not as defenseless as she thinks we are then her sight will be laser-focused on us out of irritation."

Princess Luna stood up and addressed them all. "My friends. In this difficult time we must work together to get this shield to work. I propose tasks assigned to select members. Equestria will provide the magic and technology while the Neightons and Hippogriffs provide the strength needed. We only have at most three days before Psera arrives at Equestria's shores with their weapons. Let's get to work."

How many times has Las Pegasus been rebuilt? Once? Twice? This would make it the third time, right? Corporal Scootaloo was certain this bustling and beautiful city would eventually become a military base. Oh stars, what has happened to harmony and peace?

After they arrived in town yesterday, Silent Sound hopped out the chariots and immediately made their way through the city to the beach. Along the way, they were greeted by citizens wishing then the best of luck before going about their day, as if war wasn't upon their doorstep. Maybe they were used to it by now. Maybe it's become a normality.

Las Pegasus' beaches were closed and fenced off. The Psera-Equestrian Trade Facility had been converted into barracks and the remains of the steel block they gave them now housed a large bell-shaped device made of magic. An alarm when something was discovered through a powerful telescope on one of the towers of the trade facility.

That was where Silent Sound was posted after they finished building those defenses. Upon the towers overlooking the city of Las Pegasus and the Western Waters.

Despite Equestria being on shaking hooves, her soldiers were pretty relaxed. At least the ones on the beaches. Music was playing from somewhere and a team was knocking around a softball. The morning units were always reckless, even during training. At least Scootaloo's was far above it.

The noises never reached Silent Sound's ears. The cold winter wind bristled their fur underneath their fatigues and helmets. Eyes were scanning the entire coast of Las Pegasus and the seas beyond. Pegasi and dragons flew past every now and then to provide aerial surveillance while Seaponies at sea surveyed the waves up close. Silent Sound was directly in the middle.

Corporal Scootaloo had placed her team in different areas of the lookout point. But each would have their eyes on the waves with her taking on the main telescope, accompanied by the squeaky voice of First Private Majority Green. While Scootaloo was peering through the telescope on the very top level, she was keeping her company in a way with her talks.

"I mean, we've been watching since six and I have to use the bathroom. But I'm a big filly, I can hold it."

It was clear Scootaloo wasn't paying attention. She nodded into the telescope and replied, "Yeah, maybe."

"I mean, it'll be quite embarrassing if I go on myself, right?"

"Oh, you don't want to forget that."

Majority Green rolled her eyes and turned to another one of their teammates on the next arm over walking the board. They had heard the whole thing.

Private Mixed Candies silently chortled and asked over, "You see anything, Corporal?"

Scootaloo pulled away from the telescope to use her naked eye and sighed through her teeth. "Nope. Nothing. Pretty silent day. Not even any fish."

Mixed Candies sat down and set her weapon down in front of her. "Yeah. Has anyone seen this Queen Arcadia? I've heard the princesses knew her personally."

Majority Green stood up on the railing and answered, "Nope. But I do know the princesses are scared of her. They say her magic's unmatched."

"They're right." The Unit's eyes turned to their commanding officer. Drifting into her memories with the winter wind. "Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle is not one to take lightly."

"You've met her, Corporal?"

"More than two dozen times in my life so far. I remember when I first met her. She was just a regular ol' unicorn who enjoyed reading, magic, and the occasional party. There used to be a large oak tree in Ponyville that served as a library she lived in. Ponies came and went as they pleased but she was always happy to be of assistance. Years later she becomes a Princess, gets a castle, runs away, we almost go to war, then she saves our flanks. But is she strong?"

Scootaloo sighed and answered, "Queen Arcadia managed to take down a Draconequus as big as the mountain Canterlot sits on by herself. And lift a fish as big as the castle. She could've beaten Tirek if he didn't have ponies at risk in his hand. I'd say 'strong enough' isn't even scratching the surface."

Scootaloo peered back through the scope. "Let's just hope she doesn't come here. Because nothing will stop her. No matter what plans the higher-ups make."

First Private Tough Watts, a young male Pegasus stallion with a blue coat, and a gradient electric blue-to-white mane scoffed and approached the end of the walkway closest to the sea. "I'd like to see these Pserateps come here. We'll be ready for 'em."

"Don't get cocky, Prince Charming." Scootaloo pulled her eyes from the scope one more time to address down to him directly. "You probably weren't even alive during the war. But I know you were there during training. What they said about their ships and their army being enormous? They're not just trying to pull your tail to scare you. Their military is vast and they will kill you."

He hummed and pulled his weapon from his back. A small tube that would propel magic in a focused form similar to the Pserateps, but nowhere near as powerful. It was a work in progress. But it was a work he could make do with.

He said nothing else, so Scootaloo went back to the scope before Majority Green spoke up. "I definitely wasn't born yet, so I'm just going with what I hear."

Scootaloo gasped and replied, "You might get your chance to see for yourself. Standby." What was that? There was a small rise on the horizon. A peak that wasn't there before. The horizon was smooth ever since they started their duty four hours ago. Now there was a peak.

Majority Green quickly grabbed the rope connected to the bell hanging in the middle of the tower and waited for the signal. She didn't see anything out there, but then again she wasn't looking through the telescope.

Scootaloo slowly adjusted the telescope so she had a wider angle and gasped at what she missed. That small spoke in the water was merely something that piqued her interest. She missed the two mountains flanking both sides of it. Steel hulls, large cannons on the decks, and the crest of Psera and The Fire Family on the sides.

"Aquatas," she whispered. "Ring the bell, ring it!"

Majority Green swiftly yanked back the cable connected to the bell and followed the Corporal's order. The second its toll hit ears, all actions in the city of Las Pegasus ceased. Ponies stopped shopping and looked to the sky. Those working and enjoying the attractions stopped snapping pictures and having fun. Animals and birds took to the sky and forest, soaring away from the source. The rest of the allies occupying the beaches stopped their procrastinating and turned to the tower.

A Field Officer flew up to the tower and ordered, "Report, Corporal!"

Scootaloo stepped to the side so they could see and saluted. "Three Aquatas are approaching from the distance! Forty-two miles out!"

Her Field Officer pulled their eye back from the scope and poked a hoof into Scoots' chest. "Move your team behind the line and arm yourselves. The Princesses said it may be an envoy but I'm not too sure. Get behind that line!"

Scootaloo saluted once more and jumped over the railing to a lower level. "Silent Sound, let's move!!"

The bell rang louder and further than it was supposed to. It spread through Whitetail Woods and froze the ponies minding their business in Ponyville. If you were present in Equestria, then you received the notice letter: If you hear the bell ring, then a threat was nearing Equestria's borders.

On Applejack's Farm, Rainbow Dash stopped speaking to her and whipped her head around to the Whitetail Woods. Her ears flipped down, eyes widened with worry.

"Scootaloo," she whispered.

Being close to the battlefield was already worrying enough. Knowing you have a loved one out there and could do nothing to help them was even worse.

Applejack placed a hoof around her neck and assured, "I'm sure she's fine, sugarcube."

The citizens weren't the only ones to hear the bell ring. The Princesses of Equestria visiting Twilight's Castle stopped their progression through town and turned their sights to the same forest. Sky Duster, Tritanium, and Sun Waves moved their stares to Celestia. Her eyes were filled with worry.

She gulped and said, "The envoy is here. We must meet with them. Hold on."

At a snap of her horn, the group was teleported all the way from the serene environment to the silence of Las Pegasus' beaches, behind the fence. As trained and planned, the military had taken up posts above and beyond. The Seaponies created a three ring formation in the sea while the Pegasi formed a ring in the air with the dragons. They were armed and protected with gear. Poised and ready to fight.

The second she saw the Princesses, Field Officer Liquid Lava, a Unicorn Mare from Prance rushed over and saluted. She had a light orange coat with light green eyes, and a short cut green tail and mane.

"Princess," she greeted in her exotic tongue. "We have three Aquatas eight miles out and closing fast."

Cadance lead the group closer to the ocean past her and informed them, "It's the Envoy. They won't attack, but keep your air squads ready. Give us some goggles."

A pair of binoculars was pushed into Cadance's line of sight. She raised them with her magic and peered through to see three Aquatas, plain as day. She could make out Psera's flag snapping in the wind and a sheer white one behind it. Peace.

She passed them over before a large presence in the sky whipped overhead. An arrowhead made of Pserateps zoomed into their airspace and broke through the sound barrier in a series of snaps. They didn't even see them coming. Let alone hear them.

They split on their way to Canterlot and circled around to slow their speed once over Las Pegasus' beach, creating a circle directly around their company.

Luna asked, "What are they doing?"

Celestia shook her head and answered, "I don't know."

All the soldiers were on edge. One eye was on the approaching Aquatas, the other on the twenty Pserateps forming a circle above them. They almost snapped when a voice boomed from above, traveling over the hills and into the cities beyond.

"Greetings, citizens and leaders of Equestria," a voice as deep as darkness said. "As of now, the Envoy of the great nation of Psera approaches in peace. Lay down your weapons and power down your shields."

The Princesses turned to Celestia. She would be leading this charge. Celestia raised her right hoof then flexed it forward twice. At once, all weapons were lowered and Pegasi occupying the sky lowered to the ground. The Seaponies occupying the ocean swam back to shore in a rush of flapping and splashing fins.

Celestia's eyes never left those approaching Aquatas. Two had split and created a radius for the one in the center. The one that the Princesses had seen multiple times. Aquata Zero had a more defined shape to it than the rest of their Aquatas. Including The Front Lawn. Speaking of which...

Celestia turned to Princess Luna and said, "I propose we make adjustments to our plans."

"Why is that, sister?"

"In case Aquata Eighty-Seven decides to make an appearance. If Arcadia is pulling out all of her toys, I'm absolutely certain The Front Lawn were one of her finer choices."

She was right. The Front Lawn's usage would supply many applications to the war effort. Weaponry could be carried closer to Equestria's shores, they could create new materials right in the ocean. Spies could come and go as they please. It was a mobile fortress on the waves before them.

But now wasn't the time to ponder on Psera's boats. The one they should be worried about was now reaching their port. It had successfully circled around and groaned to a stop before them. The water splashed upon the port, wetting hooves and increasing anxiety among IHT's brave soldiers.

Eventually it groaned to a complete stop, and basked the entire city of Las Pegasus in silence. Save for the snapping of cameras in the distance that flickered among Celestia's ears.

An anchor loudly dropped from the front of the Aquata and slammed into the beach. Shaped as a spear, it stabbed into the ground and created long violet tentacles of magic, grasping at the earth beneath. Even the mediocre things Twilight had slipped her horn in.

Scootaloo swallowed hard. It's been years since she's seen one of those. And this time, they weren't here to rescue them. Heads appeared over the rim hidden by helmets, staring down upon them. Silhouetted by the winter sun; watching them behind their visors. Measuring them through a black curtain. They couldn't see Psera's Aqua Guard behind their helmets, but they could feel their eyes glaring upon their very souls. Let them. They've been watching them a lot longer than today.

A door creaked open directly in front of them at the bottom of the hull. A squad of Arcadian Elite Royal Guards marched out from the darkness and took up positions. Twenty of them on both sides of the entrance that created an arch towards the Princesses before another pony graced their presence. A pony they've never seen before.

A coat as white as snow, eyes as blue as ice, and a tail as crystal and reflective as the luxuries making up Psera. Crystaltite, Lordess of the Sea, strolled out of those doors with Princess Merry Fire behind her. They both stood tall and stern, rulers of separate worlds but serving under the same name. The colors belonging to that name was evident in their formal wear. Violet and Red. A color that used to bring relief, but now served as a constant reminder to who they really represented; and the anger that came associated with it.

In all her years of traveling in the past, Sun Waves has never seen a race like them. With wings so long and tech so sharp. No wonder the Princesses feared them. She shared a gander with Sky Duster hovering above them watching. She was no longer cracking any jokes. And Tritanium's face never seemed more stoic.

Crystaltite cleared her throat before addressing the party before her. "May all ears listen!" Her loud voice echoed off all surfaces of Las Pegasus. "And listen well! Before you stands Princess Merry Fire, Princess of Psera and Representative to The Fire Family! Sister-In-Law to the Great Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, Saviour of Psera! You'd be wise to watch your tongue. Or lose it."

Warning delivered, Crystaltite stepped to the side and flanked Princess Merry instead of shield her from their sights. The Guards approached from the side of the Aquata to create a firm radius around Merry while she met the Princesses. Once she was close, they shared a bow.

"Princess Merry," Celestia greeted.

"Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance." Her tone was monotone. Immobile, unwavering. Cold and desolate. Emotionless. She rose back to her height and stared them down. "Your country seems to have flourished since we last saw each other."

Luna wasn't one to usually commence with small talk. But she had a feeling now would definitely be a much better time to practice than any other. "Yes, long winters were the worst time to be exposed during the process. In haste we rebuilt."

"I am happy to hear that." She looked past them to the soldiers occupying the beach. "Quite the army you have here. A form of resistance as the Queen predicted."

Cadance stated, "Let's just say we're not too fond to be receiving threats. We are deeply sorry for the loss of life Psera has suffered. It mustn't be easy losing someone so close to you."

"No it wasn't," Merry bit back. She took a deep breath and calmed her nerves. "But hopefully you can reassure us our deaths were not in vain. Perhaps IHT can present a remedy to this matter to align with the treaty?"

One wouldn't say remedy as they would lean more towards defense. But they did have a few resolutions under their hooves to work with. Celestia stepped to the side and pointed a hoof behind her into the city of Las Pegasus. "If you would follow us, we will fly you to Canterlot Castle. The rest of the International House of Trade are waiting for you. Then we will present to you our propositions for this treaty. Hopefully, your Queen will be pleased with at least one of them."

Merry Fire sighed and strolled forward with Crystaltite next to her. "Let's hope so. Queen Arcadia hasn't been sleeping well these last few nights. One can hear her beating her anger and resolve into those few hundred test dummies she has on the grounds."

She stopped in front of Celestia and added, "Between you and I? You would be wise to hoof them over. The nation has never seen Queen Arcadia this upset before. Even we are fearful of the lengths she will go to keep Psera safe."

Chapter 19 - Talks

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Time is of the essence, yet no clues of any sign. Founder's Island was a large slice of land to live on. With many lakes, ponds, and rocky mountains. The trees counted for a good twenty-five percent of the land with terrain and water adding to the rest. It left Dawn with no other choice except to run her numbers. An estimation was better than blind searching.

Calculating the time it takes to search a mile of forestry at a specific size, raised to the amount of that size making up the land, which is then added to by the bodies of water, the heights of the mountains, the clouds in the sky, and then adding possible obstacles based on local data, Dawn was presented an estimated number until they discover even a clue.

The town wasn't happy when they were told.

After their first task failed, Dawn gathered all of the ponies, dragons, and any other creature sent here centuries ago, and presented to them her findings in the center of town. They created a circle around her stage and listened to what she had to say upon it.

Dawn jabbed to a white board she built riddled with facts, numbers, and symbols. She shouted, "With the Island's current layout and weather of our environment, the earliest we can find a certain clue, without luck on our side, would be thirty to fifty days!"

A round of groaning erupted from the creatures in front of her accentuated with the stomping of hooves and flapping wings. Dawn immediately held up her hooves and appeased, "But we can speed this up with everyone's help. Outside of what we can't see, a war is brewing between Psera and everyone else, orchestrated by a pony who wants to turn us all back to dust. The faster we get out, the faster we can stop a war."

One of the Pserateps, a mare with a snow white fluffy coat that made Dawn jealous, stepped out from the line and asked, "What if you're wrong, Princess? What if there is no way out?"

Dawn sighed and answered, "Then we're all going to die. And everything we worked hard for is going up in dust. This is our only hope. Only together can we find the bridge between our realities."

Night Life has been quiet ever since Dawn first delivered her findings. She could see him in the back watching. Thinking. Waiting for the right moment. Dawn asked, "Does anyone have any questions?"

One hoof was raised. "What's the process, Princess?" Someone asked.

"Everyone fans out in different cardinal directions and searches for anything off. You'll know it when you see it. When you do, report to me and I'll check it for any magic. We do this until we find something. We can even plant flags or signs at the scene for spots we've already checked. We'll start tomorrow when everyone is rested."

As all creatures dispersed for their places of residence, Dawn walked over to Lucky and Night Life patiently waiting. But their expressions were a lot more different.

"What is it?" She asked.

Night Light quickly stammered, "A-as good as this all seems, what if there isn't a way out?"

"There is, because there was a way in. And we're going to find it." She reached out and rubbed one of his hooves encouragingly. This stallion was a big ol' softy under that serious face of his. "Don't give up. Remember: There's a war that can be prevented if we get out. That's the goal. To stop this war."

"Your mom's really that powerful?"

"Trust me. She'll knock aside anyone in her way. We have to stop her before she makes that mistake."

This was it. The moment they were all prepared for. When the Pserateps would touch down on the coast and attempt at a peaceful treaty. The speed of their Aquatas were miscalculated. Celestia wondered how much more of their estimations were miscalculated. In which case, the war was right around the corner. And they were racing for an attack.

The flight back to Canterlot was quiet and timid. The Pserateps were focused on the mission protecting their country. The case holding the treaty was thoroughly watched. And IHT was focused on reading Psera's motives. But try as they might, Merry Fire's expression and her escort team's were about as faceless as stone.

Their platoon was shaped in a "V" with the princesses taking the helm escorting Mary and her more personal guard. How many of these ponies did Twilight have under her belt?

Their large group flapped to slow their speed upon re-entry into Canterlot and, soon, behind the Castle gates to land gracefully like dainty butterflies. Practiced and performed perfectly, worthy of a standing ovation.

Once Equestria's princesses landed next to Mary, she said, "It has just occurred to me that I have never visited your land, let alone been in any structures of Equestrian origin."

Celestia sighed and replied, "I wish you could experience Equestria under less tense circumstances. When we're not about to wage a war. It truly is a peaceful land that I'm sure you would enjoy when it isn't under threat by ... Magical beings."

"Hopefully, we'll have that chance and a war won't occur." The guards at the door opened them to let in the party of lot. Its halls were abandoned, as if its inhabitants could sense the unease, they hastily dashed for the nearest area away from the castle. "Queen Arcadia has been rather adamant for the securement of any remaining Zebras. I would be a liar to say that I wouldn't wish to see them underneath a watchful eye. After all, The Fire Family itself has been a constant target of the Zebras for their riches and intelligence decades before we took the throne of Psera. We have been beside ourselves when it comes to Zebras near our homes or families. Way before the Psera Crown."

Now that they did not know. Luna widened her eyes in surprise and shared a look with Cadance. "Really?" She queried.

"Yes. Over a thousand years ago, Psera was in contact with Zebras. And not as enemies. Very light contact, no trading, no exchanges. We did attempt contact with other nations before. And the Zebras are the reason we refuse contact with any other country."

Psera's history continues to reveal itself. Never would Celestia have thought that the reason Psera's refusal of international stem from the Zebras. They seemed so kind and simple. Not hostile and invasive.

"The Fire Family lived primarily in Rayray during the time, so we had direct access to Zebras before all of this. In between Psera and the Untraveled west is a leakage of gold from our nation. But it was scattered and mutated, considered highly valuable internationally speaking. The Zebras used it for their jewelry and Pserateps used it for their, well, everything."

Merry glanced to the Princess when they reached the Trade Room occupied with the members of IHT. She stopped to face them before the doors were opened. "Just because we were from Psera didn't mean it was easy for us. The Undiscovered West are treacherous waters. Gold just doesn't float to the top, you have to dive for it and hope you find something. It was a dangerous game. A lot of ponies lost their lives. But we did get our hooves on that case of rare metal and were paid handsomely for it. But sometimes, things were rather messy under the waves. Where eyes couldn't see and jealousy flourished."

"How messy?"

"Let's just say that sometimes when a Pseratep was under for too long, we not only pulled up a body. But sometimes a body with its throat slit. Eventually, it wasn't just the Fire Family. They were stealing from Psera. The Zebras have played dirty for too long, Princesses. And now innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire, even when the game is no longer in play. It's time to put a stop to it. Permanently. So no more foals turn into dust at our hooves. So if there are no more questions, let us begin the delegation."

A truth bomb with little to no reaction save for a sigh. The doors to the trade room were opened and they strolled in with heads held high.

"Yes. Let's do that," Celestia replied under her breath.

The way the room here was setup was as official as the one in Psera. Princess Merry and her assistants would be sitting at a table in front of their half-circle facing the nervous members of The International House of Trade. Celestia made way for her seat with the assistance of the Elite while the rest spread across the room. One of them positioned directly behind Flurry Heart. Quite the uncomfortable heat on the back of her neck.

IHT has prepared multiple ideas and plans for Psera in exchange for the safety of the Zebras. But she had a feeling that none would satisfy them. Psera was a hard country to appease.

One of the assistants set the case holding the treaty on the desk that Merry took a seat at. A few documents were slid her way that she signed for IHT's records. Then all was silent. The moment has finally arrived.

Queen Novo rose from her seat and extended a hoof out in Psera's direction. "Princess Merry," she greeted. "A pleasure to have you among us. We are well aware of the attack on Psera that has left it's inhabitants in turmoil stirring in heightened aggression."

"Two hundred and three Pserateps were killed in the attack," Merry confirmed. "Including my brother and my niece. I am taking this a lot more personal than any other representative here today." She sighed and picked up one of the sheets in front of her. "Psera is also well aware that you, IHT, may be withholding information regarding the safe-keeping of Zebras. Is this true?"

Madam Singe spoke up and admitted, "We are tending to their wounded. Many foals with about four-fifths being adults."

Merry glanced in her direction and hummed in secret thoughts. "A pity. Now I am sure IHT has a set of guidelines to how operations are executed, correct? Knowing Queen Arcadia, she may have set them up before signing members ."

"You would be correct," Cadance answered. "The Official Documentation of Policing The International House of Trade. I remember it when Queen Arcadia first presented it. Quite the time when we first read it."

Merry looked over to one of her assistants and cued her with a nod of her head. A large tome was grabbed and slid in front of Merry. A very familiar looking one she placed her hoof on top of. Dark leather cover, pristine white pages.

"By her blessing, Queen Arcadia made a firm sacrifice that I am sure you will not believe: she withdrew a mint historical archived version of that documentation from her personal records for me to use and study." Merry flipped the text open to a bookmarked page she set on her way over here. It was very distinct and extremely informative. "I read this front to back for a week and noted down some very interesting excerpts. One of the quotes in section Eight, Paragraph B, state, 'Any altercation between IHT Members must be resolved peacefully within the Court of IHT.'

"There are more specifics regarding solutions, but that's beside the point." Merry carefully shut the tome and crossed her hooves on the table. Queen Arcadia would throw a fit if there was so much as a wrinkle on the pages. "It was not clarified by the International House of Trade what would happen if a member of IHT started an altercation with a nation outside of IHT's control. Or what happens if IHT interferes with said altercation. I believe Queen Arcadia during her time as Princess of Friendship in Equestria believed that every nation in the world would want to join. She was wrong. This war has been brewing for decades, way before IHT was founded. And this time it has reached its boiling point."

Dragon Lord Ember expressed her opinion as professionally as possible. "Most of the world has come to terms with peaceful negotiations rather than retaliatory violence. Even back then before IHT was founded, members did not cross one another's borders without expressed permission from their government on both sides. Although tense, it did work."

"Well Psera was not among those talks. May I remind you that we are a nation that has lied in the shadows for centuries to avoid such conflicts. Zebras included. Only when Queen Arcadia lifted the barrier did we have conflicts with other nations of Equus. The conflict with Zebrica was set in stone, that would always be there. But Zebrica dared not make a move when they saw the true expanse of our military power. Our weapons were unmatched and our strength strong as steel."

Princess Celestia spoke up and replied, "Then I believe the first start to the journey of this recovery is simple. We all know what needs to be done today."

"Yes we do, and it is this: The great nation of Psera is seeking ten-point-nine billion shims in damages for the attack from one of your, IHT's, members." What?! A chatter erupted among the House. Even Flurry Heart knew Equestria didn't have nearly that much currency. Converted to Shims, that would be a lot more than forty billion bits! And if they combined currencies with the rest of the nations, then they would still be short!

"As a member of IHT," Merry continued. "It is the responsibility of the House to correct their actions. Queen Arcadia is no longer in charge and has placed the power of Speaker of The House in Princess Celestia's hooves, alongside Queen Novo. Therefore it falls on your shoulders to correct the actions from one of your fellow members."

Princess Luna stood up, outraged. "You seriously do not expect IHT to hoof over that many Shims!"

"Then you'll hoof over the Zebras into Psera custody then. Because not only did Zebrica, a member of IHT, invade Psera, but they also stormed our castle, slaughtered our king, attacked our bases, and murdered the first naturally born Alicorn-Pseratep in existence, Princess to Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle. Her name alone is worth billions of Shims. The castle was a beacon of history among our great land and has been around for thousands of years. Priceless monuments, pictures, and goods inside were damaged. Forever lost to time. This was a strategic execution that cost lives and structural damage.

"This money isn't just going to the Queen, but also to the families of the fallen victims to get them closure as well as fund our repairs. The government had to pay for the funerals of several hundred of our innocent civilians. Hard working ponies who have supported the Fire Family for generations. The Queen has sworn to get her hooves on those Zebras. And, as we all know, the Queen gets what she wants."

IHT shared cautious glances before Luna preceded forward. Just another reminder to who they were dealing with. "Let us present our solutions to Psera before we discuss anymore matters regarding financial payment."

Merry flipped her braid back behind her head and said, "Well go ahead then. Queen Arcadia is growing impatient. None on Psera enjoy an upset Queen."

"Very well. Before moving forward, now to take the floor is Captain Shining Armor. He and his team have investigated Zebrica's involvement and unearthed intriguing discoveries."

Shining Armor leaned into Flurry's space and whispered, "Watch your father work." Well he seemed rather confident. This was going to be fun.

Shining cleared his throat and spoke aloud so the room could hear. "The body of Queen Tarsafani was discovered slaughtered upon Zebrica's Maroono Bay. A biopsy concludes that she was stabbed to death shortly after returning from Psera for delegation. Zebrica's government denies any claim to her death nor any knowledge of international affairs on her behalf. We have concluded that a Zebrican cult attacked Psera, and the government was no way involved."

Merry sighed and leaned her head on her hoof. "And how, exactly, does this change things?"

"To avoid a hostile takeover, and with no resources left, the remaining government of Zebrica has pleaded for mercy through IHT."

Mercy?! Psera's Table of Representatives spoke among themselves now. If they're pleading through IHT, that would make them the invaders here officially, as if they committed the crime! Hushed whispers danced across the table. What would the Queen think of this?! What would the citizens?!

Merry asked, "What could IHT possibly offer Psera as retribution to the attack upon which they have committed?"

Celestia rose up and began delegations. "IHT has eight forms of retributions. One is offering materials to rebuild their castle."

"A fruitless gesture," Merry immediately shot down. "As of this time, reconstruction has already begun. We have more than enough material to utilize and the Queen herself has requested a makeover of the suite. It's ... A little too small for her now."

Well mark that off the list. "Next up would be rare stone retribution. We'll pay for the damages using jewels instead of shims."

"The market for jewels after such a large influx would lessen the market. Psera would lose money instead of gaining in the future afterwards as their worth would dwindle."

That's two marked off. Now Flurry was nervous. She sat up in her seat and shared a worrying glance with her mother. Luna offered, "IHT is offering the construction of a memorial of their own design."

"As sweet as it would be, Psera will once again gain nothing."

It was clear that Psera wanted tangible retribution; something they could use to grow their great country even more, as if the king and Princess were still there. Did anything on their list reach for that point? Most responses were tangible but they didn't supply any growth. They all knew it, that's why their faces expressed unease.

But Flurry still had one card left in her deck. She rose from her seat and said, "If it pleases the house, I would like to place an idea down onto the table for discussion."

Cadance and Shining looked to each other than to Celestia and Novo. The latter raised a claw in her direction and recognized her. "You may."

"I propose that as retribution, IHT gifts Psera with Real Estate. Land. For which they can utilize for whatever they deem fit."

If Shining was drinking anything this would've been the greatest of all times for a spit take. Although the shattering of a cup was an excellent replacement.

Cadance looked past Shining and urgently whispered, "Flurry, what are you doing?!"

But the damage had already been done and the ball was rolling in their minds. Merry was intrigued.

"Real Estate?" She repeated.

Flurry confirmed it with a firm nod. "Real Estate."

Merry shared a look with her team and Crystaltite. They were thinking the same thing, as well as the rest of them. Merry replied, "I believe this proposal is worthy of discussion. But this must be ran by The Senate Board and the Queen. I motion for a thirty minute recess whilst contact is made."

Celestia sighed and replied, "Novo and I second the motion. All in favor?" The room erupted briefly with the agreement of its inhabitants. Then Novo banged her gavel, beginning the recess.

Merry stood up from her seat and faced Crystaltite while IHT converged on Flurry Heart. With thick resolve she whispered, "Do you have any way to get in contact with Queen Arcadia?"

Crystaltite firmly nodded. "Get me to a pool of water and I can reach Queen Arcadia."

"Very well. Let's go."

While they marched out to get to this meeting, Flurry was turned to by Novo, Celestia, Cadance, Shining, and Luna.

"What were you thinking?!" Shining quietly scolded. "We can't give these ponies land! We barely have any ourselves!"

"Well we also can't give them gems, gold, metal, chariots or anything else, especially Shims. The second we agreed to Zebrica's Mercy Plea was the same second we became the terrorists and attacked our own family. We took over two hundred lives, including Princess Dawn who alone is an expensive bucket to fill. We don't just owe the Queen, we owe the entire country. Now Aunt Twilight actually has something to attack Equestria for. They're looking for restitution that everyone can use. We don't have much to give them in that regard except land or a war. I'm not looking forward to seeing that many Aquatas on the horizon."

"The child speaks true," Madam Singe acknowledged. "We did not just attack The Crown, we attacked the citizens and the Queen Arcadia herself by slaughtering her daughter and husband. And after all they have done for us, Equestria especially, we owe them at least land."

But Queen Novo replied, "But what land can we give to a country whose cities are as big as Equestria itself?"

"I believe it would depend on their needs."

"A contract would have to be made. A contract we cannot trust. Under Queen Arcadia's name, anything could happen."

"We can ensure—"

"No, you don't understand." Novo took a breath to explain. "We now owe Psera our property. When that deal for Mercy was made, we gave up our rights to our cities and towns. If this passes, then we may have to move our citizens out of entire cities for the Pserateps. Then after that , there's no telling what'll happen next. Light and darkness will collide. Ponies will be untrustworthy of their new neighbors. Attacks will happen. The Zebras have started a new war in the process. And this time they have dragged IHT into the fight."

Cadance replied, "I believe you are getting ahead of yourself, Queen Novo.

"No, I am not. It has happened before in history many times. IHT's members are giving up their freedom for an attack caused by the Zebras. And at the rate things are going, they'll never be able to pay us back for decades to come. The Zebras now have nowhere to go and have no choice but to settle across the nations and plains. With absolutely no money and no more land, they have nothing. Meanwhile, Psera has every right to blame IHT and now expects us to gift them land or they'll gift us with a bomb."

"They will not bomb us Novo," Celestia sternly assured. "Their Queen would never do that."

Novo crossed her hooves and argued, "I'm sure what remains of Zebrica would beg to differ, and on Hearth's Warming, no less. I am positive Queen Arcadia would not hesitate to pull the trigger on her own home. After all, she has, so far, attacked Prince Consort Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza in their own castle, choked Luna against the wall with no intention of letting her go on Mount Aris, and has a massive Navy at sea ready to attack us all at any given moment that we admittedly can't defend ourselves against. We have all seen Queen Arcadia's weaponry. And If you ask me, I believe she may still hold a little spice from that drama circulating between you and her personally."

Celestia shot up and assured, "Queen Arcadia has already expressed forgiveness between us. We are still her family."

Novo smoldered to Celestia, "Are you sure about that?"

"Are you accusing my student, practically my daughter, of lying?!" Celestia exclaimed. No one has ever seen Celestia angry before. A growl emanated from the back of her throat, laced with the fury of a mother.

"She's been lying to all of you for awhile now. She lied directly to our faces when she informed us that their little night test were nothing but solar flares."

"This conversation is about Queen Arcadia shooting down her own family! She would not do that!"

"She is no longer your family, Celestia! As of right now, we are all her enemy. She has the utmost military power among all nations and magical skills none of us has ever seen., deeming here omnipotent in abilities. She has admitted to dipping a hoof in Dark Magic and even utilizing it, and has also admitted the production of mass weaponry capable of mass destruction. I guarantee you if Queen Arcadia is interested in this proposal of land she will make all of your citizens move in favor of her own. And when you don't agree, then I am almost certain Queen Arcadia will happily take over Equestria with no second thought and continue her plight for the Zebras."

Cadance stood up next and replied, "Oh, so Twilight will now become a dictator."

Queen Novo pointed a hoof behind her. "Have you not seen her Navy? Her weapons, her soldiers? She's not giving us much of a choice. She has threatened to invade our lands, that is the talk of a dictator! And from what we've seen so far, she has already conquered Zebrica!" Queen Novo took a deep breath to calm her flaring emotions. "I believe it is time that IHT revisit their conversation regarding the Zebras and our involvement between this war of theirs."

IHT gasped and immediately started yelling.

"What?!"

"You cannot be serious!"

"We cannot let a species go extinct like this!"

Flurry stood up from her seat and pleaded, "Queen Novo, I know things have been rather frustrating. But I beg that IHT stay in the fight. We cannot give up, we can get through this and save their country."

Novo sighed when the room quieted down and focused on Flurry. She was the youngest. Naive and full of hope.

She nodded to her and replied, "I respect your fire, Princess Flurry Heart. I agree with you that we can have the power that Queen Arcadia has one day. You are correct that Queen Arcadia learned these spells on her own and that we can amass an Army as big as theirs.

"However, you left out one important variable and the reason for my arguing against this decision: Our citizens. IHT may be fearless and our soldiers may be fearless. But what about our ponies? Our cultures, our homes? The foals? They can't defend themselves. We have seen Queen Arcadia in action, the fight with Maheera Dark was a true might of strength. Between just her and the great Darconequus, she had leveled the entire city of Las Pegasus, Canterlot, and a fifth of Manehattan. Somehow, Cloudsdale too was caught in the crossfire. Then left Equestria to pick up the pieces, costing you billions of bits that they are still scooping out of your pockets. She wiped out our citizens with no regard when they attempted to storm Psera's coast."

"She said she was on a timer," Celestia argued. "She didn't have much of a choice."

"And from what I've heard, she'd do it again in a heartbeat for her own citizens. Out there, in those waters, an entire fleet of Aquatas approaches our coasts. And at a point of a hoof, my country, my defenseless citizens, could too become victims to Marrials all because of the Zebras. Unlike the rest of you, Mount Aris or Seaquestria has absolutely no form of defense against weaponry of that magnitude. We don't have any shields, we don't have any anti-aerial defense. We don't have magic. All we have are our claws, shelters, arrows, and spears.

"It has become clear to me that Queen Arcadia would kill citizens if she can't get through the defense. You may think she's aiming for Equestria, when in reality she is aiming for Mount Aris. None of you could stop her Marrials when they were first launched. I saw you chasing after them. We were all defenseless and the citizens paid the price for it."

"But we could make the shield work, Novo!" Flurry promised. "We just need to stick together, we can do this, please! We all must work with one another!"

Novo could see the tears in her eyes. The hope leaking down her face. "I am sorry, Princess Flurry. You are truly fit for Princess of Equestria, even Queen if Equestria would be so inclined. But I am afraid we must face the facts: We are outnumbered, overpowered even with Mimi's help, and we have absolutely nothing to give to the Pserateps that won't hurt us in the future except the Zebras, per their request.

"At the end of the day, we must come to this reality: Is the blood of the Zebras, who murdered decades of ponies young and old, really worth the blood of our own who have done nothing? We put our beliefs in Princess Twilight that she will be kind and forgiving as we knew her once before. But we keep forgetting that Princess Twilight is no more. Only Queen Arcadia, and that she will do anything to protect her country. Including leave ours in the rubbles of her attacks and slaughter our citizens if tempted.

"I respect Queen Arcadia, and I owe her my life for saving mine. I do not wish for my ponies to lie in their own blood thanks to these Zebras. Therefore, I, Queen Novo, am abstaining both Seaquestria and Mount Aris from the war effort. We will no longer be assisting IHT in this war against the country who helped restore mine."

Celestia banged her hoof on the table and assumed lividly, "So you're hoofing over the Zebras, then!! And leaving IHT in favor of Psera's military!!"

"We will not participate until Queen Arcadia is on our doorstep asking questions. As much as I would like to protect the another species, as much as any other pony, I must think about the good of my own first."

Novo gathered her work and passed it over to one of her assistants. Then prepared to leave. "Hopefully the war will not occur and we have nothing to worry about. But in the event we do go to war, I must create a firm perimeter around my citizens with the small defense we have compared to theirs. We do not flourish like the rest of you. I am sorry, everyone. But this is for the good of my own country. Come along, Skystar."

Skystar looked over to Princess Dawn among the silence. The firm bringer of hope. Then to her mother. The one leaving this battle.

"No," she decided.

No?! Novo whipped around and clarified, "I wasn't asking, Sky. You don't have a choice."

But Skystar kept her head held high. "I have two choices, mother: I can either stay and help Flurry defend IHT from Psera, or I could cower behind walls hoping they don't come find me. At least with IHT, I'll have a fighting chance."

"You'll have a fighting chance behind the barrier back home. Out of sight, out of mind. If you stay, you'll be stuck here until the war is over. I took a page out of Psera's book and am securing a perimeter over the entire country. No one goes in, no one goes out. If you're not home by twelve tonight, you'll be stuck until the war is over."

Skystar said nothing. She remained diligent and unmoving. She was going to stay here. So Novo sighed and walked out with her Guards and Advisors. Leaving her alone. She could handle herself.

The second the doors closed, Skystar dropped into her seat and buried her face in her claws, wracking with sobs.

"I'm sorry everyone," she apologized. "Sh-she's just scared for those who can't defend themselves."

Everyone else standing took their seats once more while the tension died down and one seat left empty. Celestia placed a wing on Skystar's back and assured, "She will return. Your mother just needs to think. Thank you for sticking with us."

"I just hope the shield works."

"It will. Have hope, Skystar. Everything will work out."

Chapter 20 - War

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Real Estate wouldn't be what Queen Arcadia wanted to hear. Land for the lives of her loved ones was sure to get a negative response. But it was still something that needs to be brought up before her in the event she requests more information. One is not to turn down free land. Especially Psera.

While Merry's party treaded the halls with Equestria's Royal Guard for the back of the castle away from IHT, Crystaltite looked over her shoulder back to the Trade Room. She could sense the unease reside behind them. The fear and discomfort. But there was something else there.

She hummed and said, "Marsh eet IHT ool po bruee teeyahmah(It seems IHT is on different sides)."

Merry hummed and replied, "Maybe in our favor. It's better that way."

They approached the rear entrance of the castle the Royal Guard were escorting them towards and soon out into the sunlight of Equestria, or more particularly the castle's courtyard. Filled with flowers and decorative benches, this was one of the relaxation spots for the castle's staff. Quaint and quiet, it was enough for Equestria.

Directly in the center was a fountain, spewing water into the sky that cascaded back down in a wonderful display. This would do.

Crystaltite strode ahead to the fountain and simply tapped the pool of water at the bottom. The ripple expanded and seemingly did nothing until the water turned a deep black. A portal for voices reaching only one.

"Crystaltite," Queen Arcadia greeted. Her voice resonated with the echo of power beyond the surface. Each time she spoke a small ripple spread from the center of the pool. "Has the task been completed?"

"Not yet, Queen Arcadia," Crystaltite replied. "I am working on it. But an opportunity has presented itself that may interest Psera's conundrum. Princess Merry has more details."

Crystaltite stepped away and gestured Merry forward. She could already see her friend's nonchalant expression staring back at her. The Queen who has lost everything boiling in anger.

Merry cleared her throat and briefed her. "After declaring Mercy, IHT's own Princess Flurry Heart has proposed Real Estate in favor of the Zebras."

"...land," Twilight surmised. "They would give us land."

"Yes, ma'am."

"No." Merry and her team shared looks. Even her guards. She barely gave it any thought, only a stern response. "Psera has retreated back into the shadows for a reason: to avoid any unwarranted attacks. The second we obtain land in the East is the second a war against them breaks out. Our only concern are the Zebras, not IHT's. You are free to take this up with The Senate Board, but know that my decision is no."

Merry wanted to argue and say that this would be the best plan for growth. That these ponies' deaths weren't fruitless. But she knew that Queen Arcadia would stand firm on her decision. Just as she had on other decisions except to arrest all the Zebras. No one knew her true plan for the Zebras. Just that they would be taken into custody.

"I will take this up with The Senate Board," Merry promised. "We will archive the proposal for review."

"Ensure Psera those Zebras," Queen Arcadia told her. Then the water faded back to its original hue before Merry could reply.

Crystaltite stepped up next to Merry and commented. "It seems Queen Arcadia has a well thought out plan for these ponies."

But what exactly, Merry wandered. What could she do with what remained of them?

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The clock was Queen Arcadia's friend whenever she felt that infernal ticking appropriate; when the air was too silent and her thoughts wouldn't escape.

Silence was what she craved. Peace was what mattered and achieved in Safe Haven's back garden. With her eyes closed and wings spread, Twilight sat amongst its presence and meditated. The sounds around her melted away, leaving her with the thoughts running amok through her mind. The thoughts of a better future where peace was abundant. Where no wars, jealousy, or greed had a place. Oh what a world to dream.

"That will never happen."

Twilight gasped and jumped to her hooves. Her eyes shot open and wings flapped in agitation. She looked around the maze that was the garden, empty and abandoned, just like it was when she first came here. There was no one there.

Twilight referred to her magical aura. Empty save for the life beyond those doors back into Safe Haven and the Elite Guards stationed yards away. Then who spoke? As if a ghost passed by, the voice invaded her thoughts.

"You know who I am!"

There it was again! Female, young, and angry! Twilight teleported her sword into her grasp, and whirled around to point it at...

Lightning. Merry's daughter. Her hoof was raised as if to tap her side. But Twilight beat her to the point by swinging a blade to her nose. Now here she sat, frozen and afraid. Eyes crossed on the blade's sharp point and Twilight slowing down her racing heart.

"Lightning." The sword was teleported away back from whence it came. "Sorry, I... I have things on my mind. Was there something you needed?"

"Umm..." Lightning sat down where she was and timidly tapped her hooves together. Her eyes searched the cobblestone path under them for the answer. "I just wanted to ask a question but you seem rather busy."

"Nonsense, Lightning. What is it you want to know?"

"...why?"

"Why?" Twilight repeated.

"Why all of the Zebras? If it was just this group, why did we have to attack their entire country?"

"Because they attacked ours," Twilight sternly answered. "And they would do it again like so long ago."

"How can you be so sure? Maybe they've learned of their mistakes."

Queen Arcadia sighed and faced the fountain once more. "That's what Molten thought the first time. Yet, here we stand. My husband and daughter are now dead, our castle and its history spat upon, and my country furiously ready for war."

"Isn't there some way to avoid a war? I don't want to lose more people I care about."

"Surrender. The only ones in our way is IHT. They're safeguarding the Zebras somewhere on the East and have setup barricades over their coastline restricting us access."

"Maybe there's another way," Lightning hoped. "Where there isn't bloodshed."

"Maybe," Queen Arcadia replied. "But the Zebras? They brought this war upon themselves. They spilled our blood upon the ground, we shall spill theirs, and as long as IHT stays out of the way they will not be caught within the crossfire."

"But—"

"That is all I am saying about the war, Lightning." Arcadia turned her gaze from the fountain to her young naïve niece. "You are too young to understand. Maybe one day when you see the Pserateps as I see them, you will. But until then, leave the fighting and strategizing to Lavender, Cop, and the Queen. Now leave me in peace, please. I must think."

Arcadia turned back to the fountain while Lightning left. The way the water danced and splashed was a beautiful sight in deed. Once she heard the door into Safe Haven close, Queen Arcadia lifted a teacup to her mouth and took a small sip. Chamomile. Abundant in Equestria but a luxury in Psera. It could be taxed and bring more money to the less fortunate here once their funding increased.

Arcadia sighed with relief and softly set the cup down. The winter air blew, wrapping her in a blanket of cold air. Petals and flowers drifted across her line of sight and settled at her hooves. Red, blue, green, purple. Gold and white.

A black and white flower landed at her hooves. Staring up to her. Mocking her. Twilight smoldered and growled in the back of her throat. Even beyond death they were everywhere. Stars above, they're even getting to the foals. No longer will they dare dream of a torn Psera.

Queen Arcadia lightly tapped the flower and watched as it shriveled before her eyes. Its petals fell off and gradually turned into dust. Like a time lapse in real life, it was gone within a minute.

"Your magic is evolving."

Arcadia sighed and replied to that familiar voice. "We must all change with the times."

She turned to face what remained of her past. The symbol of peace, love, and forgiveness. Herself as a unicorn in Equestria. She had no wings, no flowing hair, no sharpened horn, but a smile all the time. There she lied on her stomach with a tome opened, reading every world that would get her to this powerful position in life.

Twilight softly closed the tome and smiled up to Arcadia, pouring a mixture of guilt and envy into her soul. "Don't look at me that way," Arcadia warned.

"We both know what it feels like to lose," Twilight said.

"You have lost nothing before these years."

"Haven't I?"

Arcadia was about to respond. But did she really have one? Who knew her past better than herself? She grunted and went back to the fountain. "Those were different."

"No they weren't. You lost something you cherished and it hurt you. This was no different."

"They were my family," Arcadia pointed. "And my citizens."

"I know, and you are in pain. Just like the other times. Do not let this anger guide your decisions so quickly. You're smarter than that."

"Oh, horseapples!" That wasn't her voice. Queen Arcadia slowly turned to her left to face the creature of her nightmares. Herself. Or it wasn't. She never sports evil grins with sharp teeth behind those lips. She didn't have a suit like that resembling a tyrant. She didn't have a violet crown. She didn't have wings outfitted with blades.

She didn't have a pool of black where her right eye used to be. Dark magic.

"Don't be foalish, Arcadia," she warned. "The worst is yet to come. The Zebras are always waiting for us to let down our guard. And now with IHT as their dependents, they will use them too. No one is trustworthy."

"Who are you?" Arcadia asked.

"I'm you, Empress Arcadia." Her voice was thick with venom and distrust. A junior evil at its prime. She stalked closer to Queen Arcadia, just enough for her to stare into her eye. "The strongest, most powerful pony to ever exist. My magic is untapped and I use it to bring order and peace to Equus."

She sure didn't look like it. Queen Arcadia looked over her shoulder to her guards. "Dismissed," she ordered. They bowed briefly before making their way back inside. Leaving Queen Arcadia alone under the watchful eye of the camera security system they had setup around the property.

Now they were alone. The innocent past she hoped to never lose, and the dark future that had to stem from some sort of mental trigger. And directly in the middle lied the innocent. There was no way she would end up like this unless she was pushed to no other option.

"There is no Empress," Arcadia promised.

"Not yet," Empress Arcadia snidely corrected. "Give it time. The fruits of your labor will soon come to fruition."

"I don't want to take over. I just want peace."

"That was our life's mission." Queen Arcadia turned back to the original Twilight, neck deep in that book of hers. "To bring all creatures together as friends and allies. Yet, here we are, fighting to keep one species away from us. Is this really the right way to do things, Queen Arcadia?"

Arcadia was about to shout a big fat yes. But all that came out was, "Of . . . I . . ." Arcadia stomped her hoof in agitation. "There was no other choice!"

"There's always a choice. You chose the one against your beliefs. You can also end things here, right now, by accepting IHT's proposal for real estate to review and hope for the best. No more lives have to be taken, no more threats have to be made, and no more blood has to be spilled. This is the moment that turns the war with Zebrica into a war with IHT or you can end the war with both right here, right now."

She pointed over the book she was reading and over to the fountain spewing water. Merry was a spell away. She would answer without a moment's hesitation and the war would end just like that. Steps would be taken to reconcile relationships between IHT and Psera. As for Zebrica, never in a million years.

Empress Arcadia gasped and asked, "You cannot be serious. Do you realize what you would be giving up if you take this route?" She appeared in front of Queen Arcadia before she could make moves for the fountain. "Power! Respect! Glory! Harmony! Your name every creature will know, and the remains of Zebrica will cower in fear whenever you are recognized! Are you willing to give what could be all up for this?!"

Arcadia stayed strong and answered, "My quarrel is with Zebrica, not with IHT. IHT is correct, we have already struck back against Zebrica, and based off of what we have seen, they will not be rising for decades. No more damage needs to be done. Now vanish, pony! You will never be!"

With a strong flap of her wings, Empress Arcadia blew from existence, leaving only Princess Twilight smiling in pride. It's good to see that she hadn't lost sight what was truly important, the reason for her existence: Peace, Unition, and Magic.

Message delivered, Twilight Sparkle faded into the background, leaving Queen Arcadia to do what must be done: Freeing the Zebras before she makes a mistake. Again. She swallowed hard and looked at herself in the water. She could see the burnt side of her face behind the mask of fear. The wall of stone where she ignores the realities of the world around her in favor of her own.

She sighed and tapped at the pool. The fountain stopped spraying and a ripple created in its center. "Tell Merry that I have reconsidered IHT's offer for Real Estate. I will gather The Senate Board at once. Tell them to expect an inquiry tomorrow. You will be staying overnight."

There was a brief silence for Crystaltite to weigh her words. "Yes, your highness," she finally said.

The fountain once again began spraying, signaling that Crystaltite disconnected. Now time to send another message. She turned around and eagerly trotted past Twilight, still reading.

"Never forget who you are." Her words ceased Arcadia's progression. "Because you represent the best of us."

Arcadia slightly tilted her head and replied, "Let's hope that they uphold their end of the bargain. Because if they don't..."

"They will."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because they're our family. Whether you agree or not, they love us as much as we love them."

Twilight said no words, for her past spoke true. They were all family, whether they believed it or not. Instead, she moved for Safe Haven's entrance. She had to gather The Senate Board.

It was clear something went down in the Trade Room after Merry left with her team for a surprisingly brief discussion with Queen Arcadia. The atmosphere had shifted, the air frozen with a deep despair. The mood deepened even more, depite the tense atmosphere prior her meeting with the queen. She made her suspicion known upon arrival to her seat.

"I couldn't help but notice that your legion seems rather disturbed," she commented. "Should the recess be extended?"

Celestia's sour glare shifted over to Novo's seat, vacant and cold. Oh they were going to have a deep talk later. Who just leaves in the middle of a war like this?!

Princess Cadance answered in her place. "No need. We are ready for Queen Arcadia's response to Princess Flurry's proposal."

"Very well. The Queen's response was quick and less pondered than hoped. Queen Arcadia has decided to forgo your offer in fear of international relations between unsupported parties."

What?! But that was always her main goal! Uniting the nations together in harmony was always Twilight's vision! For her to outright deny that said she was relinquishing that dream!

Flurry sighed and buried her face in her hooves. Her mother's wing on her back did little to cool her nerves. She was sure that would interest her fury-filled aunt. But it seemed nothing would move her.

"I too was interested in your proposal, Princess Flurry," Merry replied. "But the Queen wants the Zebras more than potential monetary values."

"In respect to Queen Arcadia," Luna said. "It seems she has forgotten the roots to her upbringings."

Merry's response was an eerie hum before her eyes darted back down to the document in her hooves. She wasn't denying Luna's claim, that Queen Arcadia seems to have lost sense of what made her Queen in the first place. Luna wasn't the only one to notice that Queen Arcadia's adamant actions were more suited for a tyrant. Her fears were shared among the Queen's own subjects. Blinded by rage and anger, she forgot who she was before.

Merry moved forward. "Are there anymore offers you have on hoof to avoid war between our two countries."

Celestia sighed and answered, "We do not have much to offer Psera." Celestia sadly dropped the sheet she held in her hooves and watched it flutter to the table. "It seems that you treasure more physical assistance and growth than anything else."

"Our offer for monetary reimbursement still lies on the table. Someone has to pay and this must be settled."

"IHT doesn't have nearly enough to satisfy your request."

"Then we shall move on to our next order of business: The treaty." This was it, the time they've all been waiting and preparing for. A large case was slid in front of Merry Fire she unlocked and flipped open. Lying inside was a glass slab on foam, and in that glass slab lied an expertly crafted document. A single page that spelled their life and death.

Merry took out the glass slab and softly set it where the case lied before it was yanked from its place. "In exchange for the Zebras, The Senate Board of Psera and The Crown of Psera will forgive all signed members of IHT for interfering with warlike activities between Psera and Zebrica. All debts forged after assistance from Psera will be wiped, and the potential for any international relationship between our countries will be reviewed, such as trade and sciences, between all members."

That sounded good. Really good. So good, it may have been too good to be true. Celestia shared a look with Luna, Cadance, and Flurry before tuning back in on the reading.

"Queen Arcadia has also expressed free reign of her own magic library, as well as the outsourcing of jobs for any IHT member." Now it sounded too good to be true. Jobs with Psera? Access to Twilight's library? So much could be copied and taught here in the East! "But if you do not agree, Psera's military retains the right to invade your seas, borders, and buildings as an act of war for interfering in a battle. Psera will strike down upon you with the might of the Queen. And this time, we will not help you stand."

Merry set the protective glass down and pushed it forward. Her eyes were deep, "The Senate Board and The Crown are requesting signatures from all members of IHT. For those that do not sign, we will come to your country, let ourselves in and search. Any resistance from any nation will be met with a warring response. If you do not wish to go to war, I urge you sign the treaty, hoof over the Zebras, and take advantage of the kindness The Crown is offering you."

"And what of the Zebras?" Madam Singe asked. "If we hoof them over, then what happens to them?"

"The Queen has been rather reclusive regarding her plans once the Zebras have been apprehended. Alas, it will no longer be of your concern. Once the treaty is signed, you agree to hoof over the Zebras, no questions asked. You have access to Psera's knowledge, land, and a trade agreement in the near future. I urge you not to throw all of that away in favor of Zebrica's fairly mundane society."

The room's fire sizzled into the silence of ice. The atmosphere grew cold with the weight of their words. Either grow with the times or experience intended loss. The choice lied in front of them. Sign the agreement, or lose citizens.

IHT shared unsure glances. This was the moment when war would be declared. Where Queen Arcadia would send her armada of Aquatas across the seas into their territory for a fight against them. Where all of their military would come into action.

IHT shared firm and distinct nods amongst themselves with the same answer lying in their minds that Celestia voiced firmly.

"Tell Queen Arcadia..." She slammed her hoof down upon the table before her with the sound of a war drum. Her eyes narrowed with the ferocity of a bald eagle's. "That we will not submit to her terms if she intends to execute these ponies in fear. Freedom cannot be bought with promises of trade, debt relief, or jobs. Freedom is a right among all lives, and that this is not the way she was taught. Tell her that I am very disappointed. Tell your queen that we will not sign the treaty."

Merry pulled the glass slab back and stood from her seat. The decision was made. "Then you leave us no choice. Note the time, January 4th. As the representative to Psera, I, Princess Merry Cirleane Fire, has declared Prance, Equestria, North Neighton, South Neighton, Seaquestria, Mount Aris, Hoof Yun, Saddle Arabia, The Forgotten Land, Dragon Lands, and Zebrica enemies of the State. Psera is hereby declaring war!!"

She raised her hoof, for at the bang the reality of Psera's massive army would begin their movement across the seas. But right before she dropped it, before making contact with the table, a snow white hoof shot out and stopped it right before it touched the table.

Merry followed it up to Crystaltite and her eyes. They stared ahead. Fierce, unmoving, listening. "What is it?" Merry queried.

She didn't answer. Too focused on the magic in the air and what she was understanding. But her face expressed confusion and interest. Soon, she turned to Merry and whispered in her ear. Something that made her eyes widen and her hoof to fold in. Whatever was going on interested the rest of the hall's inhabitants.

After a moment, Merry leaned away from Crystaltite. "Really?" She whispered.

At her nod, Merry faced IHT and cleared her throat. "You are extremely and conveniently fortunate today. At the last minute, Queen Arcadia has had a change of heart, and has decided to weight your offer for Real Estate with the rest of The Senate Board. As of this time, we are at a stand still; a Cold War."

Celestia didn't even realize she was holding her breath until she flopped down into her seat and let it all out. They were saved by Twilight once more, despite, ironically, her being the reason they were here about to wage war against the other.

Since she was out of commission, Consort Snow asked in her place, "What? How? Why?"

Princess Merry shrugged and answered, "I wish I could answer your question, but I honestly have no clue. But her message has been passed on to us: She will bring your offer to The Senate Board and we will wait on Equestria's borders until Psera replies. Perhaps there is still hope to determine what is truly right and what is wrong in this world."

It worked after all, and a second no less. Princess Flurry Heart was hoping that Aunt Twilight would see the gain from her plan. But now only one problem remained: What land could they offer them? What form of real estate could they offer to appease a nation that already has everything they could ever want?

Chapter 21 - Intermission 2

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Was it the right decision to make? Was giving them a chance at redemption by accepting their offer worth it in the end? Was this battle over too soon? Has the fight for her honor ceased? Queen Arcadia didn't know. She only trusted her heart and her sharp mind. She stood by the window and took a sip of her wine, thinking of the ramifications of her actions. It wasn't too late to set everything back to where they were before.

The Senate Board had been notified of her decision and now await her presence down in Cop. She would be going there alone, per her insistence. Time? Fourteen-hundred. Location? Flying into Cop. This time, only two Arcadian Elite Royal Guards traveled with her. No need for the jostling of a secured chariot to scatter her thoughts from the matter at hand.

IHT has offered land, their one shot at redemption. If it were up to her, Queen Arcadia would send her soldiers into Equestria before moving into the rest of the nations. But it was no longer up to her, the Saviour of Psera. Now it was up to Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. A return to her roots and her past methods were being called into action. Despite Queen Arcadia stirring to fight on the side.

There would be no Empress Arcadia.

The flight to Founder's Circle ended faster than she'd like. Queen Arcadia already missed the cool breeze of winter in her mane. The stories of the past whispered in her ears. Now she was left to come to full grasp with what was happening upon landing in Founder's Circle courtyard: accepting land as payment for her family's life. As well as others'.

Queen Arcadia was utterly disgusted, enraged at the prospect. But kind and forgiving Princess Twilight was now in charge. There would be no slaughtering of Zebras. As long as they held up their end, and the promise was good, there would be no need for a war.

Right?

Queen Arcadia gently flapped her wings to land as a dainty butterfly would beyond Founder's Circle's gate. The guards saluted upon her arrival. She could make out the increase in normal activity prior to her arrival. The news spread rather quickly within the last few hours.

Their appearance would not deter her. She quickly walked towards the main dome of Founder's Circle with her head held high and determination in every step. She passed every bowing and saluting pony in favor of the escalator and soon the doors for the Senate Hall were thrown open for access.

The news and information had summoned all members of the Senate here by five o'clock. Currently talking among themselves and awaiting the Queen's arrival. They circled half the room, ascending to three levels. Multiple colored Pserateps who would argue for rights.

Queen Arcadia walked through all of them when they stood, genuflecting to her presence among this room of government. Her trek took her to a small staircase leading up to her place underneath the panel of Supremes above her, but over the Speaker and Clerk beneath her.

Only when seated did she address her subjects. "Please be seated." All members quickly dropped into their chairs, eager to hear the Queen's piece. "At around eleven this morning, I was contacted by our Equestrian-Psera representative, Princess Merry Fire, regarding a compromise for Psera. A member of their board, Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire, an Equestrian Territory, has offered Psera Real Estate.

"At first, I refused any Real Estate as a form of restitution. But it has come to my attention that I may be a little..." Queen Arcadia cleared her throat. "Too eager to jump in. I believe that this offer of Real Estate is worth a try."

One of Cop's representatives from afar raised their hoof, garnering their Queen's attention. "Are there any specifics regarding this Real Estate? Or are we trotting onto unknown land?"

"The offer has only been placed on the table," Arcadia answered. "The Crown is awaiting more specifics but so far the offer has been raised. Therefore I brought it before The Senate Board before taking any action."

"I believe that more land isn't what Psera needs," another said. "It would be quite costly. Anything we build here would cost even more to build overseas."

"There are plenty of options for what we could do with the Real Estate when offered," Queen Arcadia reminded them. "Of course, our quarrel is still with the Zebras, which I am hoping to end on a rather high note. I am awaiting a report from Merry Fire about their decision to the treaty. She is well aware of my decision prior to this meeting and had the treaty presented before them. Of course, while I am still rather furious and awaiting some form of reimbursement, I am also attempting to establish an understanding with the Zebras."

"Excuse me for interrupting Queen Arcadia," one of the judges behind her said. She barely swiveled her head to acknowledge them. "But last I checked, you and the Zebras were on rather tense terms with each other personally after the assassination of both King Madun and Princess Dawn. Are you sure you are well enough to try and establish peace with them?"

The question of the year. Her answer? "Of course I'm not. As a matter of fact, I am quite eager to deploy our soldiers across seas at the first sign of Stripe movement. But I also swore an oath to seek peace when I first became Queen. I will not reserve any of my ill will towards the Zebras personally, but I will attempt peace for the good of the nation. What I do is for Psera, not for me."

Queen Arcadia turned around to face the hall once the muttering cooled down and cleared her throat, reigning in attention once more. "Now, I have prepared a plan, an Accord, to get the Zebras to leave Psera in peace. To have all of our nations settle within this frigid ice age and begin anew. I am proposing this accord between Zebrica and Psera to be reviewed in another two days, and transferred to IHT's Trade Rooms within three to be reviewed internationally and signed."

"And what is the basis of this treaty, Queen Arcadia?"

"In exchange for peace and new land for the Zebras, Psera will allow IHT to pay in credit for the Zebras' attack on our country, as well as interest, ranging to a maximum of three decades."

Psera's demand was simple: Give land and they'll stick to the contract. All debts will be paid off, there is hope for a trade agreement and the war will be over. But there was only one problem:

Psera needed land. Psera’s definition of land would be a distance so great, that even Manehattan wouldn't be enough. Or would it? Of course Queen Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle wouldn't be unreasonable with her demands. She knew she would have to be backed up by Psera's Senate Board first, as well as the country's Treasury Department to assure they have enough Shims to allow this grand investment. Then they have to confer with Equestria's agricultural committee to ensure all of that was in concrete before making any kind of signing on that treaty, a month's worth of work. But at the end of the day, their problem still wasn't solved.

IHT was dismissed to their reserved offices for the rest of the day while Equestria's cabinet conversed with Princess Merry Fire themselves. Bearing a closer relationship with their royalty than with the rest of IHT, they could understand and get a better insight on Psera's plans.

They walked the hall in a large party, hooves clattering along hard marble floors. Equestria’s Royal Guards stood stoic on the side while Princess Merry was associated only by her single one, the pony with the coat so white it may have been freshly fallen snow. Crystaltite was very much aware of their eyes on her. She could feel it.

"What is next for Psera's process?" Princess Cadance inquired. "I understand this changes your efforts."

Merry answered, "Queen Arcadia will bring this situation back up with the Senate Board, who will then weigh the pros and cons of this proposal. If Everything checks out, either the Queen herself or the Pseratopian Ambassador to Equestria will come to align the treaty and put everything into place. Then once the treaty is signed without any incident, the Cold War between our nations will be over."

It sounded so simple. Weigh the treaty, correct a few matters, sign it, done. But they were dealing with Psera, the greatest of all countries, and they were going to get their money's worth for the assassination of the King and Princess. This wasn't going to be easy.

While they delegated, two were tasked with another matter: getting Equestria's proposed shield up and running. Psera could, at any time, declare war against IHT. Time was bought for today, but tomorrow their fleet may approach their waters. Thus the reason why the Princesses urged Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer to get to work. But there was only one problem.

When the two arrived at the old Friendship Castle and walked through its doors, they were bombarded by one unfotunate fact: They didn't know anything about how to channel the magic through the castle and expel it into a shield. It was a concept and theory, not considered a process.

They stood still in the foyer's entrance, intimidated by the ghostly presence of silence. There was no wind, there were no voices.

Sunset swallowed the growing lump in her throat and said, "Well . . . We're here."

Starlight took a few tentative steps forward and whispered, "I've never seen friendship so lonely."

"Yeah. How exactly are we going to send friendship magic through a place desolate of it?" Sunset and Starlight walked the halls of the old castle and delved back into the past. When Friendship lessons were the most important. When the Map was active and running. Sunset hasn't seen it in action as much as Starlight, but the table certainly held memories. It went without a doubt that this was the center of this castle's operations way before Psera moved in.

Starlight and Sunset pushed aside the velvet rope protecting the entrance into the library and timidly walked in. Books littered with dust lined the shelves. In an arch, they were surrounded by knowledge that only Queen Twilight knew. Walking in this room was a taboo, in here Friendship and power existed, and from here, control was maintained throughout Equestria. This room was the pinnacle of Equestria's famed friendship management.

It was so hard to believe that it's been desolate for over a decade.

Starlight walked over to the table void of any map of any sort. She glided her hoof over it's smooth surface, wiping off a firm layer of dust that fell to the ground beneath their hooves.

"You would think they would clean in here," she whispered.

Sunset walked to her side. "They can't read or understand any of this stuff. I think they decided just not to enter period. It was useless to them."

"Still. Twilight should've said something." Starlight sighed and removed her hoof. "It's as if she's truly fallen."

"Then let's make sure she's flying once more." Sunset surrounded herself in a bubble and floated up to the books. "We can figure out how to work this thing. Like Princess Flurry said, Twilight wasn't imbued with knowledge, she picked it up by studying. If she can do it, we can do it too."

"And you're not doing it alone!" A Rainbow blur sped from the door up to Sunset's side, materializing into Rainbow Dash. She was focused on the books, wearing the Wonderbolts' uniform.

"Rainbow Dash?!" Starlight floated up and stated, "I thought you were in Canterlot."

"I was." Rainbow picked a book and blew the dust off its jacket. Just what she was looking for. She smiled and hoofed it to Sunset. "Then I heard about this awesome plan of Luna's. What's the point of standing by waiting for an attack when we could prevent any damage before an attack even hits the shores? I know this place inside and out. I used to work here too you know. Twilight's system wasn't the most practical, but I got it down. Especially when we technically owned the place. This book is about Energy Manipulation."

Starlight flipped it open and scanned certain pages. Sure enough, it had bits and pieces of the supposed science lining its pages. Book after book was tossed out and onto the table behind them.

"Why exactly are you helping, Rainbow Dash?" Sunset asked. "We know you. You want something."

"You're right." Rainbow Dash grabbed one more book and floated down to the table between Sunset and Starlight. "I want Scootaloo to come home safe and unharmed. And I want Twilight to stay away from our families. We have nothing to do with this and neither does Scootaloo. Now let's get to work."

How long has it been since Dawn's been declared gone? Months? Years? Did time work different in here? It sure seemed like it. From Dawn's observation point, upon one of the many mountains trapping their town within this valley, Dawn could make out time. She could see the sun moving through the clouds. The storm approaching their fair little town. Something was coming.

All inhabitants were ordered to remain indoors. The sky began to weep, pelting its tears against their windowsills. Without the luxuries of Psera in her ears and the insulated walls of the castle to keep her warm, the sense of boredom and frustration quickly surrounded Dawn. Here she sat, the Princess of Psera, Daughter of Queen Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle and King Shimmering Madun, at a windowsill watching the rain fall.

It was elegant, like falling jewels that crystallized the ground. But no matter how pretty this was, other matters lied at the front of her mind. They needed to find that bridge before things on the other side got worse than they were. Narmeelah was going to pull out all of her methods to take out her mother because she was a threat to her plans.

"Tired yet?"

Ugh. Dawn glanced over her shoulder to meet those cold eyes staring upon her from the darkness of her home. Heated Wings glaring from her makeshift prison. Unfortunately, she had to live in the same house with the mare who wanted to kill her. She could always move in with Night Life, but then again she'd rather be by herself.

"I will never tire," Dawn answered.

"You will. Just like the rest of them. Your army and support will dwindle."

Dawn left the windowsill and cautiously approached the restrained goddess restrained before the fireplace. She had a plethora of questions lying on the top of her mind, staged at the tip of her tongue. She stopped directly in front of Heated Wings and glared into her eyes.

"Who are you really?" She asked. "What's your real name?"

"My name is Shaoloh," she answered. "Princess of Psera. Who are you?"

"You know who I am."

"I don't even think you know who you are. Are you the daughter of Queen Arcadia, or are you the creation of Queen Arcadia?"

Dawn's hoof impacted against the brick next to Shaoloh's head. She bared her teeth, snarling to the enemy an inch away from their face.

"Do not speak of us that way," she threatened.

"You won't win this," Shaoloh assured. "You believe your mother, the vaunted Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, is ready for this war." Shaoloh silently chortled with deep amusement. "Ha! Foolish fillies, you know nothing of power."

"And you know nothing of knowledge. You can't fight with magic if you don't know how to use it effectively and efficiently." She backed off and glared down to her. "I meant what I said. You'd better hope we find the way out because if we don't, I'll be digging through your head for the answer."

"You think I want to stay here?" Shaoloh scoffed. "I lie to leave, to flee this boring world trapped in the pocket of reality. Why would I stay in a static environment that never ages?"

"Because your mother clearly wants to, and without her, you are truly alone. She can't accept change, something Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, Saviour of Psera, my mother, embraces."

Dawn turned around and walked back for the window. Her eyes sparkled with the rain, reveling in the back of her mind. "It's the time for the rest of you to do the same."

Shaoloh said nothing in response.

The halls of Canterlot Castle were thickened with unicorn guards, trained in battle magic. They lined the walls, staring across at each other awaiting the first sign of trouble. With Pserateps in the building, anything could happen.

They shuffled only briefly from anxiety eating at their bones. Not just from the Pserateps as a whole, but because of the single mare slinking down the hall as if she owns the place. The one with a coat the color of snow wearing the honorable fatigue of their enemy. The pony made of water and ice.

Crystaltite strode these halls alone with her head held high. She didn't need all the gear the rest of the guards had to protect themselves. She only needed her water.

Her approaching hoofsteps were stentorian, the only sound they could hear. With them was a small resounding crunch of ice, as if snowflakes dotted the ground with each step.

Her guard was barely up, for she knew if there were any ambush, all she had to do was flap her wings and they would all freeze. She was no mere Pseratep, she was the strongest of them here. Thank Narmeelah Queen Arcadia wasn't. The magical energies she gave off were so intense that it would get in the way of her task, searching for power and energy.

She proceeded walking past another guarded when she had to stop, as if someone somewhere was pulling at her senses. Her years of magical detection determined that something powerful lied at the end of this one.

Crystaltite turned her head to face its origin, the guarded hall bearing a single wooden door at the end of it. Something was behind it.

She spoke. "What lies behind that door?"

The guards at the end glanced at each other before focusing once more on her. "It is none of your concern."

She turned and walked in their direction, passing the Guards glaring at her. "As Captain to Princess Merry's Guard, I have every right to investigate whatever room I feel may pose a danger or threat to her wellbeing. Someone lies behind this door. I can feel them. Either you tell me who it is, or I find out myself."

"This is Princess Flurry Heart's room," he lied. "Her magic is strong. We are rewarded with headaches by simply standing here."

Headaches, huh? Now why didn't Crystaltite believe that? She measured the stallion up and down for any source of tales or lies. She listened to his breath, watched his eyes, observed his stance. He had a good poker face, but she could tell he was hiding something.

But whatever that something was, she wouldn't know today. With a firm nod, Crystaltite turned around and walked back down the hall. Whatever lied on the other side she would discover sooner or later.

The source of the opposite of Crystaltite's emotion lied on the other side. Mimi had her back to the door and her head tilted back to let out that breath of air she held within her lungs. She knew Crystaltite was good, but she didn't know to what extent.

"Too close," she whispered to herself. If Crystaltite saw any of this, this entire plan would've blown up in her face.

This was a small bedroom, one more suited for another prince or king instead of her. Well, her appearance that is. The light was absent, a lot more so than the rest of the castle to the point where she had to use candles to surround the desk in the corner. The windows had been shuttered, all source of external orifices leading to outside of this room were covered and sealed. Of course she could've used more convenient methods, but sometimes staying in character outside of sight worked wonders.

She could no longer hear Crystaltite's hooves in the hall or feel her presence in the air. With a sneaky smirk, Mimi made herself known from the darkness She sneaked out from her hiding spot and strode over to the desk in the corner, overshadowed with plans, photographs, and a single diagram tapered to the wall, one of all the most powerful ponies holding back her plans. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Princess Flurry Heart, Princess Flurry Heart, whom's power she could feel crawling these very halls, and finally at the very top of the list...

Queen Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle. It would be rough getting past her but it would all be worth it.

Mimi smiled at the picture. Because of her instigation, everything was out of plan. the experiment was wrong. Nothing was going right and it wouldn't be right as long as she was still walking this plane.

"I know your power," Mimi said. "And I know you're on your way." Her eyes gradually changed to darkness, losing their icy blue. Her fur transfiguring into a translucent body of stars, gasses, and universes. Her body was outlined with energy coursing through as her true form took place.

"Come to me," she whispered. "Face your goddess."

Chapter 22 - Monoliths

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The storm quickly let up. It didn't last too long but it still left its small damages. Such as to Dawn's Hooves when she took one step out the door afterwards and into a puddle of mud. Great.

She grimaced and scuffed her hoof against the wood of her house. Leave it to fate to screw her over. If things weren't at a standstill right now, she was sure she would continue to get the smallest stick in the stack. But now was not the time to cry. Now was the time to act. Sky Blue flew out with Juniper and dropped her on Dawn's back before perching herself on Dawn's head behind her horn and crown. They were ready, what about the rest of the town?

Dawn turned her attention to the rest of the houses lying quietly among the beauty of nature. Was she doing this herself?

"Are we the only ones awake?" First Light asked.

"I'm not sure," Dawn answered. "It's not smart to make estimations out here. This isn't Psera."

"Hey!" Dawn whipped around to the roof where Lucky was smiling down to her. "We've already started. Come on." Lucky flapped her wings and took back off into the air, flying into the valley to scower.

"Guess that answers that question," First Light commented.

"Yes it did." Dawn soared off the ground, expanded her wings and embraced the humid air after Lucky, over all of the green and brown of earth.

She caught up with Lucky and asked, "Any sign?"

A claw was pointed in the distance towards the mountains. "Not yet. But we are searching. Another team is walking up the mountain to see if they can make something out up there."

Dawn really hoped they would find something soon. The nagging feeling that they were running out of time ate at her mind, and it would be too late top stop the war burning under their hooves.

Progress had been slow, but assistance has been acquired. Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, and Rainbow Dash were no longer alone. Scientists, mages, and noted names from the far reaches of Equestria gathered here in the famed Castle of Friendship, a forgotten legend if they ever knew one. Now they all wore white lab coats, tinkering with the machines connected to the castle's walls, reading the data outputted by their printers, making constant adjustments that will allow them to control the Castle and the magic that flows within.

Starlight Glimmer was working on the compiler, where all the magic would converge and be expelled by the antenna pointing to the sky above them. Rainbow Dash was working on getting the magic to "explode" when it leaves that point.

Sunset Shimmer was working on getting the magic coursing through the castle to feed into the machine. The rest of those supplied their assistance wherever it was allowed or needed.

But none of it would matter if they couldn't figure out this expulsion effect. Sunset's combed over the data so many times. She's hunkered over their work table repeatedly, adding the numbers, repeating the tests to gather the data they needed. But nothing seemed to be working or adding up. The frustration was beginning to eat at their minds.

"This makes no sense," she said to herself. Everything was ready and they would be able to control the magic already flowing, as well as any additional current. So why wasn't it controlled?

She hurriedly went over their tools. Castle, artificially created magical controller, antenna. It was all here. The science behind all this was unfathomable yet accomplished. But what was missing? This frustrated all the geniuses surrounding the table.

"Maybe the controller is faulty," one suggested. "Again."

"After two replacements I highly doubt it by this point."

"Maybe it's not enough current to control?"

"No, we're over eighteen Bells, it's more than enough current. We have more than what we really need. " Sunset sighed and ran her hoof through her name. "Everypony, this is our only chance to protect ourselves against Psera. We can't screw up here; we won't get this chance again."

Starlight raised the schematics of the castle from the table, one of the many sheets littering this tabletop and read it over. They were looking at this wrong, from an angle that wouldn't help them. How did this castle work before? All the Elements of Harmony were present, but logically speaking, whether they were here or not, it always worked. The Elements were the embodiments of...

The Elements. Starlight slammed her hoof down on the table and shouted, "That's it!"

Sunset stopped her rambling. "What?"

"The Elements of Harmony. No matter what we hook up to this place, the magic inside won't work without the Elements of Harmony present. That's how it was controlled."

Sunset grew a smile so massive it would've been creepy were she not in charge. "We need to get to the Princesses. Now."

Merry Fire and Crystaltite found themselves walking alongside the Princesses. Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, seemingly the leaders of this front against control. But it was clear they were still on tense hooves. Their military occupied the halls with Equestria on one side and Psera on the other. Staring at each other with the anger and subtlety of children, waiting for another to make a move, even as their rulers crossed their sights.

"It's hard to believe," Cadance started off. "That after all this time, you have yet to see the country of Equestria. I wonder why Queen Arcadia never showed you."

"Well she did want to leave it all behind," Merry reminded them.

"It's impossible to forget. But we seemed to have made amends with Psera and their fair ruler. I was expecting things would be different. But it would seem that we are back to where we started."

Cadance stopped their progression and faced Merry. "It seems our friend is treading down the path of revenge, something Equestria does not do."

"Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle is no longer a part of Equestria," Merry sternly told them. "She rules in Psera."

"Of course. But whether she acknowledges it or not, Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle will always be a firm inspiration to Equestria and IHT's members, a name known to all here in Equestria. She is beginning to lose that name faster than she created it."

"For once, I cannot rebuke your claim," Merry admitted. She turned and continued their progression, albeit with a heavy hear and worry painting her face. "I too am concerned for Queen Arcadia's sanity and leadership. Losing both her daughter and husband to the same enemy is certainly enough to hurt a standard citizen. But Queen Arcadia lost her citizens as well. She watched them all die."

Merry stopped and faced them with a grave expression. "I've never seen fury like the fire I saw in her eyes that day. I fear the safety of the Zebras as much as you do. The reason I came here to try and coerce you to give up the Zebras is to ensure that you do not suffer the same fate as they have. We all know that Queen Arcadia's power is unmatched by any living pony out there. She is bound to do something dangerous that we cannot prevent once the action is taken. Even if it is outside of the law and Narmeelah's Tome.

Luna queried, "And how exactly are you going to stop it?"

"We cannot. We can only question her intentions and determine if it is the right action to take. If the House votes that it isn't, then we will deny the Queen's order, whatever it is."

"And if it is?"

"Then we, her military and country, will follow her judgement to the letter, and do what must be done. Psera was raised on obedience, power, defense and prosperity. This tradition will not end. Not now during this cold war, not ever."

"And what if following this order dismantles the integrity of your society and civilization?"

"Then the proper steps will be taken to get it back. Trust me, Psera knows very well how to protect themselves from unjust leaders." Merry stopped in front of a window and observed the city of Canterlot. Its citizens were flowing to and fro beneath their hooves, going about their day as if nothing else was occuring. "It's a shame really. But the process must be witheld."

Merry's words did flips inside of their minds. The clear nature of Queen Arcadia's plans had yet to reveal themselves. The attack that transmogrified an entire country into ash, dust, and Zebra remains was not the one she was looking forward to. The attack that left Shining Armor with a broken hoof and Princess Cadance covered in small scrapes and bruises was not the one they needed to fear. Something else was on the way.

The need for that shield was as its greatest for this Cold War. There was no telling when Queen Arcadia would point her weapons to them.

"It seems so long since the attack," Luna said. "I could only hope that Dawn and Madun has found peace."

They joined Princess Merry Fire at the balcony, observing the reasons for their positions move about their day. Some with gusto and some with a tenseness in their steps, as if the next one would mean their imminent death.

"It is evident that Queen Twilight 'Arcadia nova' Sparkle has yet to find any herself."

For a lost world fitted with only the soulds of ponies banned from time and space, it sure was active with other creatures. Bugs constantly fluttered towards the coat of the lost, restraining them from a peaceful journey back to where they were centuries or decades prior.

The constant flicks of Night Life's ears were ignored, he wasn't the only one. The fluttering of wings and constant swats at the air behind him from the rest of his party was a firm reminder to their predicament: treading up a mountain to find the bridge between time and the void.

Lucky landed next to Night Life from above, rashing through the branches to settle gently at his side with a puff of fire from her snout. "She's awakened and now searches with us," she informed him.

"Good," he replied. "She will be able to detect whether there is a way to get to the other side."

"About that. Do you truly believe she'll be able to find anything?"

Night Life stopped walking and gazed ahead to their destination. They were nearing the top of the mountain. Albeit smaller than the average majesty of earth, yet taller than one's average hill, the tread was tiring.

"I believe nothing," he answered. "I can only hope she knows what she's doing. The only thing we have to lose here is our sanity. But out there, past this bubble of time and space, lives are being lost. If she believes that we can get out, and has proven to us that we were being kept prisoner, I believe she knows what she is doing. Now let's continue."

His words weren't unheard. The team of twenty creatures from this world followed behind him. Jumping over boulders, climbing trees and scanning the earth with their eyes, ears, and noses. Only to reach the top fruitless.

"This is becoming frustrating," a pony mused, attracting attention. Disguised as a mare, the Changeling morphed back to their true form and pointed over their shoulder. "We not need be walking in circles. We cannot find anything this way."

Murmurs of agreement ascended from the crowd.

"We cannot escape in a such a manner relative to a guessing game."

"We should squeeze the information out of that pony in chains down there."

Night Life held up his hooves in an attempt to disperse the crowd. "Everyone, please. Without the technology, we cannot simply search the island in a day and find what we are looking for. Everything here is manual."

A young stallion, the age of a teenager approached and queried, "Isn't it possible for Princess Dawn to possibly scan the island with her magic? I have seen methods of this done before."

"I'm not too sure of Dawn's true magical capabalities. All we have is the physical work at this time unless told otherwise."

Roars of unhappiness grew from the crowd. An older mare with the agility of a foal rose upon her hooves and shouted, "This is pointless!" She stomped her hooves down and landed them with a lound clang, loud enough to garner attention.

Night Life, Lucky, and the rest directed their sights to the sound. Silence reigned among their party, for on this island, metal was nonexistent. But that sound, that ringer of hope, was definitely the source of a metal. But directly underneath her hooves were nothing but dirt.

The mare scrambled off the spot when Night Life and Lucky approached. Their claws and hooves grazed upon the earth until they met warm solid material, thick yet cool enough to raise their heart rates.

"Dig." One word spoken and all creatures dug at the location. Dirt flew through the air and piles were pushed to the side until finally a metallic luster appeared before them in the form of a long spike. Dented with age, it jutted from the ground pointing to the sky at an angle. But they had more to carve through to see what truly lied beneath this monolith.

"Someone send up a flare," Night Life ordered. "We could use Princess Dawn's help."

Lucky tilted her head back and inhaled through her mouth. A small orange ball slowly materialized in the back of her throat before she blew, propelling it into the sky and watching it burst with a small bang of flames. The spectacle was not lost.

Princess Fresh Dawn, scouting through the skies with two pegasi. Her eyes twinkled with orange when it exploded, bringing worry into her heart before she saw the group down below gathered around a small spike jutting from the ground. They found it.

Dawn ordered, "Get all the teams to head to their location. Meet us there."

The Pegasi banked in one direction while Dawn smoothly glided in the other. She approached cautiously and flapped her wings to a slow descent. The entourage gave room for her large wings to land and walk forward to what they discovered.

She quickly asked, "Did anyone use any magic?"

"No," Night Life answered. "We've just begun digging."

Good. Any form of magic performed that wasn't to detect could interrupt the spell currently in place. If there even was one.

"Okay, everyone stand back." Dawn closed her eyes and gently met her horn with the tip of the monolith. She poured her detection spell inside and encountered something. Something great, something wonderful, something powerful.

Even more magic. A spell was contained inside, frozen with age and time. This was the bridge.

She pulled back and proudly announced, "This is it!"

The group cheered, throwing up their hooves and flying into the sky. The doorway back to reality had been found.

"There's only one issue." All shouting and celebrating ceased, and attention was brought back on Dawn. She pointed to the monolith. "The magic is contained within this monolith, but this is a bigger artifact than what we see. We need to dig more to unearth what it truly is. If we don't, we can't activate the magic inside."

"So we have to dig further," one assumed.

Dawn nodded to their enlarging group of creatures. "We must dig around it. We cannot move it from where it is sitting. We have to pick the dirt away or else it won't work. I too will help. If we all work together, then we can get out of here by tomorrow morning."

"Then let's get started!" One cheered. Their words were reinforced with cheers and chants to the sky. What else could Dawn do but bring it all together by digging herself. Her hooves grew dirty, but so did the others' when they followed her example. Nothing would come out of this without hard work. Dad taught her that.

She wondered how dad was faring during all of this.

Chapter 23 - Change

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Getting a treaty signed required the Steps of Process in Psera's name. First, all parties must vote to even have the plan written out and ready for signatures, or even authorized to exist in the first place. The idea may have been there, but not everyone would be on board to materialize it.

But getting Psera to agree to Queen Arcadia's treaty didn't take too long. For out of all their international relations, Equestria was their most promising one. Queen Arcadia and other lawmakers have already expressed their concerns that even attacking the Land of Magic, that even raiding their land for any possible Zebra strongholds, would be a dealbreaker for any future relationships. The same went for the rest of IHT.

The vote was unanimous to have the treaty written and investigated. Within a week, it was ready to be signed by all members of IHT and The Queen of Psera.

Meanwhile, in the great and magical land of Equestria their greatest problem persisted. Finding land for Psera to be pleased with. Of course there were a few outlying locations that they were registering for consideration today, but then there was still the problems of Psera actually agreeing to the land. There was no telling what Queen Arcadia would want.

But in the event that the treaty doesn't pass and they do end up going to war, the Elements of Harmony were hoofed over to Sunset Shimmer and her team, and carefully transported back to the old Friendship Castle by train and carriage. But only during the night. The Pserateps didn't need to know that they were preparing a shield that they could plan ahead of. Their Queen was certainly suspicious of any movement from the castle to the old one.

The discussion of where to find lands brought them well into the darkness of nights. For the third day, it was discussed up to eight, and ponies grew weary of the same conversation. The lack of land had shifted over to the transfer of land ownership. Thus, Flurry had retired to her room, leaving the rest of the delegates to their discussion for some well deserved rest. After all of this discussing and spending some time away from her friends in favor of the country, the least she could do is give herself some time to get used to everything. She was thrown into this war, not the other way around. If she had her way, she'd let her family members hash this out on their own, and she'd watch from the comfort of the bed she was currently lying in.

Before returning back to the Trade Room, Aunt Celestia's sun was lowered and Aunt Luna's moon was raised, basking Flurry Heart in a cool glow of love and affection. But she didn't feel or acknowledge it. As a matter of fact, she was feeling quite the opposite. War wasn't about love, it was about hate. Psera hated the Zebras and massacred them. Equestria didn't like that so much and investigated. Equestria was then blamed for harboring more—which they were—and weren't willing to hoof them over to Psera, even under threats from Psera's Chief Government Official, their very own Queen Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle.

She's changed, they could all see it. Twilight was a lot more serious about her family and her leadership over her country. As Queen it was expected of her, but even Princess Merry could see that she was a totally different pony than from when she first set hoof on their soil. The mare that assisted all creatures slowly narrowed her focus down to her family and her country.

And now that her family was gone...

Flurry didn't want to think about it. She tossed over in her bed and faced her window. Her aunt, more specifically Celestia, decided to spell her windows to keep her safe from any harm that Psera may impose upon The Crystal Empire. Just to be safe. One couldn't mistake that glimmer of magic screening over the glass pane keeping her warm from the frigid temperatures of the Crystal Empire. Soon, her eyes grew heavy with the weight of fatigue before her body gave in, plunging her deep into the realm filled with dreams. Although, this was an odd contrast to what she usually experiences.

She was not in her bedroom this time replaying in her dreams what she's already experienced. This was an entirely different field, in both the metaphorical and literal sense. She stood upon a hill overlooking a land of untapped potential riddled with mountains both big and small, rocky or topped with snow and grass. They were countless, pressureless of height and distance, so beautiful she almost lost her breath.

Flurry reached out a hoof to touch this painting of beauty, a mere mockery of life. So close to peace...

"Flurry!" Flurry gasped and withdrew her hoof. She followed the ghostly voice to behind her, but confusion overtook surprise when she came to meet nothing. Just more mountains and rocky hills. What was that? It was the voice of a mare from a forgotten past. Actually, it sounded like...

"Flurry!" Flurry whipped back around and came face to face with a ghost. Or what she assumed to be the ghost of her cousin, Fresh Dawn. Her violet coat was flawless, but her red mane was plastered with sweat and sticking to the base of her horn.

"Dawn?" Flurry asked. This pony didn't seem to be at peace. Her body was there, but was clearly transparent. She could see through her, just enough to recognize the mountains on the otherside. Flurry shot her hoof out and attempted to poke Dawn in the forehead, directly underneath her horn. Her hoof passed right through.

"Are you... A ghost?"

"Flurry, I don't have a lot of time. I need you to listen to me closely. I'm sure Psera is about to go to war or something, so I need you to tell mom and dad I'm fine, okay? I'm not dead, I'm trapped—"

"Trapped?!" Flurry attempted to grab her hoof but it passed through. "Wh-Where are you?"

"There's no time to explain, I'm struggling to even hold past this barrier! We're all trapped in time and space, and that we could use mom's help to get out! The way out is too small and the magic is too weak. I don't have a lot of time to get out. If you see mom, tell her that she was right. Tell her that we're all being manipulated and—ah!" Dawn's form slightly dipped from visibility before she resurfaced. But Flurry could tell that she was barely holding on. She had to make this quick.

"What else, Dawn?"

"Tell mom that Queen Narmeelah isn't coming back! Tell her she's already here!! Hurry!!"

Before Flurry could inquire further, Dawn faded from existence, leaving Flurry alone once more in her dream. But this time, she was sure that was real. That Dawn wasn't actually dead. That was way too livid and everything was way too specific. But there was only one way to confirm.

Flurry's eyes shot open and trained on the moon, as if time never passed. Despite being on the brink of collapse thanks to today's session, she was once more invigorated with energy. If all of that was real, and it all sounded very real, then...

Flurry threw the covers off her body and shot out of the bed. She ran for the door, threw it open, and rushed through the hall. She passed the stoic guards watching oddly from the side shouting, "Mom! Dad!"

Were they still in their meeting? What time was it?! She rushed to the Trade Room. Alicorn Guards and others stood near, implying they were. She was firmly recognized and they allowed her to pass. With a push of magic, the doors were thrown open with a bang. Whatever they were discussing was obliterated and all attention was thrown onto Flurry.

"Flurry?" Shining asked. "I thought you were going to bed."

"I did. Then somethhing important came up." Flurry didn't focus on them. She knew who she wanted to see. Her eyes shifted down the line until they settled on the one pony she needed verification from. "Princess Luna, can I speak to you?"

Luna? All eyes moved to her. She pointed a hoof at herself. "Me? Can it not wait?"

"No. It's about dreams, and about how Fresh Dawn was able to contact me through mine."

Fresh Dawn? Dreams? It was pretty common knowledge among IHT that the late Princess Dawn had a hoof in the dream realm during Maheera Dark vs. The World. She was the one who managed to learn that Maheera was on her way to Psera at the tender age of four, way before Psera's PDS Obelisk Line even detected her. But it was a rare ability. Dawn's flexibility in magic was already pretty miniscule in chance, for her to enter the dream realm had to be on accident.

Luna asked, "What did she say?"

Flurry walked into the room and shut the door, circling around the table for Luna's chair. "She was saying that she wasn't dead, but that she was trapped in time and space. And from what it sounded like, she wasn't alone."

"So Princess Fresh Dawn is alive?"

Small murmurs escaped the room of ponies before Princess Celestia raised her hoof. "Every creature, please settle." Once the room quieted she turned to Flurry. "Flurry. Dawn did have an ability to enter the dream realm, but it was very rare that she did so. Are you sure it wasn't just a dream, a nightmare?"

"I'm sure," she answered determinedly. "That was Dawn, the real deal. She sounded like she was in a panic."

Cadance inputted, "This sounds like Psera would know what this means."

"Dawn asked for mom specifically. But... She also said, 'Tell my parents that I'm alive.'"

"Her parents?" Jim Sun of Hoof Yun asked, "Why would she say that?"

"Exactly my point. According to Queen Arcadia, Dawn was technically kidnapped before the ceremony. She wasn't even near the castle during the explosion. Dawn doesn't know... That King Madun is dead."

"Yes," Queen Farue agreed. "But your mind is already intelligent, are you sure that this wasn't just a dream"

"I'm sure. It was way too surreal. Magic was involved, I could feel it."

"Then that leaves us with only one more form of verification." Celestia stood up and decreed, "We must, once more, inquire with Queen Arcadia Nova."

No one wanted to do that. They were so close to a deal, so close to peace, implanting Queen Arcadia with false hopes and a slap in the muzzle that her daughter may be alive was a death sentence.

"Can we not just ask Princess Merry Fire?" Madam Virtue Singe asked. "She is right down the hall."

Celestia shook her head. "No. It would not sound right coming from her. I'm sure she too would understand the risks upon delivering this question. We must ask Queen Arcadia directly. Remember, if this is true, then this could change the very projection of this Cold War. All in favor of direct connection with Queen Arcadia?"

A majority of hooves and claws rose into the air, including Flurry's very own. It was too late at night to be burdened with the thought of battle with Psera, let alone talking with them. At eleven, the Queen was most surely asleep. But yet, this seemed to be a game changer.

"All oppose?" A few hooves rose up but only a few who were unsure. They all knew this had to happen. "Very well. We will contact Queen Arcadia. Hopefully she will answer and focus will be turned over to something better." Celestia turned to Dawn. "But only you must tell her, Flurry. She will listen to you a lot more than she will us."

Flurry hurriedly nodded her head. "I will," she promised.

They had a plan. Now it was time to put it into action. Celestia took a deep breath and focused on the center of the room. As if Twilight was right there glaring into her eyes. "Twilight, I know you are listening," she said aloud. "We have a few questions that—"

"If you even think," she interrupted. Her voice made Celestia cringe. "That we are on casual speaking terms, then you would be greatly disappointed. The name is Queen Arcadia."

"This isn't casual business, Queen Arcadia. Our dear Princess Flurry Heart has a few questions for you."

Celestia could feel the change in the air at the mention of her name. She was sure the rest in the room with horns could as well. "Flurry?" Arcadia repeated.

"Yes. What she holds could possibly change the fate of this war. But we need to ask you personally."

Another drop of silence before, "Balcony, and only Flurry Heart."

Celestia focused on Flurry and relayed, "She'll only speak to you out on the balcony connecting the main upper halls. I'm sure you know the one."

Only to her? Flurry swallowed hard and calmly approached the door. But a pink wing shot out and stopped her. Cadance glared acid to Celestia. "As her mother, she's not going anywhere near Queen Twilight unless we're there with her."

"Mom—"

"Don't fight us on this," Shining Armor interrupted. If his sister thought she was going to have a meeting with their only daughter, then she was sadly mistaken. "She's not the same aunt you grew up around, Flurry. There's no telling how she'll react. We're coming too. Now, let's go."

Shining didn't give his girls any time to wait. He jumped out of his seat and walked around the table for the door. The rest of IHT watched them depart for a meeting with the Queen. For she bared an ear for what Flurry had to say.

During the walk through the halls, Shining Armor ordered, "If I tell you to go back to the Trade Room, you do it, do you understand me, Flurry?"

Flurry sighed but answered, "Yes, dad."

"Good. Same for you, Cadance. I know how to handle my sister." No word left her mouth. Flurry's protection came first before the both of them. If Flurry left, Cadance would leave a simple attack and follow directly behind her.

Soon, they arrived at the balcony, guarded by two Crystal Empire Pegasi. They saluted to Captain Shining Armor upon recognition.

"Leave us," he ordered. They lowered their hooves and marched out of sight without question. His word was law; what he said was followed to the letter without hesitation.

The cold of winter bit at the skin under their fur as they carefully traveled under the stars onto the balcony of the Canterlot Castle, home of The Pony Sisters. The silence was interrupted periodically by a the ever impending chirping of crickets, the birds of the night. Guards walked their patrols down below, bathing the building in a cool light from their magically-lit torches and lights.

Flurry and Cadance carefully walked out after him, scanning the air and listening to the sounds. The balcony was abandoned, which meant either they had the wrong balcony or Queen Arcadia hadn't arrived yet.

Cadance stood next to Shining with Flurry and whispered, "Where is she?"

"I'm not sure."

"I am certain I only requested Flurry." They all whipped around to face the voice of Queen Arcadia. She sat between them and the doorway, watching their every move from behind her long ethereal mane. Her gaze fiercely pierced into theirs. The Goddess of Magic.

Cadance stood tall next to Flurry and decreed, "After how you attacked us, I will not allow my daughter anywhere near you without our presence. I'm sure you would do the same were it the other way around."

Queen Arcadia smoldered at them. But said nothing in return. They were right and she knew it. Remissed she would be were she to deny it. So with a firm nod, her gaze shifted to Flurry.

"Good evening, my young niece. What did you have to tell me at this otherwise ungodly hour?"

Flurry wasn't so sure she wanted to tell her now. Queen Arcadia's eyes were practically glowing with an inferno behind them. One wrong word and it would engulf them all. She gulped loudly and asked, "Did Princess Dawn have a hoof in the dream world?"

The dream world? The realm of the night? Queen Arcadia straightened up and answered, "Well, it was rare, but my little Veola did have a special talent that allowed her to travel the land of dreams, as well as have her consciousness leave her body to travel the real world. While appearing to be sleeping, she would be awake at the same time. Why do you ask this question?"

"I had a dream tonight. Dawn was in it. But . . . It wasn't a normal dream. Dawn . . . It was very livid. I was in a mountain range, surrounded by flowers when Dawn appeared out of nowhere. But not entirely. It was like she was a ghost, a memory of what she was. But she was saying things."

Twilight sighed and asked, "What was she saying?"

"She told me to tell you and Madun that she wasn't dead. That she and others were trapped in time and space and that they needed help to get out."

Twilight sighed and walked past Flurry for the edge of the balcony. "It sounds to me like you had a strange dream Flurry. Dawn is gone, and she died in my hooves. She's not coming back. If she's trapped in time and space, then she's trapped in the Everlasting Sky. Now, if there is nothing else, I must report back to my room for some rest. I have a long day tomorrow."

But Flurry knew what she saw and what she heard. And definitely what she felt. Before Queen Arcadia could light her horn and once again disappear, she raised a hoof in her direction. "Wait! There was something else she wanted me to tell you."

Twilight disengaged her horn and waved her on. The faster she got it out, the quicker she could get to bed.

"She said . . . She said that you were right."

"About?"

"Uhh... N-Narmeelah. About her returning." A visible change rushed through Twilight. Her wings stiffened and her droopy eyes popped open.

She slowly rotated around and turned her curious gaze back to Flurry. "What do you know about that?" She hurriedly asked. "No creature is supposed to know about that."

Cadance glanced between them and stepped into the electricity sparking. "What is she talking about?" She asked Twilight.

"It was a theory I had. I only shared it with Princess Celestia many months ago and Dawn shortly after I returned. Did Princess Celestia tell you that, Flurry?"

"No," Flurry quickly answered. She took one step away from Queen Arcadia. "I swear, she didn't tell me a thing. Dawn told me."

Queen Arcadia quickly stepped through Cadance in a flash and was once more in front of her daughter. She was anxious. How could this be? How could this information have leaked? "What exactly did Dawn tell you?"

Visibly shaking, Flurry answered, "Sh-She said that you were right, but also wrong. Narmeelah isn't coming back. She said she's already here, and that all of this has been a manipulation. That we were all being manipulated by Narmeelah."

Narmeelah was already here? But how? How could that even be? What would be the point? Something wasn't adding up. If Dawn was truly alive . . . "Did she say anything else?"

Flurry shook her head. "She faded away and disappeared before she could. She said she needed your help to get out. The magic was too weak."

No words were spoke for a lengthy amount of time. Twilight's glare was thick with a collection of emotions. Distrust, anger, confusion, Flurry could see it all sketched upon her face before it solidified into that single unreadable glare..

Twilight rose back up, faced Cadance and said, "Just ensure that you have land for us and we can sign this treaty."

"Do you believe Flurry?" Cadance asked.

Arcadia said nothing. Instead, in a flash, she teleported away, leaving them again as if she were never there. The only true sign was the small swirling of dead leaves in her place.

Flurry sighed and shook her head. "It didn't work," she muttered.

"No," Shining denied. "It did. Just not in the way you were expecting. Your Aunt Twilight isn't going to end this war. But she'll probably stay up and research all night. It's a step in the right direction."

Flurry could only hope that's all she would do. Search for the truth for all of them. If that was Dawn, and she wasn't dead, then where did she go, and why?

Chapter 24 - A Rotating Star

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Hours Earlier

It took many hours to get that statue out. But soon, after using nothing but their hooves, claws, talons, and whatever they could find, the statue was unearthed. It's reflective luster bounced the sun's rays into their eyes. But Dawn stared on, for it wouldn't hurt her.

Standing tall before them all was a statue of an alicorn. Strange to say the least. Why was a statue of an Alicorn buried here?

Lucky walked up to Dawn and asked, "What does this mean?"

Dawn's eyes stayed upon the statue. Breathlessly she answered, "I don't know."

First Light's eye poked replaced Dawn's left. In her voice, she said, "Quite the mystery. But it is not why we're here."

She was right. Dawn took action and lightly touched her horn to the chest of this marvel. A cold disappointment found her heart. "No," she whispered.

"I feel it too," First Light added.

Lucky and Night Life approached from the line of ponies behind them. The latter asked, "What is it?"

"There's not enough." Dawn pulled her horn back and faced them with worry and confusion. "There's not enough of the contained spell to open the doorway."

Groans of disappointment and disbelief lifted from the crowd.

"What?!"

"Then what did we just dig for?!"

Dawn raised her hooves to the crowd of agitation behind her. "Please, every creature. Give me a moment to figure this out." She turned to Night Life and poked a hoof into his chest. "Please, keep this crowd under control until I get some answers from my books."

Once he nodded, Dawn raised her wings and took off into the sky. Leaving him with the problem. "Everyone, please listen. While Princess Dawn studies what she can—"

"How can we trust her?" Someone asked from the far back.

"She's the only one here with the access to this magic. We must trust her. It's a timely process."

They backed down with understanding and began to disperse. The tower was abandoned and the ponies followed their own tasks instead of Dawn's. But how long would that last?

Dawn's flight brought her back to her home-turned-prison cell. The silence of the town was interrupted by the flapping of her wings. She landed gently at her doorstep and stepped into her home, the prison of one of their own.

”Let me guess...” Dawn stopped and directed her attention to their prisoner, smirking at her knowingly from in front of the fireplace. “You let them down. You didn’t find your little doorway.”

“Oh no, we did.” Dawn walked over and sat in front of Shaoloh. “It’s right there, atop the mountain overlooking this quaint town. But there is a problem that you can solve. All of us can leave, but Narmeelah made it a little difficult.”

“Duh,” Shaoloh replied. “She’s not going to make it easy for anyone to leave. Although, I respect your persistence in escaping."

"Oh, we will escape. Narmeelah won't keep us in here. We'll find a way out." She turned her back to Shaoloh and proceeded back out the door, ignoring the comments behind her back.

"Do you seriously think there is anything you can do to stop the inevitable? Many have tried and now live among you in this pocketed world. There is nothing you can do! There is nothing you—"

Dawn shut the door and cut off Shaoloh's incoming retort before she could even finish. Those were the words of a quitter. She wasn't a quitter. Dawn always had a plan.

"So what do we do?" First Light asked.

"We have to resort to the next best thing," she answered. "We need some outside help. Think we can get in contact with mom?"

"If Narmeelah is as smart as she's recounted, then she probably forbid us from exiting through the dream realm, if that's the path you're thinking of taking."

"We don't know unless we try." They had a plan. A small one, but still a plan nonetheless. A plan that had to put into action.

No way. No way she could be alive. Queen Arcadia hasn't been around as much as Dawn's been alive, but even back when she was a filly, Dawn had absolutely no control of that kind of magic. She could only travel the dream realm when she was deep in her sleep. And based on testimonies from her family, as well as her own mother, Dawn was a restless foal. It would take her a while to go to sleep, unlike her father. The King of a country would be sleeping if Dawn didn't want to "hang out." Her mother would have been too, were she around.

Oh, the mistakes made in the past would forever be the bane of her existence.

Queen Arcadia cursed herself and her family by imprisoning both Maheera Dark and herself. Now, here she stood, watching the sun rising over the horizon by herself inside the comfort of Safe Haven. Behind thickened glass, she was a treasured artifact to history and one of the most strongest Alicorns in existence. But was it truly worth anything if her family wasn't around with her? All the studying, trials, theories, all of it? Was becoming Queen truly worth being alone?

Twilight sighed and looked back to Gardeen standing behind her, patiently waiting. "What is on the agenda today?"

Gardeen answered, "Not much. You have a meeting with the Force Guard General at 3 before returning back here by 6."

Twilight turned back to the window. "Quite the hole in time we have."

"Yes, ma'am. Not much to fill it with."

"Well I know what we can fill it with. I recently encountered a small sum of information that could... change the tide of this war. But I need to confirm its legitimacy."

Gardeen didn't like where this was heading. Queen Arcadia has been known to be pretty cryptic, but as of late, her plans seem to take on a more endangering tone.

"And how exactly do you intend to do that?"

"Simple. I need to visit my notes and texts. I must return to the castle."

"The castle?" Would that even be allowed? The repairs were going slow as per recommendation because of the building's ancient state. That, and... "Queen Arcadia, I strongly urge you do not visit the location of your... Family's demise."

"That's just it, Gardeen." Twilight stepped away from the window and approached her assistant, stopping only when she was near her ear to whisper. "It has been brought to my attention that Dawn may still be alive."

"What?" Gardeen whispered.

Arcadia didn't respond. This wasn't news one speaks of in the halls. To keep the Guard at ease, she lead Gardeen back to her office without a single word spoken until the door was sealed shut. A spell was placed upon them, preventing any noises from escaping. Garden recognized the shimmering of Arcadia's horn.

"How? Why?" She asked. "Wait. Who told you this?"

Arcadia dropped down into her seat and folded her hooves from in front of her face. "Princess Flurry Heart. She came across a dream last night and said that my daughter sent her a message. She implied that Dawn and others were trapped and that they needed outside help. At first, I didn't believe her. Then she said something that struck a chord."

"A good one, or a bad one?"

"It fit with the song of my life's work. She said that I was right and wrong. That Narmeelah wasn't just coming back. But that she was already here."

Arcadia's deeply kept theory. Gardeen stalked closer to the Queen's desk. "How did Flurry know?"

"Because she spoke with Dawn in her dream. " Arcadia tapped along her desk. "If Dawn is in fact alive, then that means there are greater forces at play here, and we are all in grave danger. She said we were being manipulated."

"And you believe this," Gardeen assumed.

"I'm not sure what to believe yet, which is why I have to go to the castle. Get it set up, Gardeen. I have work to do."

Gardeen nodded. Then with a firm bow, left Arcadia to think and work. She had more to think about than just the war, and how her daughter may still be alive.

They were close, Sunset could feel it. So close she could practically touch it. But nay, she would not. There was no telling what would happen should her hoof make contact with any of these Elements lying before them.

Like the judges of life themselves, Each Element was placed in their proper throne. Should Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, or even Twilight return, they will be greeted by their amulets.

They lied upon metallic structures that held them in place, weighed down by the stone connected. They would not move unless they were met with a force strong enough to move castles. Now that they had all of them connected and set, it was time for the test. Or, at least it would be.

Due to the presence of Pserateps in the country, Princess Celestia had ordered them to pause their work, abandon the castle, and instead, watch it from afar. Understandable, yet still unfortunate. Now here Sunset sat in the home of Rarity, the last pony she would ever hang out with. But tough times called for tough measures. She was busy sewing, ignoring the noise Sunset was creating during her research.

Across from each other they sat, minding their own business until Rarity ceased her sewing and glanced up.

"Busy day?" She asked.

"Yes," Sunset answered. "I may not be in the lab, but the war is going to start."

Rarity continued sewing. "Ugh. Don't remind me. I was hoping a solution would be raised weeks prior."

"Solutions were raised. Twilight just didn't take any of them."

Rarity stopped her sewing once more. "Well why in Equestria wouldn't she?"

Sunset stopped her writing and sighed in distress. She set her pen down and stood up to stretch. Sitting for that long would do her no good.

"IHT thinks that Twilight has lost her way of friendship, and, word on the street, some of Psera does as well."

Rarity couldn't imagine what was flying through Twilight's mind at the moment. "She's stricken with grief. I heard about what happened at the Castle of the Gods. I am so sorry to hear about Princess Dawn and Madun. Neither of them deserved that."

"Queen Twilight has a lot to work through in her own life. As the queen, she's been putting on a strong front, but IHT knows she's raging in anger. She attacked Cadance and Shining Armor. The entire city had to be put under lockdown. IHT is fearful that she may send her soldiers in this direction. The only ones who can stop her would be her country herself."

Hopefully they would if the chance arose. Silence covered the room again. The talks would end soon and something would be reached. It had to be.

In the midst of Queen Arcadia's work, a knock on her door pulled her from the grueling paperwork before her. Without so much as a glance she ordered, "Enter."

The door was opened and in walked two Elite Guards and Gardeen. She smiled and reported, "Your visit back to the castle has been approved."

Excellent. She had a lot of books to retrieve. She could transport them with magic. Not these kinds of texts.

Queen Arcadia rose from her seat and smoothed out her suit. "Excellent. Let's get a move on then. Time is of the essence."

The ride was short, the tension thick. With little to be known of the full extent of the COTG's true damage, there was no way to prepare for what lied beyond those doors, beyond the walls of the greatest structure known to ponykind.

Twilight could barely contain her frustration, anger, and sadness. When the structure entered her view upon entering the city of Cop, she looked away and faced the inside of her Limo, aware of the pairs of eyes watching her.

Gardeen reached over and lightly touched her hoof. "Everything is going to be okay," she assured.

Oh, if only words could make dreams a reality. In which case, they wouldn't be here in the first place.

Gardeen managed to setup this event quickly. Cop's police force stood outside of the COTG, fenced off from the rest of the city, the press taking pictures of their crown's first revisit to the castle since it's assault. A structure that held so much weight among their society that even children would stand at the gates hoping for the king or queen to greet them.

Now? Flowers, melted candles, and pictures of the family littered the fences. So many that the guards at the gate had to sweep some at the entrance to the side so their Pods could enter the gate. Construction crews working on restoring the castle's exterior stopped what they were doing and bowed when their pods rolled past and soon to a stop at their destination. The steps leading up to the roped off entrance. Twilight could see the external damage done by the Zebras. She could see the holes brought on by Psera's retaliating gunfire, shattered windows, scorch marks where fires were set ablaze...

Twilight looked away and straightened her crown. She wasn't the only one here to see the castle. Molten tagged along with Twilight and Gardeen. They had no idea why they were really here. If Twilight had a choice, she would not visit this castle simply because the damage was too great. She could still see the stripes taking control of their way of life. She could see her husband take his last breath, followed shortly by Dawn melting in her hooves.

The door for the pod was opened and Queen Arcadia stepped out first. The shutters of the cameras began flashing from the fences. Like questions, they battered against her ears demanding an answer.

While her associates left the vehicle, Twilight calmly gestured for Gliding Sword. Upon reaching her she requested, "Please have the press refrain from taking photos. This is a more personal matter and the crown would appreciate their respect upon these grounds."

Gliding Sword bowed briefly. "Yes, ma'am." She made her way to the fence with three more guards. "No pictures! No pictures, please! Thank you!"

That should buy them enough privacy while on these forbidden grounds. Just before they start spitting out their rights and freedom. Queen Arcadia would never get enough of that in this position. Let alone all of it. She was tired of it all. This crown upon her head would be the death of her before any other threat.

Gardeen met at her side and suggested, "It isn't too late to turn back from this, you know."

Arcadia didn't remove her eyes from the structure. The past so close to the present. She could still hear the fighting. The gunfire, explosions...

Arcadia turned to Gardeen. "It was too late decades ago, Gardeen. There's no going back from here."

She faced the steps of the castle once more. Like a mountain ravaged by a storm filled with memories, Twilight slowly and safely traveled up them with her guards and entourage.

She could hear the construction going on indoors. While they wore helmets and reflective vests for their safety, Twilight merely summoned a thin shield. She would not need much if any protection from physical elements.

Memories of a more innocent time poured from Twilight's mind and into her eyes. The destruction of the castle was repaired, swooped back into place as if it time reversed. The doors were on the hinges, the bullet holes were plugged, and the scorches from fires were no more. The sounds of her current world drowned out in favor of the moaning and groaning of little Fresh Dawn being carried by her father up the stairs of the COTG.

He looked as if a day had never passed. His red coat shined through and glistened with the sun. The crown atop his head sparkled like his outlook on life, and his smile, oh stars above, his smile could uplift the hearts of millions.

He walked alongside the real Twilight, keeping his head high to support Dawn's lying on his neck. "That's what happens when you eat too much ice cream," he kindly berated. He glanced over to Twilight with a sneaky smirk. "Your mother has gotten her fair share of migraines from too much ice cream.

Did she seriously eat that much ice cream back then? Was that why she was taller? Madun silently chortled and leaned over to nuzzle her cheek. The chill of the winter wind tickled her skin.

"Relax," he whispered. "You know I'm kidding. Come, let's put Dawn to bed."

Twilight matched his speed, but in the end, only she entered the castle out of the three of them. The serenity and beauty of her home disappeared to show what truly lied in its foyer. Blast marks, darkness, bullet holes in the ceiling, and voided areas where statues and priceless artifacts once lied. Physical memories preserved as a life now destroyed.

Molten Ice stopped next to Queen Arcadia inside the building and whispered, "It doesn't get easier."

"How could you possibly deal with this?" Twilight walked into the foyer and spread her wings out to motion to the destruction. "Each time I see this, I see . . . them. Then I see how they perished. I relive the day over and over again, trying to figure out the motivation. Yet, the answer is always the same." She turned around to face them with anger in her eyes. "It was senseless evil. There was no motivation. They just wanted to win."

Molten walked past Twilight and nudged at a forgotten shard of glass. "It was senseless," she acknowledged. "But... maybe we should also be aware of our own mistakes."

What? Our mistakes? Twilight whirled around and faced Molten. "What are you talking about?"

The time has come. The discussion they've all been preparing for. Molten Ice shared a look Gardeen. At their nods, she told Twilight what she needed to hear. "We believe it is time for you to come to peace with the Zebras, and move on with your life, Twilight."

Twilight pointed at herself. "You want me to reason with the same ponies who mercilessly murdered my civilians?"

Oh boy. Gardeen glanced over to any construction staff watching and gestured for them to leave. They didn't need to be here to witness what would transpire. The Queen has been known to be rather reclusive involving her tirades, but lately explosions have been known to occur in Safe Haven.

The Guards standing by glanced between the two of them. The heat in the castle seemed to rise. They needn't be here, but were required.

Molten stepped forward and answered, "As much as retaliation begged for our attention, launching the Marrials across seas was enough. You and I both know that Zebrica is already very little in quality. IHT can barely keep up with us. What could they possibly give us that would make us happy? More land? We have enough, more than enough."

Twilight walked up to Molten and replied, "In case you have forgotten, Your Majesty, IHT is defending the same ponies who murdered your son and Granddaughter."

"And I have forgiven them. Because that is all I can do. Even if we did unearth the survivors, they won't return. No matter what we do, we cannot raise the fallen. We can only prepare to ensure it never happens again. However..."

Molten set her hoof on Twilight's shoulder and looked her deep in the eyes, hoping her words would reach. "Whatever your plans are with the Zebras is not the way. We already took everything they had, they have nothing now. All of them no longer have a home. Allow IHT to do damage control and fix their wounded while we fix ours. This Cold War must come to an end."

Twilight said nothing. She stared into Molten's face in tranquility. The tense silence ate at their nerves before Twilight finally took a breath with a shake of her head.

"Oh you poor pony." She reached up and slid Molten's hoof off her body and turned away in favor of walking the stairs.

"Arcadia," Molten reasoned. "Please."

"How old are you Molten?"

Where was she going with this? "I'm sixteen hundred and twenty-six years old."

"I am decades younger than you Molten. But I have seen evil. I've looked it in the face in my years as a foal and it has never left my shadow, constantly following me around everywhere I go. I have a target on my back because of my intelligence and magical abilities. I have been shot at and held back by ponies older than me more times than I could count. I've seen towns, entire states, held under siege by the same ponies who claimed to be doing the right thing. Just like the Zebras, all for power. What did I do?"

Twilight turned around and glared at them. "I saved them. Liberated them. Even when betrayed and against the ropes, I managed to break away and free those who were held back. But you can only save so many ponies. Those that committed the crime? Those who enslaved, assaulted, and hurt others? They had a choice to come to the side of good. You have those who will take that chance because they have nothing to hold them back.

"Then, you have those who choose to stay as they are and try again. Again, and again, and again, because they are influenced by their past and just want to make it in the image that they envisioned. They will continue to push and fight until finally they win. The Zebras are the very example of this ritual. Until they put their flag in the ground of Psera and take their pain out on all Pserateps in the name of power will they cease their path of destruction and death. Until then, this war will continue. Its been decades since the last Zebra attack. Yet, it's clear that this has been planned for quite some time. They waited until the right moment and the right excuse to enact their plan."

"Queen Arcadia," Molten tried.

"They slid in directly under our noses..."

"Arcadia."

"Infiltrated our castle..."

"Twilight."

"And killed our ponies directly in front of us!" Twilight shouted. She snapped around and gestured with her wing out to the space around them. "They killed our children, they disgraced our home and tore apart our family with no remorse to what they've done."

"Twilight!" Molten trotted up to Twilight and turned her back around to face her. "Are we no different?"

"The Zebras and the Pserateps are worlds apart. The Zebras attacked us first for power. We're only trying to defend ourselves. I was only trying to defend myself." Twilight turned back around and let the silence engulf them again. "It's funny isn't it? Decades before this I could save everyone I never met before in my life. Yet here I am, alone, because I couldn't even save my own family."

"That's not true," Gardeen inputted.

Twilight swiveled and spread her wings out. "Then where are they now? I'll tell you where. Here's Fresh Dawn, my daughter." She snapped the necklace and lifted the golden ball in between them. Then the marriage ring. "And here's what's left of my husband, your son, Shimmering Madun. They're gone, and nothing will be the same. Everything I did was for them. I wanted to watch my daughter grow up alongside my husband, I wanted to see her grow into the mare she was always destined to be, I wanted my filly to be great! But instead, she's gone!"

"I know how you're feeling Twilight," Molten acknowledged.

"No, you don't. Because you had something. You had a life here. You were born and raised to keep your citizens happy and safe. I, however, was always in danger, and I had to learn to defend myself and those around me, to protect them over myself. I didn't want to become the strongest pony in magic, but I knew it was my destiny so I fulfilled it. But at a cost. I could never settle down or I would have been destroyed, taken captive, or seen my friends and family hurt. Soon enough, my reason became protection. Then I came here after I was done protecting and being taken advantage of and found peace, happiness, and love.

"Being Queen?" Twilight scoffed. "I was always prepared to be the ruler of any world, nation, or town. I practically already was. The mayor of my hometown directed most issues to me in her absence because of my skill. I lowered my guard when I met Madun. It was a struggle getting out of that warrior-like mindset, but I eventually put down my blades and shields in favor of my family. I put aside what I once was to create who I became: a mother, a wife, a queen. I grew sloppy. Which in turn cost time, the lives of my citizens, and my own happiness and peace until eventually it was stripped from me."

Twilight sighed. "My reason for being the greatest, my reason for becoming Queen, the reason for Queen Arcadia Nova's existence . . . They're gone. They were stolen from me because evil never rests. They target power, something I have in massive amounts. As long as I'm alive, evil will come for me, and I can never be happy."

Twilight glared at Molten. "So, no, Molten. You know nothing of how I feel. You were targeted because this is Psera and it happens. But I've always been targeted. My hooves have been wrapped firmly around all I love to protect them. But in the end, I can never truly let my guard down because ponies will come and find me, no matter where I am. They will see an opportunity, and they will take advantage until eventually, they take something from me.

"And now, here I stand, with nothing because they have finally taken everything I had in one go. My family. The ones I always fought for. Now I can never get them back. No one will get a second chance to do this again. Not as long as I am alive."

Molten asked, "So what is your resolution to this? Massacre? Imprisonment? Slavery? What is the angle here, Arcadia?"

"The angle?" Twilight smirked and walked for the stairs. "The angle is control. The Zebras are too free. They have no governing body to keep them in check."

Molten had a bad feeling about that. "Twilight, whatever you're planning, Psera will not allow it to happen. You can't control another species. You do not have that kind of power."

Twilight flapped her wings and flew up to the second floor of the castle. She looked down upon her extended family and replied, "I don't need military strength to fulfill my wishes. I have enough strength to wipe out any military attack that takes centuries of nonstop fighting and I would barely break a sweat. I will do whatever it takes to take back my life. Even if I have to leave Psera to do it."

Chapter 25 - Fading Light

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There must be someway to get out. Someway to free herself and the rest of the creatures trapped here. Time was running out, Dawn could feel it in the night air. She didn't have to stare at the stars above for an answer, for their words would never reach her ears. The populace of the town was growing impatient. They were close, all could feel it. The nerves of their bodies were rapidly shifting. The air was colder than usual on this winter. The doorway was cracked. They just had to keep knocking it open with all of their strength.

But would it be too late? Has Psera already made the mistake she so feared they would? Or has mother and father put an end to this brewing battle like she hoped? Dawn could only dream and allow her thoughts to flutter through the blowing breeze. In the middle of the town she stood alone that night, admiring the twinkling of stars with Juniper at her hooves and Sky Blue cleaning herself atop her head. Oh how she wished she could be that fearless. To be out in the open air without the fear of having a target on her back. The cost of being a princess and daughter to a family of power-wielding individuals. Even her uncle was a soldier of some higher order. Leading the charge against any war that may land upon Equestria's shores.

May the stars keep the peace between Psera and IHT.

A scuffle of hooves behind her broke her focus. She knew that sound. She's grown accustomed to it for the past few days. Dawn lowered her head and faced the mountains. "I'm surprised you're not asleep," she said to her quiet visitor. "Don't dragons sleep a lot?"

Lucky quickly upped her walk to stop at Dawn's side. "Some do, some don't," she answered. "I'm not like other dragons. I'm more active."

That tree she climbed over and over again earlier was a verified testament to her claim. If there was anyone here who could climb faster than Lucky, Dawn had yet to see it.

"What are you doing out here?" Lucky asked.

"...waiting," Dawn answered.

"For..."

"An idea."

Lucky smirked. "Clueless, huh? Ya' lost?"

"No, I'm not lost." Dawn turned around and faced her. "I'm just trying to figure out how to break this . . . this shield. I mean, the only one here who even has a clue on how to break it would be Shaoloh."

Lucky furrowed her brow. "Shaoloh?"

"Our prisoner; Heated Wings. That's her real name. One of the Daughters of Narmeelah. I suspect there are more."

Well that seemed plausible. From what she could understand, Shaoloh was the daughter of an entity that created Equus entirely and now seeked to imprison them for some unknown reason. But what could she possibly gain by keeping them in here?

"I'm not a genius or anything, but this seems like a magic issue, right?"

Dawn turned back to the stars. "Right. So far as I know only myself, First Light, and Shaoloh are the only ones in here who can utilize it. The problem is that I don't have enough magic to break the shield."

Lucky rose to her claws and put in her two sense. A theory has been lingering at the back of her mind since Dawn's arrival. "Alright, so I'm just spitballing here, but . . . magic is inherited by family, right?"

"Unicorns, Pegasi, Earth Ponies, and Alicorns all have magic inherited by their parents, yes."

"Your mom happens to be the strongest Alicorn alive, right?"

Dawn glanced down. Where was she going with this? "She's the strongest Alicorn-Pseratep to exist, yes."

"Well what about Narmeelah? Aren't they on like the same scale, theoretically?"

Dawn's ears perked up. She turned back around to face Lucky. "We're not sure, but I think that's why she wants my mother out of the picture. That's why we have to get out of here as soon as possible so we can warn mom and dad about this."

"Alright, alright. So, if you inherited magic from your mom, wouldn't Shaoloh have inherited some as well?"

"Well . . . yeah?"

"I don't know if it's possible, but can't you two combine your magic and break through the shield together?"

Combine their magic? Is that even possible? How would that even work if it were? To just merge magical energies together was just . . . incomprehensible!

Then again, she was just learning the basics of magic this year alone. This sounded like an entirely different concept, something more advanced. There were only a few ponies out there who could possibly even understand how it worked, or if it was even possible. Dawn was not one of them.

Dawn trotted past with a destination on her mind, oblivious to the eyes of Lucky tracking her every step. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"To sleep," Dawn answered. She stopped at the door of her home and peered back, leaving only her hoof on the handle. "I need to talk to a certain princess."

Here it was, the darkness of her home. The feeling of loss resonated from deep within these castle walls, past the offices that made up the path to her, Madun, and Veola's home. Now here it was, darker than usual, quieter than she was used to.

Twilight stopped when she was upon the doors leading into the space that was Dawn's little park when she was a filly. So young and so innocent. Twilight could stare at it all day, but nothing she could do would bring Dawn back. So, instead, she walked past it for the single door here on the first level. The mezzanine above would forever be abandoned. No one would use those rooms.

The presence of the guards were left at the entrance of the Suite in exchange for the silence beyond. The Stripes never got back here, the monsters. No, she would slaughter them all before they even took a step down this very hall.

Twilight twisted the handle and gently pushed the door inward. The silence of this home was deafening. There it all was. The couch on the left in front of the fireplace, Dawn's trophies that used to be her library of books, the pictures they all took together as a family poised on the walls, gathering the leftovers of time.

The kitchen where a few dirty dishes sat, waiting to be washed, months prior. A table seeking to be joined with by a family of three. Well, four.

The dark of loneliness was lifted by the violet neon glow of Twilight's ethereal mane, covering the scars of her past, her neutral expression. She stepped deeper in, hooves lighter than a feather as if she weren't stepping on the floors at all. Without turning around, she ordered, "I will be awhile, chasing memories."

The Elite guards at the door bowed briefly before leaving the suite. Now, she was truly alone. There was no family in this place. There was nothing here that she truly cherished with all her heart.

Here she stood, back at the very beginning of her existence. Alone. She may as well be dead.

Twilight levitated over one of those photos by the hoof, telling of a brighter future instead of the one they faced. The one where Madun was smiling and planting a small kiss upon her forehead. The one where she shone brighter than the sun, cradling the magic of the stars in her hooves reaching for her sky. How many years has it truly been since that day? Since Dawn was born? How many years was she a part of her daughter's life? Of Madun's?

All of the fighting . . . the greed for power, magic, it was controlling her life. No, it did control her life, and she allowed it to happen. To feed her own curiosity, she had attracted attention and gave birth to an evil that has created a disharmony in all of Equus. Magic, the most powerful element there ever was to exist.

Thanks to that element, it claimed the lives of her family. She should have seen this coming. She should've known that this was going to blow up in her face one way or another, she should have known! Was the CPC disaster not enough of an eye opener?! What was supposed to make life a lot easier for the Pserateps ended up making her life that much harder! How could she make others, her own family, her own country happy if she couldn't do so for herself?!

All of this . . . it was never true. It was all a lie, a fantasy, a little filly's dream she managed to materialize!! None of it was real, none of it!!

Twilight swiped her hoof through the air, careening the photograph down the hall for an unfortunate end with the floor. But before this lie could reach its inevitable future, a flaming hoof reached out and swooped it up. Odega, coming out of thin air brightened the gloomy atmosphere with her flames of hope.

"Maybe we should keep this intact," She suggested.

"I did not summon you," Twilight said to her. She turned to and jumped onto the couches. "You are dismissed."

Jeez, this was really bad. Odega didn't want to press her luck, especially so soon. But someone needed to do something.

"You're letting this control you, Twilight," Odega said. She gently set the photo back on the wall and approached the back of the couch, to the queen of magic steaming in her misery. "Isn't that one of the rules of magic?"

"I could've sworn I dismissed you," Twilight spat.

"You need me," Odega told her. She stopped at the back of the couch. "You're losing it, Arcadia. Maybe you should go talk to someone about this."

Twilight jumped back to her hooves and turned around to snarl at Odega. "I don't need to talk to anyone. The problem is already plainly clear."

"So you think," Odega muttered.

"It's magic." She turned around and faced the fireplace. "It's been magic all along, and I was too foolish to recognize it. Too late to put a stop to it. My magic was the magnet that attracted the evil of so many things."

"That's not true, Twilight," Odega told her. She stepped around the couch and placed her hoof on the back of Twilight's neck, hoping to supply a least a little heat in this dead atmosphere. "You have done amazing things with magic. You have brought hope and life to thousands upon thousands of creatures."

"And magic has taken thousands more." Twilight flicked Odega's hoof away from her neck and walked away from her warmth. "Magic is a disease, Odega. On the surface, it is this beautiful thing. But at the stomp of a hoof, it could be the most destructive weapon known to ponykind."

She faced Odega again, this time with a grave expression that chilled Odega's soul. "I've made up my mind of what must be done. Magic must be wiped away."

Uhhh... "You're going to wipe out magic," Odega repeated.

"Yes," Arcadia confirmed. "It brings nothing but trouble. It causes, at its very core, pain, misery, and frustration."

She couldn't be serious. She must be joking. Why would she . . . oh. It all makes sense. "Twilight, you can't destroy magic. For one, magic is everything, it makes up all creatures, even the Pserateps. Two, we won't let you just destroy it. And three, it's impossible."

"Oh, but it is very possible." Twilight walked over to Dawn's trophies and felt her hoof gently along their surfaces. Observing her differing reflections in each of them. Like her emotions, they were twisted and confusing. "Magic can be wiped out as much as anything else in this world. It is merely an essence of energy, and I know how to do so."

"You can't be serious." Twilight turned and glared at her. "Oh no, you are serious. Twilight this is an international security issue. Maybe you should relax for a bit."

"I've never been able to relax."

"Now would be an amazing time to start."

"You do not understand, Odega!" Twilight shouted. Her voice thundered through the castle, shivering the coats of its occupants. She swiped her wing through the bookcase holding all of Dawn's trophies. Like a waterfall, they clattered to the floor and lingered like a distant memory. Yet, Twilight paid that memory no mind.

"I cannot let this go on any longer. I too am a part of this, as are others. Shall magic continue to exist, so shall pain and suffering. Attacks such as this will not just be prominent, it'll be more frequent. Magic is my responsibility. Therefore I shall remove it from Equus."

Twilight started her trek for the door before Odega shot into her path. "Whoa, whoa, let's think about this for a second."

"I have thought about it. Countless times now. I've thought about it when Maheera took over. I thought about it when Blueblood shot me on my wedding day. I thought about it when I fought in Equestria for the freedom of my friends and family. I thought about it whenever Equestria was taken over by malevolent forces. And I thought about it when Maheera attacked us. All of it, fueled by magic or its power. Magic has to go. Once, and for all."

Her mind was made up. Odega could see it. Twilight raised her hoof and nudged Odega aside so she could pass for the door. She opened it and walked out with her Guards.

"Escort me back to Safe Haven, please," she requested. "I have a lot of work to do. I do not need the escort vehicles."

She walked through the silence of the castle until she was at the entrance, where she cast a glance back into the one place she called home. She met the eyes of Her Majesty, watching her next to Odega and Gardeen. Gazes filled with worry and trepidation. It was clear she was losing the trust of the crown. But she knew what she was doing, and she knew what had to be done.

Queen Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle would fulfill this final task. With, or without their consent.

Traveling the realm of the night was about as stressful as walking through a desert. It was a plain of stars traveling endless distances, holding dreams of the millions of creatures who call Equus home. Thankfully for Luna, she only has to focus on a small percentage of all of these stars. And on this night, the cluster of Equestria was silent. The stars were blue, the dreams of the resting peaceful.

If only she could have someone tend to her dreams like she to them.

There was no need for her to walk through here if their dreams were peaceful. She stopped her patrol and took a seat in this endless sea of beauty. The floating doorways and stars drifted past her endlessly, a silence so thick she may as well be dead.

"Luna!!"

"Gah!!" Luna screamed and shot to her hooves! She looked around frantically for that voice. Someone called to her in the dream realm! Someone else was here?!

"Impossible," Luna muttered. But what she was seeing couldn't be mistaken. The figure in the distance running up to her, the small filly heading in her direction. The one with violet fur and red hair on her head.

"...Dawn?!"

Fresh Dawn slid to a stop in front of her, breathing erratically to catch her breath. "I'm so happy to see you," she said.

"You're ALIVE?!"

"Yeah. W-We're on some terrible island trapped in time and space. We're trying to escape but I could use some guidance."

"You're ALIVE?!"

Dawn reached up and slapped Luna's muzzle to the side. "Hey! Focus! I need your help!"

Did this little filly just hit her? Luna rubbed at her cheek while Dawn spoke. "Is it possible for two creatures to combine their magic and overpower a shield of some sort?"

Luna sat down and thought hard. "Well their combined magic would have to be enough for the shield, but yes."

"Good. Is there a way for me to drag the magic out of another creature unwillingly?"

Luna was about to answer, but stopped. What was the context to this question. She smoldered at Dawn suspiciously. "What are you up to?"

Dawn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Look. Narmeelah's returned, okay? She's trapped me and others in some kind of . . . some time bubble, I don't know. In the past of Psera, there was a theory that Narmeelah left Psera by utilizing a pocket of time, and sealed it up with her magic. The only way to get out was to find the bridge, something that is both here on this side of time and on your side. We found ours."

Luna quickly shot to her hooves. "What does it look like?" She asked.

Dawn closed her eyes and poured magic out of her horn in the form of a black liquid. It molded and shaped itself into what they dug up earlier. "This. It's a statue of an Alicorn. It's the bridge that's keeping this spell active. If we can pour our magic into it together, then we can open up this time bubble and we can escape."

"Sounds like a plan, young princess." Luna nodded to her. "I will do what I can to help. Now before you go, are you alright? Did you suffer any injury from the attack on Psera?"

Dawn smiled and replied, "I'm fine. There's food and water here. But it would be really good to see mom and dad again. How are they? What's happening on that side?"

Luna solemnly closed her eyes and looked away. "Not well, I'm afraid," she answered.

Dawn lost her chipper attitude and replaced it with dread. "What happened?"

"I'd rather you come through prepared, young princess. So . . ." Luna faced Dawn and stood tall. "Your parents, well, your father . . . King Madun didn't make it. I'm sorry."

King Madun didn't make it. That was all Dawn heard through her head. If Luna was talking after that, her words fell on deaf ears. "...dad? Wh... what?"

"Your father is no longer with us, Fresh Dawn." Luna took a seat and stared into Dawn's tearful eyes. "Your mother managed to survive the attack. Only until recently did we find out. Shortly after the attack we lost all contact with Psera once more. All forms of communications were cut. Your mother took full control of the crown and retaliated with her own strike that has rendered Zebrica a wasteland. She launched Psera's Marrials overseas and attacked Zebrica as retribution."

"No," Dawn breathlessly denied. "No, no no, mom wouldn't do that. She's not like that."

"I wish I could erase what we saw that day, Dawn, but . . . she's not done. Right now, IHT is doing what they can to assist, but Queen Arcadia is demanding the apprehension of any survivors. We, of course, have denied her request. Now she has made a treaty. In exchange for Psera's treasures and trading opportunities, Queen Arcadia is asking for all the Zebras."

Dawn shouted, "Why?! Why does mom want the Zebras?!"

"We don't know. So we denied her treaty. But before Psera and IHT would go to war Queen Arcadia drew it back. As of this moment, we have no idea what Psera is planning. Merry Fire is here on Equestria serving as Psera's Ambassador. Psera has already put their Aquatas in formation and strengthened their military overseas. We are mobilizing our own arms and awaiting an attack."

"Luna, you have to stop this!" Dawn walked forward and placed her ghostly hoof on Luna's coat. Her eyes, filled with a dense panic pierced up to hers. "This is what Narmeelah wants, us fighting with each other. If mom is taken out of the picture, there will be no one strong enough to defeat her. She's trying to get you all to fight with each other."

"We have tried, young Dawn. But your mother will not listen. She is willing to fight her own family for these Zebras and have even attacked Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. Her silence is truly a bad sign. We are tense and waiting for the sign that your mother is preparing another strike."

"We don't have time to wait! You have to let mom know I'm alive and okay! I can't get to her, her dreams and magic is protected somehow; I can't reach her! But mom is the key to saving everyone! We just need to calm everyone down somehow and explain that the true threat is still real and manipulating us."

Luna sighed and tracked a dream floating through her sights. "The only pony that needs to calm themself is your mother, Dawn. We are merely defending ourselves against her excessive threats and attacks."

Before Dawn could respond, a voice rang out around them along with the banging on a door. "Princess Luna! Princess Luna, wake up, it's Psera!"

Uh oh. Dawn and Luna shared a look of worry that made the situation very much real.

"I am needed," Luna said. "This conversation will have to wait until later. I will pass the message forward to the rest of IHT and we will double our efforts to sustain and extinguish this cold war. Until then, Dawn."

Luna closed her eyes and pulled herself from the dream realm. Her eyes popped open to train on the dark of her quarters, facing the open door leading out to her balcony in the direction of Ponyville. It was the middle of the night. The stars were twinkling through the sky and the city of Canterlot was quiet, filled only with the chirping of crickets.

Someone banged on her door, spooking her out of her reverie. "Princess Luna!"

A guard. She turned around and walked across the room to where she swung her bedroom doors open. She came face to face with one of the hippogriff Guards.

"What is it?" She asked.

The guard placed a claw on their chest. "IHT has requested your presence immediately. They have deemed it an emergency."

Ugh. Princess Luna grabbed her crown and slapped it over her horn before rushing out the room. She traversed the halls, down the stairs before coming to the Canterlot Castle Trade room. She burst through the door and was embraced by only a light blue incandescent glow originating from the center of the room.

All members were present, even Flurry Heart, bless her heart, and Princess Merry Fire. Wide and awake, their eyes snapped to her briefly before focusing on the figure that was the cause of the light blue incandescent glow basking on her coat.

"What has happened?" She asked. Luna pushed her way to Celestia's side and focused on what took her breath away. Directly before them was Her Majesty Molten Ice. Well, a live feed of her. It was similar to Twilight's spell, but it was plainly obvious that it was Psera's attempt at materializing it.

"Your Majesty," Celestia greeted. "To whom do we owe this pleasure?"

"To bad news," Her Majesty answered. "The Senate Board believes that IHT and Equestria specifically is in grave danger."

"From Psera?"

Her Majesty slowly shook her crowned head. "No. From Queen Arcadia. She has gone mad with anger, sadness, frustration, and fear. As of this evening, after suspending her power, Queen Arcadia has disappeared from Psera. She has gone rogue. We believe she may be en-route to your location as we speak, but not for the Zebras."

Shining Armor asked, "Is she coming here to attack us?"

"We are not sure. But we do know this: This evening, Queen Arcadia has finally snapped, and blames everything that has happened so far on magic. We believe that she is on her way to Equestria to destroy magic."

Chapter 26 - Darkness Falls

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Two Days Prior

Twilight knew what she had to do. As quick as a flash, the plan was in her hooves. No more will magic harm the lives of the innocent. No more will magic control the very life of creatures on Equus. No more will families be the target of the pain that she herself has suffered for years. And, most of all, she will finally find peace in this world of greed.

Twilight would be very much aware of the circumstances were she to carry out her plan. Psera would no longer be her home. Nowhere would be her home. But . . . was Psera truly her home? Her life before Psera seemed so simple. Living a lie was so pure, no matter how disrespectful. It wasn't as bad as it was before.

If she didn't find out the truth, would she still be flying through the cold skies of Psera, looking down at all of her failures? At the crash site of the CPC Disaster? The fall of the castle? The destruction of her life? The death of her husband, the glares of her subjects? Twilight was always the strong one. But the battering ram slamming into her life would forever be in motion shall the material they used to make it still exist.

Magic.

Small tears pricked at the corners of Twilight's eyes, blowing off into the wind and falling peacefully to the ground below. Oh, how she missed her life. Did she even really have one? Always studying magic, the cause of deaths in this world.

It wasn't long before she landed elegantly at the gates of Safe Haven. They were opened and she was let in. She walked past the bowing of ponies with her eyes closed. She couldn't look at these Pserateps. Not the same. For on their sides lie the very weapons she created, powered by magic and meant to bring death.

Twilight pushed her way into Safe Haven and walked straight for the elevator. She pressed for up and let out a deep breath for the ascension. She opened her eyes and locked them straight on an image of herself. Standing before Psera with her wings spread wide in a form of protection. A sad sigh escaped her mouth. Why couldn't life just be like that?

The elevator opened. Twilight walked out and strode straight for her office, slamming the door behind her. The papers on her desk were tossed carelessly to the side. She pulled up her screen and immediately began tapping, delving deep into her own files. It's been years since she accessed them. Remotely, nonetheless. Hopefully, they were still there.

Yes! All of it was still in the system. All of her research, findings, and theories. Still here, as if time never existed. But she wasn't here for all of it. She was searching for only one.

Deep within her files, further than what anyone could ever imagine was her number one project. As far back as Equestria and further still, before she even met Madun, before she ever thought about having a foal...

"So, you're actually going to do it." Twilight glanced up and glared at what was definitely her mind playing games on her. Empress Arcadia, smiling at her from the couch. "I was certain that you would try to control the magic, per the wiser choice. I didn't think you would wipe it out entirely."

Twilight continued her research. "Were you in my hooves you would do the same."

Empress Arcadia scoffed and sarcastically replied, "And betray the very country I brought to life? I'd never." She jumped off the couch and approached the desk. "I know I am known to tick the hands of time, but you, my friend, have flown right off the clock."

"With good reason," Twilight added. She looked back down to her work and began writing out what lied before her in great detail. Nothing was overlooked, all was put down on paper. "With magic comes great pain and sorrow."

"Ah, but so does love and peace."

"Does it? Or is all that an illusion as well? Because the last I checked, peace breeds pain and suffering. Enemies look for the root for sovereignty of a country or chain of command diving into peace, and do you know what they find? Magic. The center of a peaceful land, and they take lives just to take control of it. Because magic controls all."

Twilight rose from her seat and glared at herself. "Without magic, they'll have nothing. We'll all just be normal ponies, just like the very beginning."

"You're turning into her, you know." Empress Arcadia slowly began to fade away, disappearing from Twilight's mind. But her neutral expression stayed the same. "Don't let it happen."

"I am my own pony," Arcadia promised. "And I have been in control for decades."

If a response lied on the tip of Empress Arcadia's tongue, it faded from her mouth as quick as she disappeared from Twilight's mind. She no longer needed that in her life. Twilight's plan was perfect, and it would work. Because not a single living being on this planet was strong enough to stop her.

No. Impossible. She wouldn't. Molten knew Twilight has been struggling ever since the loss of Madun and Fresh Dawn. Narmeelah, she's been struggling since Maheera Dark. But would she even be able to wipe out magic as said? Is that even possible?

After Queen Arcadia left the Royal Suite, Odega quickly teleported to Her Majesty Molten Ice and Gardeen, babbling at the mouth about how Queen Arcadia swore revenge upon magic itself. Not countries, not ponies, but magic as a whole.

Gardeen never allowed her eyes to leave Odega whilst she recalled her tale. At the end of it, once Queen Arcadia walked out into the castle, she couldn't listen to anymore.

Without moving her eyes away from the pony of flames, Gardeen slowly shook her head. "No," she denied. "No, she wouldn't do that. Magic is her life. Magic is what created her."

"Not anymore. Now, magic is just in the way. She blames magic for taking away peace. She blames wars, fights, pain and suffering all on magic. She blames magic for Madun and Dawn's deaths. Her resolution? Destroy it. We have to stop her before it's too late. Because we all know she will figure out a way to do so."

They turned their attention over the mezzanine of the castle to the hoofsteps leaving for the entrance of the castle. to Queen Arcadia leaving the building. The door was opened, but she didn't leave just yet. She turned her gaze over her back to stare up at the mezzanine. Molten could see it in her eyes, the flickers of anger that were slowly turning into an inferno. Molten knew that look. She had the same in her eyes when she first went to war with the Zebras.

Queen Arcadia walked out the building, leaving Molten, Gardeen, and Odega alone. Gardeen and Molten shared a look with each other.

"I'm sorry, Gardeen," she said. "I know Queen Arcadia has been like a mother to you. But if she has made a threat to the safety of other creatures unprovoked, by law Psera is required to investigate. I will have to bring this up with the Senate Board."

The Senate Board would definitely take immediate action. Especially considering Queen Arcadia's rather uncouth moves towards both the Zebras, Equestria, and all the members of IHT. There would be no way to tell what would happen should Queen Arcadia find herself convicted.

Before Gardeen could say anything, Molten jumped over the mezzanine and landed gracefully on the floor. She had a task to complete, and she couldn't do it sitting here. Oh how she would hate to give this command, but if Queen Arcadia was serious about this, then everyone on this planet, in this world were in serious danger.

It took two days, but here the plan lied in Arcadia's hooves. On paper, it was merely a threat. A dream with little to no merit behind her. But all it would take to be a reality was a single step. After working for Psera and performing her soulless task as Queen of Psera, she would go back to her office and work on her project.

But the Crown . . . They knew. She could feel it when she turned in their direction. Staring at her every time she passed. Her presence wasn't new. Everyone knew she was around. This place was for her. This was her home. But they knew she was planning something dangerous these last two days. They could feel it, and not just the crown. The eeriness of Safe Haven seemed to be fogged over by a sense of dread so thick that even the guards were anxious. Security was upgraded, just to be safe.

No matter. For it would all be for naught. The Pserateps depended less so on magic. For when Twilight reaped this world of its magic, Psera would be fine. The Obelisks will go down and a majority of their Aquata's battery supplies will be emptied, but for what it was worth, Psera already had a life that belonged to them before Queen Arcadia dipped her hoof into their lives. They will survive without magic. As will all other nations.

Before Twilight could stash away her papers, the door was knocked upon. "Queen Arcadia, this is the Elite Royal Guard. We're coming in."

Queen Arcadia lit her horn and teleported her documents to a safe area before the door was opened. Five Elite Royal Guards strode into the room with more waiting outside in the hall. Three searched her workspace while two flanked the desk.

Alarmed, Queen Arcadia stood from her seat and asked, "What is going on here?"

Their Commanding Officer, a mare at her deskside said, "The Senate Board has given us a command to bring you to Founder's Circle for an emergency discussion. We are in a Priority State."

Well this escalated rather quickly. A priority state, they say? So, she had no choice. They weren't going to let her slip through. Well, it didn't matter. There was no stopping this. It was happening.

Queen Arcadia stepped out from behind her desk with two of the guards on her wings, as close as they could get without stepping on her feathers. Not too close where she could hit them, but just enough to keep her in their sights, and in their sights she was.

More guards stood by in the hall, watching her every step in silence. The Crown, although far away were present watching her take her steps to the elevator. Her nieces and brother-in-law, staring either accusingly or confusedly. Her surrogate daughter trying to avert her gaze. She knew.

The elevator ride to the first floor was cramped. With five Pserateps in one elevator, one of them the biggest of the group, it was certainly going to be a tight squeeze. But they made it work. The staff of Safe Haven watched her leave and walk outside into the winter sun. More military awaited her. A hovering ring of Force Guard kept her in their sights while she moved, destination for a chariot designed for containment. Nothing she made certainly, but it would definitely come from her mind.

Before she could step inside, a guard walked forward with a containment ring for her horn. "I'm going to have to ask you to put this on, Queen Arcadia."

Fine. They were useless anyway. She was the creator of them. She levitated the ring up into the air and let it hover directly over her horn before relinquishing her control. It fell on, swirled, and locked into place, attempting to keep her immeasurable amount of magic down.

The door was opened. She was guided inside and locked in before they took off. Wow, really? How nice and appropriate. She could see the Guards keeping an eye on her while she rode through the skies of Psera. They were aware of the threat she supposedly made upon the rest of the world: destroy the magic. With or without Psera's authorization.

A presence. Twilight sighed through her nose and said, "Odega."

Odega materialized into sight before speaking. "Yes, I told them. I told you I would."

"And I knew you would. Regardless, this must happen. Whether the rest of you agree or not." She turned her head and glared at Odega. "I will barrel through all of you to do this. Through the Legends of Psera who do not agree, through the very military I helped breed."

"You'll willingly commit treason then."

"Call it what you must..." Twilight turned her gaze back to the front of the chariot when they finally landed in Cop. "But it will be done for the good of us."

"You sound insane, Arcadia." Odega turned her body to face the angered Queen. "You must stop this now, or you will be deemed no longer able to fulfill your duties as Queen as Psera."

Finally, something they could talk about. "I no longer wish to be Queen." Arcadia raised her hoof to silence Odega before she could start. "All my life I've been nothing but a warrior, fighting in a war for magic. I've been defending the good of it, keeping it from being corrupted, stolen, and misused. I've sacrificed my time, nearly my life, and now my family."

"Arcadia, your family was killed because the Zebras wanted revenge."

"No, Odega. They were after my daughter because she is made of Dark Magic."

The truth has been revealed. Something that took Odega's breath away. "What?"

"When I was shot in Eventa, Dawn almost died. But I used dark magic to keep her alive. My only daughter, my firstborn, she wasn't going to die that day. But the spell never cut when I dropped into a coma. What you saw when my baby was alive was Dawn. But she is made of magic. She wasn't supposed to be, but she was. The Zebras attacked Psera to get to Dawn because of some prophecy about her being the sign of the end times. The end times . . . is Narmeelah's return."

"You told me that Narmeelah was dead," Odega spat out. "You told me she was gone."

Twilight whipped her head to face her with fury in her eyes. "And she is," she replied. Her gaze focused forward once more. "I think. She's supposed to be. Regardless, they thought that getting rid of Dawn would help keep Narmeelah at bay. They used magic to attack the castle. They used magic to kill my civilians. They used magic to throw my filly over the edge of a promontory. Magic is what took them away, and I could do nothing to stop it. No one could. Now, here I am, strategizing a war against the zebras when the real enemy has been here all along. Magic."

"What about your magic? What then; what about all of the magical spells and tools that you have created?"

"They will no longer work." Twilight could hear the flashing of cameras outside. The breaking news reporters standing outside the gates of Founder's Circle while she rode inside of them. Gaze steeled and mind set.

Odega disappeared once more, leaving Twilight to face her fate alone. No doubt to round up the legends. She knew there was no way Psera could stop her, that a fight would break out and Arcadia's power would come out on top at every hit.

The chariot parked and the door for the chariot was opened. A full contingent of Guards tasked with keeping an eye on her littered the grounds. A sea of gray with violet in the middle, outlining a path to the doors of Founder's Circle.

"This way please." The guard raised their wing in the direction of the facility. Twilight followed it out of respect and care. She strode past all of them and into the building, down the escalator and into the tightly packed senate hall.

The clamour of discussion quickly ceased upon her appearance. The Queen of Psera. No eye left her movements for too long. The crown upon her head reflected their stares, moving past with her motions only to be replaced with another before finally settling on the speakers.

She stood before them at the podium. "I was summoned here by a priority," she said. "Why?"

Judge Berry cleared his throat. "Good day, Queen Arcadia. We have called you here to do a fact check. We are very much aware of your strange and erratic behavior these last few months warranted by the deaths of your husband and daughter. We have called you here to determine whether you are still fit to be Queen of Psera."

"A whistleblower," Judge Mahtoo said. "Has notified The Crown that you've made a threat against magic as a whole. Is this true?"

Twilight didn't miss a beat. "It is very true."

The judges and other representatives murmured briefly before moving forward.

Judge Sunlight spoke her piece. "Queen Arcadia Nova, you have made a threat that is not only capable of harming those upon Psera, but as well as our potential friends overseas and across the globe. Do you realize this?"

"I do."

"Then care to share your reasoning behind this threat."

Twilight swallowed and explained, "Magic is the root cause of not only Psera's attacks, but as well as Equestria's, The Badlands, Mount Aris, so many that I can't even name. It is the most beautiful thing, but also the most dangerous tool. I cannot let that happen."

"Queen Arcadia, as ruler of Psera, you swore upon the tome to put Psera first and foremost. This threat endangers Psera. You have provided us with so much technology powered by magic that would be rendered useless, harming our national security and homes. As of this moment we are restricting your use of magic and military powers, as well as sitting Queen of Psera."

Oh how funny. A smirk played at Queen Arcadia's lips before a full on grin.

"And may I ask what is so humorous?" Judge Berry asked accusingly.

"How you think you can restrict a pony who has already give up their seat of power. I no longer wish to be Queen of Psera. I, Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle, Saviour of Psera, hereby step down, relinquish my throne to the people, and give up my crown."

Loud mutterings while Twilight reached up, plucked her crown off her head, and gently set it on the podium.

"I will be leaving Psera," she continued. "To finish this final task, with, or without, your approval. This is an action that must be done for a better, more peaceful future. A future free of magic-influenced attacks, threats, and takeovers. Where families, ponies, and creatures of all kinds can find peace."

"Queen Arcadia," Judge Berry told her. "We cannot let you leave. You have created this world we now live in. The threat you have made affects us here In Psera. We will be keeping an eye on you back in Safe Haven. You have made an international threat for which we are responsible to maintain."

"Well..." Twilight turned around from the podium and began her ascent back up to the guarded doors. "You are always welcome to try and prevent me from leaving. I am the only one stopping you."

"Guards, could you please restrain Arcadia Nova?"

The fifteen Guards in the hall protecting the exits rushed from their posts to the main entrance where Twilight was headed. Before they could inch ever closer, Twilight raised her wings and thrust them out. Feathers, illuminated with her limitless magic brightened the room. Makeshift horns. She no longer needed the one on her head.

Immediately, thin beams of violet magic shot from them and into all of the Guards. They were thrown back and pinned to the wall, restricting movement.

Twilight peered back over her shoulder at the Pserateps inching away from her in a panic. "Of course..." The containment ring settled upon her horn pathetically shattered, dropping to the floor in pieces. "You'd have to find a way to stop me first."

The Pserateps in the room screamed and scrambled as fast as they could for the nearest exit. Papers were thrown to the side, doors were kicked open, and out into the halls they rushed.

And the chaos begins. Twilight ignited her horn and conjured a portal she stepped into, coming out the other side in her full combat gear. Her armor, shining in the winter sun, helmet protecting her head and horn, and scabbard on her waist a gift from her late husband, a victim of magic. She'll avenge them all.

She stepped out into the courtyard of Founder's Circle. The soldiers barely had any time to react before she threw her head back and flared open her wings. A violet wave carried with it the sound of an ancient gong signalling her presence. All of them were blown either off their hooves or out of the air.

Captain Gliding Sword was amongst those guards. From speaking with a fellow combatant, she was suddenly propelled through the sky and slammed straight into a storefront. Glass shattered, screams hit her ears. Disbelieving citizens nearby either ran for their lives or took to the air away from the angered goddess.

So, it is true, Captain Sword thought. Quite the call to action. Like a bomb went off, Queen Arcadia exploded onto the scene. Literally punching a hole through their defenses and back out into the air. Like a horn, the calls came through on Gliding's Comm Block.

"Stars above, we need assistance at Founders' Circle now!"

"Give her all you got!"

"Evacuate for three kilometers! All citizens inside! Take cover!"

Gliding pulled herself together and adjusted her helmet before pulling herself back out into the street where she lied before. The sound of magic flying through the air and the shattering of glass and stone greeted her, attracting her attention from the street back to the sun setting behind Founder's Circle. Magic was flying for Arcadia Nova. But as expected, she was ready for them. She was the goddess of magic. Using the very element on her was a mistake.

The beams were amplified and reflected, slamming into structures and surfaces as small explosives that forced both the Force Guard and Elite Royal Guard to take cover. Gliding was forced to jump back into the building and covered her head.

"Fall back, fall back!" The Comm Blocks screamed.

"We're taking too much fire!"

"She's taking off!"

Gliding stuck her head back outside to watch and report. A loud boom sounded off. With a roar, Twilight Arcadia Nova Sparkle took off into the sky with Aerial Guards on her tail, firing shot after shot after their target. It was good to know their training took them far. But not far enough for her. She teleported back down to behind them and fired her own shots with her horn.

"Where's the target?!"

Gliding immediately called up, "Tanya One-Three-Seven, she's behind you!!"

Too late. Twilight used her lasso to snatch at the ankle of one of the Pserateps and pull them back down. She placed her hooves on their body and used them as leverage to bounce from Pseratep to Pseratep. A mere jostle was enough to send them careening off course, and off course they did. In spirals, in loops, and back to the ground they flew while Queen Arcadia sped as fast as she could for the Eastern Coast.

Over Lavender she went. With a single strike of her horn, all power to their systems were knocked offline. Comm Blocks were down with a single message heading for the fleet off the coast of Psera. Don't let her pass. The same fleet she dispatched to the coast would be the same fleet to fire on her.

She passed over Merōl with her eyes on the coastline. Twilight could feel the wind in her mane, taste the salt of the sea, and most of all, experience the disappointment of what used to be her subjects. There was no turning back. This had to be done, for she no longer had anything else.

They spotted her, the fleet at sea sworn to protect the very land she attacked. Their weapons trained on her. A laser passed across her vision, locking her to the cannons on the Aquatas.

Twilight swooped low, so close her feathers touched the ocean surface. Here they come with their weapons and firepower. All soldiers were coming to the back of the Aquatas and firing at her. Small spits of water pelted at the waves around her, hitting the shield she conjured. With a strong flap, she bounced off the waves with her front hooves raised.

Two large tendrils of water lifted from the water and flew alongside her. Heading for the Aquata in the middle. Target acquired. She threw her hooves forward, destination for Aquata zero-two-nine. They criss-crossed and slammed straight into the back of the Aquata before smashing out through its sides. They sewn themselves through the rest of the line before diving back into the water. Good. She flapped her hooves like her wings, triggering the effect.

The waves danced and kicked harrowingly, lifting the Aquatas with frightening intensity and crashing them back into the water, throwing off its occupants' balance and throwing whatever they had aiming for her into the air harmlessly. The Aquatas smashed and bashed into each other while she flew over, leaving them behind. Now all she had to worry about was hiding out where they couldn't find her.

Well hiding was out of the picture. But she could always keep them back. Twilight stopped flying and landed on the waves once she was a good distance away. She faced the destruction she left behind. The Aquatas remained on the seas, creaking and tilting. She would no longer be welcome back on Psera. She had nothing with them now.

Very well.

Twilight's eyes glowed a bright violet. She tilted her head back, flared her wings, and released a beam of magic of immeasurable proportions into the air. It reached the atmosphere and exploded into expanding clouds of thunder and purple lightning. On and on it grew until the sun disappeared for Psera. All on their continent couldn't pull their eyes away.

Her Majesty Molten Ice could see Twilight's brewing insanity from the protection of Safe Haven. She, and Gardeen, protected under her wing.

It seems she'll have to step into the shoes as acting queen.

"Someone get me Secretary Manny and my generals," Her Majesty ordered. Any soldier nearby ran to fulfill her stern request.

"And get me a meeting with Equestria and IHT!" She narrowed her eyes at the violet clouds and flashing lightning dropping shadows onto their land. "The true enemy has finally showed her face."

Chapter 27 - High Winds

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Panic. The seeming solution around all sides of the war. From Psera to IHT, both now facing a devastating future: Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle has finally snapped and had enough. She willingly attacked Psera and fled the country, hiding out amongst the violent clouds glowing an unnatural violet with magic. Psera's plan?

Princess Celestia quickly asked the holograms before them, "You said you are sending reinforcements to Equestria?"

Molten nodded her head. "Yes. A few of our Aquatas were damaged by Arcadia Nova, but they survived the attack and are en route to your location as fast as time warrants. We are also delivering our weapons to your coastline. Albeit less magical, Secretary Manny has agreed to assist in any way she can to help stop Arcadia Nova. The Aquatas should be at your coastline in five hours, early morning."

Queen Farue asked, "Do you think that is enough time?"

"Queen Arcadia has the ability to teleport for miles at the stomp of a hoof. We'll be lucky to get there before she does. In the meantime, if you have any sort of battery or cell that holds magical energies, any relic of any kind, then defend it. Because that is where she is headed."

The castle. The Princesses. The Crystal Heart. Flurry Heart. She was coming for all of them. Maybe even more.

Princess Cadance protectively placed her wing over Flurry's body and kept her close. She swallowed hard and asked, "Is there anyway to stop her? To stop her from doing anything?"

Molten closed her eyes and let out a sorrowful sigh. "Unless your mages and magicians can find a way to turn back time and raise the dead, I'm afraid that Arcadia's mind cannot be swayed. She is set on the destruction of magic, cursing it for the death of Madun and Fresh Dawn, and for taking control of her life, placing her in an unmovable position that has always required her to stay still. We will do what we can to stop this attack from the sea and join forces with your own. Until then, good luck."

Molten blinked out of sight, bathing their room in darkness before the inevitable shouting.

"What do we do?!"

"Holy stars, we have to start an evacuation!"

"We cannot hide where she won't find us!"

Celestia shouted, "Every creature, please!" All mouths, snouts, and beaks shut. "If Arcadia Nova is on her way with intent to destroy, then the only logical response would be to protect. The need for that shield has never been greater. Inform your generals and commanders to keep their eyes open. Double our defenses. Psera isn't attacking us anymore. Queen Arcadia is directly, and she was able to topple their navy. We must be prepared for her arrival. She's on the way."

Celestia turned to Shining Armor. "Line the Crystal Heart with mass protection, and place Flurry Heart in a stronghold. She must be protected at all times. Double our defenses around Equestria, especially on the coastline. I want soldiers ready to assist the Pserateps in whatever they need. Not a single speck of dirt is to be uncovered. Not a single seabed free of our sight, and not a single cloud in hiding. You tell Sunset Shimmer to get that shield up and running as soon as she can."

Shining Armor saluted. "Yes, ma'am."

Good. Celestia turned to the rest of them. "What are you waiting for?! Go!!" She boomed in her canterlot voice. They quickly bumped into each other to get to the nearest exit. "Queen Arcadia could be here at any minute!"

Now that tasks were passed out, Celestia turned to Luna. "We'll have to get the armor."

The armor? Luna whispered, "It's been centuries since we've worn those. Will they even protect us anymore? Especially against her?"

"We have to try. Twilight's magic is already strong. Going in naked isn't the best strategy. We have to do what we must." A burning sensation lingered at the back of Celestia's throat, forcing her to continue swallowing the pain and disappointment she felt. Oh Twilight, why?

Celestia turned from her sister and urgently walked out the room with Luna on her tail. "We have to make preparations. I'm afraid sleep will have to wait. Twilight could sneak up on us at any time."

They ran through the halls, past the soldiers setting up defenses inside the castle, and past the room of their asset watching them from the doorway. Meme tracked their movement with her eyes. As a Pseratep, her ears were naturally larger than other creatures. She heard every last word spoke in that word.

Queen Arcadia Nova has finally given in. Her fears and anxiety gave birth to a mare of action. She tracked down her target, and is ready to eliminate it, no matter what or who she has to go through to do it. It seems IHT was that unfortunate obstacle.

Meme turned around and walked back into her darkened bedroom. The door was gently shut, and a small smile tickled her lips. She walked over to her desk riddled with pictures and sights. The plan worked better than expected. Not only was Twilight coming to wage a war against Equestria, she was at war with other countries. Including Psera. Now both sides were equal.

And distracted.

Meme quietly packed up her belongings and popped open her bedroom window, releasing her into the distressed air of Equestria. She could feel the chaos feeding into the air. The sirens announcing an impending attack that demanded that all citizens stay inside. The soldiers flying for Las Pegasus and the major cities. A war was coming.

Meme jumped out the window and took to the air, leaving behind no evidence she was there. Her bed was made, the window was shut, and dust slowly appeared on surfaces. Phase One was complete. Phase Two? Head home.

This had better work. It took a lot of wrestling to get Shaoloh like this, tied up and mouth taped shut. Where they even got tape from tickled in the back of Dawn's mind, but it no longer mattered. They had what they needed. Two descendants of the strongest creatures to ever exist. Time was running out, Dawn could feel a darkness in the air. Something serious was going on behind the veil that kept them from their time.

That's why she and the rest ran through the mountains with Shaoloh tied up and carried on their backs. They had to hurry for the statue. Through the forestry they ran as fast as their lungs could carry them. Thankfully, Dawn and First Light didn't have lungs. They could run for days, climb the highest mountains with nothing to stop them. The others couldn't go like that, a chip on First Light's Shoulder.

"Ugh, hurry up!" She complained in the back of Dawn's mind. "We're almost there!"

"Patience," Dawn said aloud. She could see the gathering of ponies at the top of the mountain, watching them climb with their prisoner in bondage. Lucky the Dragon reached down when they were close enough and helped pull their asset up to the top of the hill so she could finally see their discovery. The statue of the Alicorn, pointing towards the distance.

Impossible. How did they find this? Heck, she couldn't even find it, and the filly without an actual brain managed to find it?!

Dawn walked around and stared into Shaoloh's eyes flooded with questions. "Yeah," she answered. "We found it. But it needs to be activated with magic. We have to fill it up at a certain current or else it won't accept it. You and I both need to work together to get this veil down. I can't do this without you, and you cannot get out without me. So..."

She offered a hoof down to Shaoloh and ripped the tape off of her mouth. "Ouch! Careful!"

"Are you going to help us? Or do I have to lock you up again?"

Shaoloh wanted to buck this filly through a wall. She wanted to watch her fall to the ground from thousands of feet in the air. She wanted to kick her flank so bad that even magic wouldn't save her. But then again, Shaoloh had no idea how to use her magic like that. Dawn did. She was trained and she learned. She was offering her a better chance than anything else. Maybe this was the right choice.

That, and the rest of the creatures were staring down at her with murderous intent.

Shaoloh huffed hot air. "Fine," she promised. "I'll help you get out. Just untie me. These ropes are burning through my wings."

Dawn approached and said, "If you attack me..." She suddenly changed into First Light. "I will rip your lungs out!!"

Dawn quickly took back over to relax the crowd, so they wouldn't lean back and their manes wouldn't be in disarray. First Light has been egging her about getting a chance to come out and scare her. Looks like she got her wish.

Dawn cleared her throat and began snapping at her restraints. "I'll release you, but you have to help us. If you don't, I'll knock you out and use your magic against you. Then leave you here alone while we escape."

"You wouldn't do that." The ropes fell loose around Shaoloh. She rose to her hooves and stretched her wings and joints. "Would you? You need me."

Dawn turned around and faced the statue. "Yeah. For now. Get over here, I'll tell you what to do." Shaoloh walked over to the statue under the glares of the citizens around her. They would keep a close eye on her to ensure they didn't hurt their fair Princess.

She stopped at the statue and tapped her hoof against it. "Can you even feel the magic inside of it?"

Dawn leaned forward and tapped her horn against its surface. "Yeah. There's not enough to activate its sole purpose. We need to fill it up, then activate it to break this veil."

It sounded like a plan. Shaoloh faced dawn, piercing her glowing blue gaze into Dawn's violet eyes. "Is this going to work?"

Dawn nodded confidently. "Yep. I ran the numbers and calculations multiple times. This is how we get out." She faced the statue one last time. "There's just one thing."

"What's that?"

"It may take a while. Now, pour in your magic as hard as you can. Ready?" Dawn touched her horn with the stone while Shaoloh placed her hooves upon the surface of the Alicorn. "On three. One. Two. Three!"

The sun was beginning to rise. With little to no sleep, the princesses, rulers, and combatants on the front lines of this war were up and ready to go. Sunset Shimmer and her team were already at the Embassy of Psera, the previous Castle of Friendship preparing the first test of the shield. A simple conversion of energy should be enough to get the beam into the air and spread out to cover all of Equestria and then some. At least it was expected. With no time to do a full test run, they could only count on basic knowledge and magic theory.

While they prepared for defenses behind the ocean front, Scootaloo and her team were preparing with the rest of IHT's military stronghold on the front lines. On the beaches of Las Pegasus, they set up sandbags, artillery, any weapon they could get their hooves on and as many structural defenses they could grab.

Scootaloo watched them from below, giving out orders to her team while also following a specific order from her captain:

Keep an eye out for the Aquatas. The Pserateps were coming to assist them.

It was still hard to believe what she was told this morning. The war has shifted in a way so unimaginable that now the Pserateps too were in trouble. In a stunning and literal turn of events, Queen Twilight "Arcadia Nova," Saviour of Psera has turned on her own country. According to their sources, the Queen has made a threat to wipe away all magic via Equestria. The Pserateps said no and attempted to apprehend, but she was too strong. She soared through their naval defenses, toppled any weapon they could use, and now hiding out in a hurricane of magic in the Western Sea. A few hundred miles off the coast of Las Pegasus.

Lieutenant Scootaloo could see it from here, the darkness in the distance attempting to overshadow Celestia's rising sun. She pulled her eye away from the telescope and swallowed hard. How were they going to stop her? So far, no idea were brought up. The shield that was supposed to protect them from the Pserateps was now being used to protect all of them. All known countries in the world were now under threat by one being: the strongest Alicorn-Pseratep ever known to exist.

Scootaloo sighed and decided that they would handle that when the time came. Until then, she peered through the telescope with one hoof on the bell, waiting for the first Aquata.

There! In the distance, the small mountains growing in size with one waving both a flag of white and Psera. Scootaloo pulled on the rope connected to the bell, stopping all motion and pulling attention to her. She ran to the edge of her platform while its tone rang loud and clear.

"Aquatas!" She shouted. "Forty-three kilometers out, closing fast!"

"Aquatas coming in!!"

They were noticed. On the deck of their first Aquata sat generals and commanders, specifically Admiral Shooting Star. watching the shores of Equestria come ever closer. The trek through those violet clouds of magic filled with anger was one of the most tense moments they've ever had. But they didn't stop. They didn't fire. They kept their mouths shut and weapons primed during the entire moment.

They were sure the Queen was watching them.

They were told they would be allowed to enter when the historic poles used in the past to guide Psera to their shores would be activated. He could see them clearly, as dead and worn as time past. Once they shone bright, like a beacon of hope, they would answer the call. Pserateps would fly and speed away from the Aquatas to the shores of Equestria to assist in setting up.

They were ready, in their speedboats and chariots on the decks waiting for the signal.

"Hold," Admiral Shooting Star whispered. "Hold..." The beams suddenly came to life, FLASHING on and off in the direction of Equestria's Trade Facility. "Go! All teams, move out!"

The alarms on the Aquatas blared loud and proud. Like a sea of blacks and shadows, chariots lifted from the decks and into the air guarded by platoons of Psera's massive military. Engines in their speedboats were kicked into gear before zooming for Equestria's coastline.

Scootaloo could see it all. She could see them coming from the air and the waves. She no longer needed the telescope, for as far as the eye could see, Pserateps dotted every inch of her vision.

Scootaloo was joined by her team, watching in awe. "Whoa," Mixed Candies said breathlessly.

They soon reached land, flying in formation over the beaches of Las Pegasus with some coming in for a landing. Chariots with Aqua Guards rolled onto the beach and slid to stops, kicking up dirt and sand. Pserateps with machinery jumped out of their seats and setup their weapons, swiveling them back to the ocean and erected a perfectly lined defense in front of IHT's.

They flew through the sky and soon into Canterlot; into other cities of Equestria. Their roars of speed speared into Celestia's ears from the front of the castle where she observed the events from the safety of the castle gates surrounded by military. This was their final stand.

If Twilight managed to make it through their defenses, she would be in for a surprise here. For on Celestia's body was ancient gold plated armor plastered with runes and thick enough to withstand any magical blast. A blade, albeit ancient sat upon her hip, stowed within it's scabbard. Her helmet protects all but her horn and face. The rest of her covered in the majestic rays of the sun.

Alongside her stood Luna in her own version, as blue as a sunless sky in the late afternoon. Sky Duster floating overhead and watching the spectacle of Canterlot being invaded by these Pserateps, twinkling with active runes. Sun Waves anxiously observing a large group of well-dressed Pserateps approaching with a single helmet. Tritanium flexing his muscles preparing for a fight.

Celestia has met this Pseratep before. His entourage, not at all. She rode the waves with him through what she thought to be the most dangerous creatures she's ever seen.

It wasn't until recently did she realize that the most dangerous pony has been under her tutelage the entire time.

They walked through the guarded gates and onto the castle's property, rushing under the screams of Pegasi and Pseratep Aerial Guards.

"Princesses, an honor!" Admiral Star greeted. He and the two with him bowed at Celestia's hooves before rising again. "It seems we're in very similar waters now with a common enemy."

Celestia sighed breathlessly, "Unfortunately. I am assuming a strategy is in place to disarm Queen Arcadia?"

"Our Defense is working on enlisting a classified weapon that we were supposed to use against Equestria. You, more specifically. We are now swiveling the table around and using it on her. The weapon is making its way to Canterlot as we speak by ground. The guard is requesting use of your train to do so and should reach Canterlot by noon. Carrying it via aerial means could wield volatile results."

Luna and Celestia shared a nonplussed glance. Of course Psera of all countries would plan accordingly with a wrapping of destruction on their hips.

"Let's take this meeting indoors," Luna insisted. She turned and lead the group back. "We have been preparing all morning for Arcadia Nova's arrival. However, she typically does not take this long to fulfill a plan. Instead, she is allowing all of us to convene and plan. I fear she has her own strategy in mind."

The guards at the castle opened the doors, letting them into their most fortified space. Packed with Royal Unicorn Guards trained in battling with magic, they defended the castle with their own might. Would they be enough to stop Queen Arcadia? Only time would tell.

Up ahead lied the doors for the entrance of the throne room, lined with Guards.

Celestia queried, "Did you encounter Arcadia yet since the attack?"

Admiral Shooting Star kept his eyes forward and answered, "No, but we encountered her storm of magic at sea. We couldn't see for miles because a purple haze prevented good vision."

Celestia opened the doors and walked into the throne room. Princess Cadance was dressed in her own battle wear. Albeit not as protective as her aunts, it would certainly provide fluid movement. She was tending to an infuriated Flurry Heart, speaking to her through a protective bubble with her father on the side.

"Mom, this is so humiliating!" She cried.

"It's for your protection, Flurry," Cadance replied. "We have to protect you from Aunt Twilight."

Princess Celestia pointed to the bubble. "We have setup miles upon miles upon miles of defenses to protect only Flurry Heart. The Crystal Heart in the north is already protected by our soldiers up there. Queen Arcadia would have to push through miles upon miles of winter storm to get there."

"Do not take Queen Arcadia lightly," one of the Pserateps, a mare warned. "For we have seen her do everything."

Admiral Shooting Star raised a hoof in her direction, a mare in blue military dress, complete with many badges of honor. "This is General Neon Lighting of the Aerial Guard."

"A pleasure, your majesties. The Secretary of Defense is pushing for us to fight back with as much weaponry we can throw at Queen Arcadia."

Cadance quickly walked over and asked, "But I don't understand. What is her motive? Queen Arcadia isn't known to attack unless she is motivated to do so. If we can isolate her reasoning, then we could stand a chance by calming her down."

Admiral Star answered, "I wish I could tell you. But there hasn't been much time to investigate. We do know that she's been secluded in her office for days on end. Perhaps the death of her family has finally reached her. Regardless, Arcadia is preparing to attack. So shall we prepare."

Admiral Star turned and faced the soldiers. "Set up shop. Make it quick."

She could see them. She could see all of them. The Pserateps have crossed over to setup defenses for IHT. Quite the move. They knew she was coming. She could feel their U-Boats in the ocean. See their Aquatas setting up their ring of protection. See the soldiers combining weaponry to return fire when she started her motion. Arcadia could see the legends that she summoned protecting Equestria at Odega's word.

Regardless, it would all be for naught. The time for magic has come to an end, for it has fallen into the wrong hooves. They were all in support of magic, to make it even better, stronger, more efficient. Even her at one point, the mare standing upon the sea staring in the direction of Equestria, under the storm of violet that has blocked the sun.

But nay, an epiphany has reached her. We have been allowed too much power and seek to control it. But no longer will that be the case. Magic has been her responsibility, yet her prison. To free herself, to free others, to prevent the victimization of crimes against ponykind, she must be the one to make the hard decisions no one wanted to make.

Just as nature intended, the sun and moon would find a way. Communication would find a way, transportation would find a way, the weather would find a way. All of it, before the inevitable ends, will find a way. They just needed a push.

"So you're actually going to do this, huh? You're going to wipe it all out."

Arcadia glanced over and faced Princess Twilight. She was teary-eyed, willing to defend all that was magical. Naivety at its strongest.

"It will always hurt at first." Arcadia reached down into the waves and pulled out her helmet. She placed it on her head and glared into the distance. "But the pain that those have felt thanks to magic compare little to it. So yes, this is better."

"You can always stop." Princess Twilight placed a soft hoof upon her long wings. "The love that they have given you has made you strong. Do not use it to do what you think must be done."

"You know nothing of what must be done."

"I do, for I am you."

Arcadia buzzed her wing and shocked Twilight's hoof off. "You are not me. You are a fool, believing in them to use magic wisely. Instead, they use it for nefarious ways. Ways that take the lives of those we love, to conquer entire kingdoms. To flatten homes and livelihoods. No more. I will do what must be done, whether they agree or not. Now, begone."

At the spread of her wings, Princess Twilight disappeared from Twilight's mind, leaving her once more. Now was the time.

Bending at the knees, Queen Arcadia, flapped her wings and took off into the sky faster than a rocket. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled through the air. She would soon reach Equestria and their newfound military strength, and she will finally unleash the true value of her magic.

Chapter 28 - Storm Pt. 1

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The waves of Las Pegasus have never splashed so loud against the shores, as if they knew a war was around the corner. Water splashed against the surfaces of the frontline, outfitted with rings of defenses aiming at the surface. Hundreds of soldiers from Psera, The Dragon Lands, and Equestria dotted the sands, watching the seas. Aerial Guards screamed by overhead, patrolling the air, and U-Boats pierced the seas. If Queen Arcadia was out there, all of their bases were covered.

No one talked, no one spoke. A radio was setup by the Pserateps, allowing them to hear the updates the Aqua Guard had of the sea. So far, an event had yet to occur.

Scootaloo began to wonder if Queen Arcadia would even show up. Of course, her not showing up would be very welcomed. Then they wouldn't be standing here at attention watching the waves for a sign of her. Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way. She was out there, she was coming. Regular storm clouds were forming in the distance and inching closer every minute. Those weren't normal.

She swallowed hard, but dared not look away. Other soldiers may be making idle conversation, but not her team. Not Silent Sound. Trained to be focused, they were ready for battle.

Miles away, in the silenced town of Ponyville, Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer raced against time hooking up the shield. Technicians compared notes, wrote down information, settled discoveries, and prepared for the final test.

A bright flash in the room and Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and all the leaders of IHT were present. Sunset whirled around from the contraption before them all.

"Princesses!" Sunset shrieked. Then placed a hoof over her heart. "Please, no teleporting."

Oh yeah. Maybe it's for the best. Celestia nodded and asked, "Is it ready?"

Sunset turned around. "Starlight!"

Starlight teleported next to Sunset, effectively shocking her out of her labcoat. "Everypony! Stop teleporting!"

"Sorry." Starlight lifted a clipboard and explained. "We need to charge up the battery cell before we fire off the shield. We're in that process now. Once complete, we'll fire the beam and release the shield."

Admiral Star asked, "How long will that take?"

Sunset pointed to one of the labcoats in the back. "How much time?!"

She replied, "Starting now, ten minutes until we're full."

They had ten minutes. Would darkness fall across the land sooner?

The majesty of the sea was a picture. The morning sun would greet the surface with a kiss each morning before revealing itself. A dawn before the light.

On those waves sat Aquatas, watching Celestia's sun rise into the sky. Hopefully they'd be able to see it again one day. They scanned the waves, walked the Aquatas, checked their weaponry, stayed in touch with the Department of Defense back in Psera.

Their U-Boats patrolled the world underneath, checking every cliff, rock, and movement. A Pseratep watching the radar systems kept their eyes locked on the screen and a straw in their mouth, drinking what was left of their dizzy beverage. Nothing yet, but that twirling needle sure was tantalizing.

Beep. His focus on the needle was drawn to a dot that disappeared as fast as it came. He stopped slurping and watched it closely. Beep. There it was again. The straw was popped out of his mouth.

"Captain!" He shouted. A Pseratep quickly approached. He pointed to the dot. "Closing fast, two hundred meters out!"

"Stars above," the captain said. They watched the dot disappear before it came back with a few friends. From one to five. "Sound the alarm! Send out the message! Brace for impact!"

Another dot returned. But this one much closer than the rest. Six of them with one right on their hull. Immediately, all systems went dark. They were plunged into blackness.

Scootaloo watched the waves with increased tiredness. Ugh, as beautiful as this was, she was tired. Scootaloo sat down and set her weapon by her side. Man, how could they hold these things with their hooves? It kept slipping and sliding out of hers.

Mixed Candies joined her on the lookout and sighed. "Well this is boring," she said. She turned to Scootaloo. "Think she'll show up?"

"I don't know or suspect anything," was her answer. "If she does, she does. If she doesn't, at least we're ready. Do you know how to hold these?"

"Oh yeah, here." She lifted her weapon and demonstrated how to hold it. "The Pserateps depend mostly on their wings for weaponry. So we have to be a little more creative. I hold mine like this and—"

They were interrupted when the beauty of the waves exploded. With a large bang, an entire U-Boat was blasted from the waves and into a nearby Aquata. It tilted and nearly fell on its side, spraying water into the air and blessing the serenity with its distress.

"We're under attack!!"

"Weapons up, weapons up!!"

Time for action. Scootaloo bounced to her hooves and immediately ran to a control box nearby. She grabbed the handle and pulled down. Arcadia Nova was here.

An alarm slowly grew in pitch, freezing the lives and souls of all creatures on the land. It could be heard in Las Pegasus, in Ponyville, yanking attention away from the shield to her arrival. In canterlot, plunging Flurry Heart down into fear and the soldiers into action. In Manhattan, where all ponies were ushered indoors.

"She's here," Celestia whispered. She turned back to Sunset Shimmer. "Once it's ready, fire that shield!"

She didn't wait for a reply, she teleported them back to the castle and behind the gate. Pserateps were flying towards the western coastline for a fight.

They burst into the castle and Luna shouted, "What happened?"

A soldier monitoring the situation saluted and answered, "A U-Boat was lifted from the waves and thrown into an Aquata."

That was her. She's entered through the waves.

They burst into the throne room, turned into a makeshift command station and outfitted with displays, controls, wires, generators, and military.

"Have we spotted her?" Neon Lightning asked.

"No, ma'am! Working on it now!"

"Five projectiles speeding towards the front line of Aquatas! Awaiting identification!"

"Aerial Patrol Alpha has an eye on the sea! Patching them through!"

Celestia asked, "Put it on the main screen."

A second later and they had an overhead shot of ground zero. They could see the toppled U-Boat and the damaged Aquata that was knocked out of line. They could see Las Pegasus. But what they could see most of all were five glowing projectiles soaring through the waves for the front line. They were as big as Aquatas, if not bigger.

Cadance and Shining Armor joined them, with the latter asking, "What are those?"

"I don't know," Admiral Shooting Star answered. "They look like Marrials. Or at least in design."

"No way," General Mack Land denied. "They're too big, and they're glowing. Has to be something else."

"Well they're clearly magical in nature," Luna commented. "Maybe we can distort them."

"Maybe." Admiral Shooting Star ordered, "All Aquatas fire kingslies on approaching projectiles."

"Fire kingslies!"

At sea, on the frontlines, Pserateps scrambled to their positions. Arming cannons, picking up binoculars, and watching the waves.

"Firing kingslies!!" Pods atop the decks expelled torpedo-like objects over the edge of the Aquatas that fell into the water. Their engines kicked up, propelling them into the distance towards the approaching threat.

They watched and waited. They were close. And....

Upon impact, a bright flash ignited. A bang so loud that the frontline could feel it in their hearts. Very briefly, but noticeable enough, the feed for the sea dropped before picking back up.

"It's designed to knock out your communications and Aquatas at the same time," Cadance figured. "Any sign of Arcadia?"

"None yet, ma'am!"

She was attacking in the shadows. Slowly making her way into the light. Celestia had a feeling that her appearance, as usual, would come with a very big bang.

It took hours. Countless efforts that lead up to this point. But the statue was filling. Dawn could see how it glowed when the shadow of a passing cloud draped over it. Albeit slowly, finally. It was close. But first, Shaoloh had to take a break.

After their one hundredth push of magic into the structure, she collapsed and took huge lungful s of breath.

"I . . . am tired," she said breathlessly.

Dawn wasn't even close to that point. another reminder that she was a living form of magic. But she stopped and let Shaoloh catch her breath. Going straight for the goal so soon was too dangerous for her. No matter how much she wanted to dive right in. She dropped onto her flank allowed First Light to take over. She hasn't come up to the surface for quite some time.

"Your magic is very familiar," she said.

Through her intakes, Shaoloh asked, "What . . . are you . . . talking about?"

"I can feel it." First Light rose to her hooves and slowly approached Shaoloh until she was right upon it. "I've felt it before. We've felt it before."

Shaoloh growled at her. "Don't get too close, Princess. You might scratch a nail."

First Light backed off, but that magical signature refused to leave her mind. She's felt it somewhere before. Like . . . it was hard to describe. As if in another life, she floated through time and space and came across that same energy. Narmeelah's magic. It was out there somewhere.

After a good second of resting, Shaoloh rose back to her hooves and stared at First Light. "Oh. You're still there."

"Were you expecting someone else?"

"Yeah. Your sister. Where is she?"

"Giving me my time in the body." She raised her hoof in Shaoloh's face, stopping her before she could start. "Save your energy, you just lost all of it. Let's continue."

First Light faced the statue and waited for Shaoloh to face it. But she was staring off into the distance, facing the hills. How ominous.

"Shaoloh?" First Light asked. "You okay?"

"...you don't feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"That power. Energy." She turned to First Light with genuine fear in her eyes. "Magic. I've never felt anything like that before."

Dawn took back over and closed her eyes to focus. She could feel it too. It was thick, like mud she couldn't get out of no matter how much she fought against the waves. It drenched her coat and leaked into her very being.

"It's mother," Dawn answered. "She's using her magic. Something's going on out there. We have to hurry." Dawn quickly placed her horn back upon the base of the statue, joined by Shaoloh's hooves. "Push!"

They were closing in fast, thirty seconds and counting. Scootaloo could see them, the streaks of violet closing in on their environment. The beach was in a frenzy. Weapons were being prepared, soldiers were taking shelter wherever they could find it. Was this what war looked like? Finding cover and attacking only when the target was seen?

Silent Sound took shelter in a nearby storefront, watching the beach through the windows with a handful of other Pserateps. They would report everything happening. So far, none of it sounded good.

"No sign of Arcadia Nova," they said. "Projectiles incoming."

"Buck," Scootaloo cursed. Here they were taking shelter indoors while something unknown raced towards their shores. Unfortunately, they could only await orders. What was going on up in Canterlot?

All eyes were glued on the princesses and generals, waiting for their command. There was only one thing they could do. It worked the first time. Princess Celestia pointed to the screen and ordered, "Have your Aquatas intercept those projectiles! We cannot let them reach land!"

Admiral Shooting Star quickly sent out the order. "All Aquatas, engage the projectiles! Don't let them pass!"

They began shooting at once. Kingslies were launched from their pods into the sea, speeding through the waves for a meeting with the threat. They could see it from their screens, all of them. From the soldiers watching from their own monitors biting their lips in anxiety, to the Kings, Queens, and legends that were escorted into the room. Celestia knew Odega. They all did. They had a little clue in on Crystaltite, but not enough. As for the others, she had to quickly introduce.

She raised an arm out to Psera's legends. "This is Crystaltite, Lordess of the Sea; Soymenar, Commander of the Earth; Leacrope, Commander of the Air; and you already know me. Ladies and Gents, Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Flurry Heart in a bubble."

That last comment earned her a raspberry. If she could get out of here, Flurry would gladly teach her a new one.

The princesses who could actually move freely nodded to them. Luna commented, "I am assuming they were summoned to partake in Equestria's downfall."

Leacrope gestured with her head to the floating filly glowing meters away, glaring at them. "I could say the same. Does our admirer speak?"

"Sky Duster." Sky teleported before Leacrope. "So you were this famed Arcadia's backup plan, huh? I have yet to see this mare and she's already caused this much drama."

Sky Duster teleported back to Celestia's side and scuffed her hoof against her chest. "I would very much like to meet this mare who claims to be the strongest pony to ever exist."

"It's the opposite actually," Luna corrected. "She didn't claim anything. We, all of IHT and Psera placed that label upon her."

"....oh." Sky duster glanced up to Celestia with a red tinge on her blue cheeks. "Why'd you let me look bad, Celestia? I thought we were cool." Ugh, Sky Duster at her best.

Celestia rolled her eyes and locked them back on the screen when they finally hit their targets. One violet eruption at sea rattled the oceans, followed by another and another.

"Three down! One more!" General Mack Land announced. That last kingslie was slowly making its way in. But right before it hit, in a surprising turn of events, the projectile curved around and let it past by harmlessly. "...what?"

Admiral Shooting Star turned around and pointed at a guard. "Fire two more."

At his command, two more Kingslies were fired and their trajectory was tracked. Just as before, they missed, but not because it curved. But because...

Cadance said what they were all thinking. "It just teleported."

It blinked out of their sights briefly before appearing behind the kingslie.

"Buck," Admiral Shooting Star reported. "It's going to hit. Have the front line take cover, there's no telling how big of a bang that is."

Luna curiously asked, "Can we not try again?"

"It's out of activation range. We'd be throwing dead metal at whatever that is. Do we have any clue on Arcadia's position? She must be close."

Close? Flurry peered as close as her bubble allowed her. "I think she's closer than you think."

It was getting closer. The Pserateps on the Aquatas could see it under the blue of the sea. They talked it with their eyes when it passed through their line of defense for the beaches of Las Pegasus.

"Brace for impact!!" Scootaloo heard the call and waited calmly. Heart racing, bones trembling before finally...

Boom!! A blast so violent that it blew out the glass windows of any structure nearby. Scootaloo screamed and ducked lower upon impact. Goods fell from store shelves, dust from the ceiling rained over their bodies, any lights that may have been on cut immediately due to the loss of power.

"Holy Celestia," Private Red Mass said under his breath.

A violet glow slowly began to take control of the colors of the room. Something was happening out there. Scootaloo slowly peeked over the edge of their building and saw the cause of such a spectacle. Las Pegasus was damaged once more. The beaches were in turmoil. Weapons and barriers scattered across the ground. On the edge of the beach between the ocean and the land was a massive violet fire reaching for the sky. Ponies lying on the ground slowly bounced back to their hooves, checking in on their Comm Blocks.

"Section Nine, we're okay!" They shouted. "Does anyone copy?!"

"We copy, Aerial Team Eight en route! Are there any wounded?"

"No, but our defenses have toppled! It's confirmed something's in the fire!"

Scootaloo and the rest inside the buildings ran out into the street and stared at the flames. A few citizens in hiding poked their heads out, watching the tendrils reach for the sky. The command ponies in Canterlot watched the flames cover Las Pegasus. Their sight was covered in violet. The sky darkened, covering the land in shadows.

One of the command ponies in the room announced, "There's movement reported in the flames!"

"All units, standby!" General Mack Land ordered.

Back on the beach, Pserateps, Dragons, creatures of all kinds converged on the point of movement. Weapons were drawn, shouting commenced. A firm radius of weaponry was pointed. The Aerial Guard watched from the sky. The Aquatas trained their rifles on the same location until a wall of weapons would greet whomever lied in those flames. Scootaloo bent low at the ground and raised her rifle. She took deep breaths. This was what she signed up for. This was what she trained for. This was what all of that has come to.

Her and hundreds more facing off against the god of magic. Who would come out on top?

All eyes were on the location of movement. No one spoke, none dared move.

All inside of the throne room kept their eyes peeled on the screen. Watching. Waiting.

There. A violet hoof slowly took their first steps out of the fire. Followed shortly by a sharp horn illuminated with magic upon the head of Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle. Her helmet and armor was on, but at this point, they all knew her shape. They didn't need to see her face. She walked out of the flames and stood in the sight of all of their weapons.

"So . . . that's her," Tritanium commented in his deep voice. He crossed his thick arms and huffed out hot air. "She doesn't seem all that."

Arcadia glanced between them, waiting for them to attack. Well, since they wouldn't...

"Fire away," General Mack Land ordered.

The first shots came from the air before they were followed shortly by those on the ground. The battle has begun.

Arcadia teleported into the air right when the first shot was sent. She appeared next to a unit and flapped her large wings, glowing with energy. With a rush of magic, they were blown from the air and into the buildings of las pegasus before teleporting away again.

Tubes of sand burst from the ground and whipped across the beach. Scootaloo dropped to her stomach and covered her head when a good third of their front was thrown from their spots. They were slammed into walls, thrown into buildings whilst crying out in pain.

The reports flooded in.

"We need aerial assistance!"

"Aquata One-Zero-Six, you copy?! We need assistance!"

The Princesses weren't the only ones who heard their call. Queen Arcadia turned around to the ocean and fired a single bolt from the tip of her horn. A beam, smaller than anything speared into the front of an Aquata, exploding and engulfing its body in flames.

"Holy Narmeelah!! Aquata One-Zero-Six is down, One-Zero-Six is down!! We're evacuating!"

The room watched in disbelief as One-Zero-Six was engulfed before another shot was fired. Another Aqauta blew.

"Two-Four-Nine's going down! We're evacuating!"

Buck, they were getting wiped out up there! General Mack Land hopped on a Comm Block and shouted, "Alpha Squad, provide aerial assistance!"

"Approaching the scene now, sir!"

Princess Celestia asked, "Do you have anymore battleships at sea?"

General Neon Lightning nodded. "Yes. Aquata Eighty-Seven is armed and ready." She turned to the commanders behind her. "Have Aquata Eighty-Seven lock on Queen Arcadia! But don't Engage!"

Miles away from the firefight impacting the beaches of Equestria sat Aquata Eighty-Seven, watching the events unfold through powerful telescopes and display screens. Never once had this Aquata been outfitted with weaponry during its life in service. Yet, here it stood with twelve pods of kingslies and marrials pointed at Equestria's border; Pserateps waiting for the signal to provide backup.

The order was sent and Queen Arcadia was in their crosshairs. Tracking her every movement. The pods clicked and whirred, preparing for launch.

The commander back at the castle announced, "Target locked, ready to fire!"

"How's Alpha Squad looking?"

Shot after shot was sent after the strongest Alicorn-Pseratep to ever exist. Yet, she never went down. Bullets bounced off her shield and landed harmlessly in the sand before she would attack with her own. Magic as strong as bombs would propel from her horn, slamming into defenses and buildings, erupting them into fireballs.

"Fall back, fall back!" They would shout over the radio. Some never did and continued to fight until Arcadia's magic would hit where they would be. Scootaloo saw it all. She saw them get blown back screaming in pain. Saw the smoke reach for the sky and cloud what was once blue, inhaling into her lungs the essence of war. Hundreds of their soldiers falling to the God of Magic. Any Aerial team that flew over were swiftly blown from the sky and crashing into motionless heaps at her hooves.

After ducking into cover with her squad, Scootaloo shouted over the gunfire and explosion, "We need the dragons! Where are they!"

A Pseratep that slid in next to her pointed behind the fence. "Over there!"

The dragons barely stood a chance. For while they were fighting, the dragons have already fallen to her magic by turning to stone. All of them frozen.

"Buck," Corporal Scootaloo cursed through her teeth. They were losing and the battle's barely begun.

"We still have a few moves left!" Her Pseratep friend shouted over the screams, gunfire and explosions. "Alpha Squad's going to do a fly-over, the Front Lawn is going to let her have it from afar, and we still have that shield!"

Right, the shield. Scootaloo peeked over her cover and saw Arcadia withdraw her sword. Holy buck, she could see her own reflection of fear upon its blade. She wouldn't be getting too close anytime soon.

Corporal Dimen hit Scootaloo's shoulder and pointed to the sky. "Here comes Alpha Squad!"

A aerial team consisting of ten Pserateps were angling down on Queen Arcadia's position. In a perfect formation, whatever they had in store would certainly hit.

If only Queen Arcadia hadn't spotted them first.

She could feel them in her field of magic. Coming in closer and closer. An honorable attempt, but still not enough. At the glowing of her hooves, Queen Arcadia jumped back into the ocean and danced with the waves. A tube of water was pulled and snaked around her body before she threw It at Alpha Squad.

They were blown from the sky as fast as they came and angled towards the ground. Coughing and choking up water, their leader weakly reported in.

"Alpha . . . Alpha Squad . . . down." Cold. So cold. Too tired to stand. A large shadow draped over their forms, trapping them under the gaze of their rogue goddess. They knew what was coming. Why waste time?

Arcadia lifted her hoof, glowing with arcane energy and threw forth a tube of water into their bodies. Immediately, ice took over their forms, turning them into motionless statues she carelessly walked past.

"Holy stars," Cadance whispered. "Where is that shield?"

Celestia quickly teleported back to the fallen castle of friendship, into the chaos inside. The guards moved their protections to outside, for Arcadia Nova could arrive at any moment. Scientists were rushing back and forth performing last minute check-ups on their latest form of protection, orchestrated by Sunset Shimmer. Rushing with newfound energy, Celestia shouted, "Sunset!"

Sunset ran over to greet her with a clipboard in hoof. "Three minutes!" She reported. "The cell's almost at full capacity!"

Did they even have that much time? Based off what they saw on the screens, Arcadia was eating through their defense like a hot knife through butter. If they kept this up, she would be too far in for the shield to protect them from her or her magic.

Celestia teleported back to Canterlot for an update on the frontline. So far, no good. Arcadia had yet to suffer even a single hit. Yet, here they were falling to her like dead trees in a tornado. Didn't Psera have backup out there in the Western Seas? The moment Celestia turned to Psera's generals for confirmation, the command was given.

Admiral Shooting Star looked over his back. "Have Aquata Eighty-Seven engage on the target. Prepare for heavy fire."

Chapter 29 - Storm Pt. 2

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Winter was supposed to be celebrated with love and care. Where gifts were exchanged amongst those who loved one another. Where the hooves of another found the body of their loved ones to pull into the greatest hug there ever was. Instead, smoke found the skies of Equestria, trailing from the beach of Las Pegasus where destruction reigned. The God of Magic was furious. Her strength found the shores of Equestria and seeked to undo all that made up Equestria; all that made up Equus.

Her arrival was met with the strength and tenacity of a thousand dragons, backed up with the weaponry of her own country Psera. Even miles away the battle could be heard. The explosions could be seen. The fight raged to a lack of control until finally, at the wave of a hoof, the last soldier seen upon Las Pegasus beach fell at her strength.

None dared defy her. The last pony fallen, Queen Arcadia reached up to her helmet and carefully plucked it off her head, revealing the fury in her one good eye, not blinded from the result of fire and blood. She knew they were watching from those group of Pserateps hiding amongst the clouds in the sky. Whether they were blind or not, she would win this fight.

Arcadia dropped her helmet in the sand and began walking up the beach, fully intent on wiping out all that was magic.

The high heads in Canterlot could see her. They knew she was coming, slowly making her way through. A plan was already in place that Equestria was orchestrating. But would it be enough to match with Twilight's?

After arriving in Ponyville, Celestia teleported straight to the source of it all. The Castle of Friendship, turned into a laboratory for developing a shield that would cover all of Equestria and then some, headed by Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer. All was ready, but the cell needed to be full to reach its maximum potential. Dealing with Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle, they needed more than even that.

"How much time do we have left?" Celestia hurriedly asked.

Sunset referred to Starlight by the machine. "One minute!" She answered. "But it won't matter if Twilight's on the soil. She'll just be inside the shield, defeating the whole purpose of this project."

One minute. Twilight could travel the globe in half that time. They needed a distraction to keep her occupied. Celestia quickly teleported back to Canterlot and asked, "Can we get Arcadia distracted back to the ocean; Get her off Equestria?"

General Mack Land, Admiral Shooting Star, and General Neon Lightning shared a look with each other before referring back to Celestia.

Admiral Shooting Star replied, "We have only one more defensive Aquata at sea strong enough to match her power, and that's Aquata Eighty-Seven."

The Front Lawn. The biggest Aquata Psera has. As a matter of fact, didn't Queen Arcadia sign it into service? It would be quite ironic if she would be the reason for its downfall.

"I'll see if they're locked on target." General Mack Land walked back over to one of the command ponies talking into their mouthpiece.

While they discussed, Cadance turned to Celestia, Luna, and Shining Armor. "Maybe we should use one of the Legends of Psera. Isn't one of them Water?"

They turned to the five ponies waiting on the side speaking with each other. There was Odega of Fire; Crystaltite, Lordess of the Sea; Soymenar, Commander of the Earth; and Leacrope, Commander of the Air.

Luna shook her head. "Not yet. We need them here to help us take her down if she manages to make it to Canterlot."

"Not if." Celestia turned her gaze of contempt to the monitors. "When. Arcadia's strength rivals our own. She will find a way into the shield. It's just a matter of how long it'll take her."

They knew it to be true. A feeling of dread draped over the room before they all focused back on the screen.

"Aquata Eighty-Seven has locked onto Queen Arcadia," someone announced.

Admiral Shooting Star swallowed hard. "Fire away."

"Firing."

A change in the wind. Queen Arcadia ceased her advances for outside of Las Pegasus' gates and stood up straight. Something was moving quickly through the air. Her brows furrowed, eyes narrowing in suspicion before she recognized the feeling. Something was approaching at a rapid pace. So fast, she couldn't keep up with it. Piercing through her magical aura.

Arcadia reacted quickly. Whipping around and raising her hooves, she summoned a spell. A neon violet ring outlined with ancient characters materialized before her face seconds prior Aquata Eighty-Seven's artillery reached shore. Streaming through the air they landed where she was in a blast so powerful they shattered more windows. A short-lived attack.

The fire and damage they created was quickly absorbed into the ring, leaving Arcadia standing there as she was before, unharmed and unprovoked. Another, followed by another, all ending the same: absorbed into Arcadia's magic with little to no damage done to their actual target.

The commanders in Canterlot had a bad feeling. Cadance swallowed hard and whispered, "This is not going to end well."

This was going on for too long. Admiral Shooting Star raised a hoof behind him. "Cease fire," he ordered.

A twelfth shot landed before they stopped coming. Arcadia knew they would decipher the picture soon enough. They were wasting their firepower. She dispelled her defense and opened her wings. She knew where they were. At the stomp of a hoof, their battleship would be rendered useless. She took off into the air, soaring back into the ocean, a violet beam rapidly approaching The Front Lawn and leaving the shores of Las Pegasus.

"She fell for it," Odega announced.

Luna nodded firmly. "Then we had better get that shield up. Sunset should be pulling the lever soon to get it up and running."

Arcadia's magical strength had a drastic affect to pony fur. Her presence, no matter how far was added with her Magical Aura. So much magic that her fur had a subtle vibration, just enough to be mistaken for a massage. But, if Queen Arcadia was close enough, one would be struck with a lightning bolt of buzz, enough to make walking nearly impossible. How the Princesses manage was impossible to understand.

Sunset waited for the right moment. Too early and Arcadia could come back. Too late and she could get under it. The timing had to be perfect. All lab officials watched her, observing her motions to ensure the time was right. Starlight's hoof was on the lever. Awaiting Sunset's signal. Until finally...

Sunset's fur ceased its vibration. She dropped her hoof, stomping it on the floor. "Now!"

Starlight swiftly yanked it down, powering up the creation that would save them all. There would be no way for Queen Arcadia to breach through in time. No way at all.

There it was, Aquata Eighty-Seven. The biggest Aquata Psera had enlisted. A city on the waves, drifting still on the rocky blue seas. As if anticipating Arcadia's arrival, she was defended by Psera's Aerial Guard and Aquata. More Aquata's flanked her sides while soldiers hovered in formation, watching her approach from a distance. A wall of Pserateps protecting the second biggest asset in their possession.

Back in Canterlot, Admiral Shooting Star ordered, "Give me a live visual."

A camera feed from Aquata Eighty-Seven was slapped on their screens. There was Queen Arcadia, skimming the waves upon approach as the center of attention.

"Captain?" Admiral Star said. "Do not let Arcadia Nova pass that wall."

The captain replied through their systems. "Yes, sir."

Arcadia Nova slowed her speed until she was walking on the waves, eventually coming to a stop for a staring contest with The Front Lawn. Too far to attack effectively, they waited for her to get closer.

"What is she waiting for?" Cadance asked.

Celestia had no idea. Was it because she was outnumbered? Was it because she was thinking of her plan of attack? Was it because she could feel the fear coming off of the Pserateps? Hear them rattling the metal of their weapons?

Arcadia Nova looked over her shoulder and stared back towards the East, where Equestria would be before looking back to the Aquatas before her. Is she going to lay down her weapon? Is she going to surrender?

Arcadia's horn slowly illuminated. Her eyes turned to violet neon marbles in her skull. Feathers alight with magic.

The technology Psera brought to Equestria glitched. The main screens froze. Their operators removed their hooves and held them up.

"Whoa, whoa, what's going on?" Neon Lightning asked.

"No idea," General Mack Land asked. He walked over to a station and began operating controls. "It's not working; nothing is working."

"And it will not work." Blood ran cold and spirits began freezing over. They directed their attention to the screen and the glowing narrowed eyes that overlayed its current glitchy behavior.

Arcadia Nova hacked into their systems. She got her hooves into their technology without flexing a single muscle.

"Why fight this?" She asked. "Can't you see what magic has done to us as a species? How many ponies, how many dragons, how many creatures have died because of it? How many families were crushed? More magic means more power. More power means more risks. More risks means more failures, and more failures mean more deaths."

Luna sneered at her words. "Cute way of saying that you're a magnet for trouble."

"I have already come to grips with my mere existence being an endangerment to lives everywhere. As long as this horn sits upon my head, as long as my brain remains full of the knowledge of magic, as long as my legacy stands, I will never find true peace or happiness in this world.

"And do you know why? Because ponykind will never be happy. You always want to improve. To be stronger than the rest, as if life is a competition for who could be the most lazy. Who can grow grass the fastest without applying the work? Who can power on quicker at the wag of a tail? Who can improve transportation the most without even discussing what transportation truly is? Who can automate more tasks while we sit back and watch? And do you know who brought all of this about? Who brought about this age of amelioration? I did; and I am ashamed of myself for doing so. I thought I was making Equus a better place for all of us, but I ended up brewing their downfall.

"I never truly understood the pain of the loss or how deep my actions affected society until it was too late. When I saw the Zebras using my creations to kill my civilians in cold blood. How they used magic to blow open Madun's chest. How they use spells to melt my daughter from my very hooves. How runes were used to topple an entire tower, killing hundreds. How a small arrow powered by magic almost took the life of a newborn. All for what? Intimidation and power. And yet, here we stand, as if these deaths were normal, defending magic as if it is our lifeline."

"Magic is what created Equestria," Flurry said.

"No, friendship is what created Equestria. Greed is what tore it apart, what tore all of you apart. Now, you, as well as other countries, use magic as a weapon to fulfill those gluttonous wishes for power and control. I am no fool. I know Equestria wanted a piece of Psera's technology, and I know they're using a rendition of this same technology I used to create the PDS to form a shield to protect their country and the creatures within it, and used Aquata Eighty-Seven as a means to distract me."

She knew. Oh, why was Celestia surprised, this was Twilight they were speaking with. Her magic was beyond understanding. The true reach of her skill had yet to be determined.

"But, for the sake of learning, I will demonstrate what magic does in the wrong hooves. So, I present before you a choice: lower your weapons. Withdraw your soldiers, for this must be done. Or I'll turn the same weapons you point at me, the ones I created, upon each other."

Arcadia's threats were nothing to laugh at. No matter how unbelievable they sounded. They've all seen her power, the might of the strongest living pony. How she could move mountains, how she could restore life with a tap of her horn, how she could defend the lives of thousands.

The screen bearing Arcadia's eyes suddenly glitched. Schematics of Aquata Eighty Seven, live feeds of its cannons and weapons fed directly into their sights. They began moving on their own, slowly aiming towards the Aquatas that followed it to sea for protection. Her intentions were clear. The Princesses could see it, the generals could see it, Lavender could see it, Her Majesty Molten Ice could see it, and all fighting this seemingly hopeless battle could see it.

Anxiety, fear, and restlessness were the prime emotions present inside of Psera's Office of Defense. Their own weapons were being turned against them. Molten had no words, but Manny sure enough did.

She leaned over the edge of the balcony and shouted, "Status!"

"We've lost control of our cannons!"

"Comms are down, we can't get in contact with operatives on the Aquatas, only those in Equestria!"

"Marrial pods have gone offline! We've lost control of everything!"

Buck, what were they going to do? Her Majesty swallowed hard. Arcadia, she was sure, wasn't batting an eye in tension. As a matter of fact, her eyes on the screen were the complete opposite.

"You have five seconds to have your soldiers lower their weapons," she instructed.

Molten took a deep breath and ordered, "Lower their guns! Now!"

General Mack Land sent out the order. Immediately, the Pserateps floating in the air detached their weapons and let them fall to the surface of the waves below. They removed themselves from stationary weaponry with their hooves raised. Narrowed eyes pierced the screens. The current plan, did it work?

From the Canterlot Castle, Celestia watched the clock tick. Any second now... any second... There.

A massive white beam shot up from Ponyville, taking with it the light of nature and suspending the light of day for a brief second. Like a beacon of hope. The shield. They all saw it. It could be seen from the sea.

Arcadia Nova slowly turned around and watched it ascend to the sky before breaking off and gradually forming a translucent dome around the country. "I see you've gone with your plan. How wise of you."

Cadance rose tall and proud. "Nothing that the brightest of minds can't handle."

"You honestly think that this can hold me back?"

"Anything is worth keeping you away."

Arcadia sighed deeply. "I've always been away. Watching the world fall apart. Someone had to take action at some point."

"Alright, enough of this!" Sky Duster teleported up to Arcadia's eyes and spread out her hooves. "Why don't you come back and party with the big boys, huh? All these little taunts of yours are cowardly."

And who was this? Arcadia knew nothing of this filly, the one tatted in runes. Actually, she knew nothing of Equestria's little defensive team they had here. The minotaur flexing his muscles and the unicorn mare staring up at her with no expression. A group of five from IHT's side of the war, and four from Psera, the final blow. Take them down and she would be able to go through with her plan.

Arcadia chuckled ominously. "Careful, filly. Many prefer I stay away now. Are you sure you want me close to you"

"Well, we don't have all day!"

Before Arcadia could respond, a massive blue beam appearing near the shield's source of power plunged the entire East Coast into darkness, stopping her before she could start. So surprising, she gasped and dropped her control over the Aquatas and Equestria's command center. It was much bigger than the one creating the dome. But what was it? She could feel the magic coming from it. Like acid on her fur, it was a threat to her plan.

Arcadia narrowed her eyes and barred her teeth. "No." She raised her wings and took off in that direction. Whatever they had planned involved that beam, she could feel it. Something that she didn't calculate.

This was it, one last push. Dawn was too tired tat this point. Now it fell upon First Light's shoulder to fill it with magic. The statue was reaching that point. The small cracks it had were now filled with a neon blue essence, energy that could only be described as magical. While First Light was sending in her magic effortlessly, Shaoloh was once more on the verge of losing consciousness. How could she go like this? They've been at this for hours and Dawn had yet to break a sweat!

"That's it!" First Light declared. She peeled away from the structure whilst Shaoloh fell to the ground breathless. She inhaled lungfuls of air, falling to her stomach and closing her eyes. She would be out of it soon.

At her declaration, Night Life and the rest of Dawn's supporters awoke from their states of boredom and rest. Ears poked up before their heads followed. The first one to their hooves and climbing up the hill was Night Life.

"You did it?!"

Dawn took back over and nodded her head proudly. "Yep. We're actually inching over capacity."

Night Life stopped next to Dawn and reached out to the structure. His hoof was firmly slapped by Dawn. "No no. We're not quite done yet."

He lost his excitable energy and assumed, "So we're not finished."

Dawn turned around and stood in front of the structure and before the entire town that trudged through time and mountains just to get to this point. A smile graced her face. Their strength was needed during this time of need.

"No, the hard part is done. There's just one more thing." Before he could ask, Dawn lifted her rear hooves and slammed them straight into the structure. A large crack appeared at the point of contact, gradually growing in size and density. The statue began to vibrate. The magic inside shot out through the cracks as bolts of lightning, urging the creatures of founder's island to slowly back away and hide before finally the inevitable happened.

The statue combusted with a massive rush of wind and rock, blowing back the manes and fur of all creatures who didn't take cover. Its brightness forced Dawn to cover her eyes, the wind itself practically insisting she dig her hooves into the dirt for traction. Soon, the wind died down, allowing them to uncover their eyes and gaze in disbelief at the gateway before them. A large neon spire reaching up endlessly to the sky. A doorway to another world.

Dawn walked before it and smiled back at them. "Well . . . let's go home."

Night Life was skeptical, as were the rest of nervous ponies. "How do we know that leads us back to our original timeline?"

"At this point, anything is better than this island." Without further adieu, and with her things floating next to her, Dawn turned around and jumped into the doorway. There was no time to waste, for enough had already been wasted.

Chapter 30 - Storm Pt. 3

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The shield was up. Corporal Scootaloo could see it from here, beneath the damages Psera's angered queen brought upon Las Pegasus. Multiple businesses were shuttered, some buildings had collapsed, and one of Psera's large U-Boats now towered over the head beach itself, casting a shadow upon the homes and lives of the victims of this senseless act.

They were forced to duck. As the only ponies left upon Equestria's shores, Lieutenant Scootaloo found it a good idea to hide out so they could possibly grab Arcadia from behind. Looks likes the Front Lawn was already making that happen.

The beach was lifeless. Filled with nothing but the frozen forms of IHT's defensive line and fallen weapons littering the dirt. But underneath the rubble, underneath the cause of disbelief a gathering of wood was slowly lifted. Majority Green peeked out and glanced around suspiciously.

"It's clear," she whispered. "The shield is up too."

Private Mixed Candies lifted the rest of the wood and aim his weapon out onto the beach alongside another Pseratep. Lieutenant Scootaloo climbed out of the hole with the rest of those who hid. Twelve Pserateps who barely understood a word they were saying.

"That was way too close," she said. Fighting in a war is one thing, but going head first is near suicide.

"Ish hootah!" Were they calling for her? Scootaloo turned around to face the Pserateps' captain. He was pointing to the U-Boat, barking orders. "Ek kalama portamala!"

Eight Pserateps flew for the U-Boat. They latched onto the upper frame and began unlocking their airtight doors from the outside. A rescue attempt for more reinforcements. Was their any way they could revitalize any of their own?

Scootaloo approached one of their own soldiers lying in the dirt and flipped them over. "Let's get them some medical," she said. "Tough Watts! Give us a hoof!"

With the help of the Pserateps and others, they managed to move all of their wounded off the beaches of Las Pegasus. Some had light cuts, others gashes that would need some serious medical help. They carried them off the beach and to whatever structure nearby that supported.

"Nal manooah!" Scootaloo looked back to the beach and an approaching Pseratep. The one who clearly didn't know Ponish. He walked up to Scootaloo with another Pseratep and gestured to the beach.

"Nal pasca, manemah shalmah!"

The soldier next to him translated, "Do you have anymore defense? Arcadia will return and we must be prepared."

Scootaloo pointed up to the sky. "As you can see, the shield is our strongest defense to keep her at bay. We have more fighters standing by in Canterlot."

Scootaloo retrieved a Comm Block from off the hoof of a collapsed Pseratep. "We have to get in contact with Canterlot and get some med evac."

The Pseratep translated her words to Old Pseratopian for their Commander. With a rush of words the commander nodded. They should have enough to have Queen Arcadia relinquish any direct attacks for a while. But even he knew she'd break through that shield at some point.

Scootaloo raised her Comm Block up. "Lieutenant Scootaloo to command, do you copy?"

"Go ahead, Lieutenant."

"We need med evac on the beach, multiple wounded. We need as many as you can send us."

"Copy. Stand by, we'll—"

Suddenly, a large neon blue beam larger than anything they've ever seen blew into the sky, taking with it the light of day.

Scootaloo dropped the Comm Block into the sand. She covered her eyes. "What is that?! Are we under attack?!"

"Har mah sha maloolah!"

"Impossible! It's too soon!"

They needed intel! Scootaloo grabbed her Comm Block and held it up. "Command! Command, do you copy?"

"We lost you," their contact said. "Med Evac is on their way!"

"Excellent, can we get a status on that beam?"

"No known origin. It's coming from the Everfree Forest." The Everfree?! "You have a new order. We need scouts to check it out. The Princesses are requesting a visual on the beam up close and personal."

"Copy. We're making moves now." Scootaloo addressed the soldiers behind her. "We've been given new orders from the Princesses themselves! Investigate that beam!"

Majority Green pointed to the world's source of a sudden night. "You mean that one?"

"It's coming from the Everfree Forest! Med Evac is on their way!" Scootaloo turned around and watched the skies. Here they come. Two soldiers per chariot, fifteen sweeping low to the beach.

"And not a moment too late," Scootaloo said to herself.

"Nal Manooah!" The Pseratep pointed to the beam. "Esh shacal teoo Everfree?"

"What is the significance of the Everfree Forest?"

Scootaloo grabbed her weapon and scooter. "Let's just say that the Everfree has a place in Equestria where it shouldn't. Creatures, monsters, and unnatural entities reside inside. Ponies don't just walk in there."

She kicked her scooter into position and settled herself down. "We'd better hurry before Queen Arcadia beats us there. That shield isn't going to hold her back forever." They all knew it. It was strong, that shimmering overlay of gold entombing the land around them. But Queen Arcadia was certainly on her way back, and that shield wasn't going to stop her.

Yes, the shield was up. Now they could work on the second phase of the plan. The Canterlot Castle was urgently making their moves, constantly shifting around their soldiers in the field and preparing weaponry. She was on her way.

While they spoke, Cadance kept her eyes on Psera's screens. A technology she wished Equestria could utilize. Alas, this will do for now. She could see all of Las Pegasus and the fires that claimed nearby structures. Ponyville and the security marching through the town. The military's weaponry staged in a field aimed towards the sky. IHT's own making their stand in Canterlot. Manehattan's buildings packed with ponies and Zebras hiding from their angered enemy.

Cadance looked back to the room and asked, "Where would she go?"

Luna looked up from a map she and Celestia were reading. "There is no clue," she answered. "She attacked Las Pegasus because, we suspect, they had a large defensive line."

"Do you think she'll try and go through our defenses?"

Celestia shook her head. "No. It would be a waste of magic. She may just go over it for her goal."

Odega teleported over to the discussion and pointed out, "Which we still don't know. Why is she here? How exactly is she going to wipe out magic? Does Equestria have any sort of way that it could be possible?"

"Equestria? No. Twilight? Maybe. After everything we've seen and witnessing what she's done, anything she says should not be taken lightly."

"Blip on the screen!" Someone announced.

All turned their sights to the monitor at the front of the room displaying Psera's early detection system. A large circle represented Equestria. A smaller circle represented a projectile, quickly approaching. It wasn't slowing down. At that speed...

"She's going to slam right into our shield," Xin Jing, Hoof Yun's Guard Captain pointed out.

Crystaltite asked, "Is it going to hold?"

Will anything hold against the goddess of magic? Cadance swallowed hard. "There's only one way to find out."

She could hear her coming. They all could, the violet star leaving a scar in the sky, streaking towards its destination. It was bright, enough to stop Scootaloo's journey through the whistling woods and look to the stars, to watch that one angle up, shoot faster than the speed of light, and slam right into their shield with a loud gong.

"Oh boy," she muttered. The impact was so hard she swore the shield bent in. A wave of shock spread from the point of impact across the shield's surface. A large one.

Uh oh. Scootaloo looked back to the team watching it spread. "Run... We have to run! Now!"

She kicked her scooter low and quickly blew through Whitetail all the way to Ponyville And the ponies fortifying there.

"Everyone take cover!!" She shouted.

Slowly, vibrations grew under their hooves. The world was lifting. A cloud of dirt and dust escaped the Whitetail Woods, creeping down the hills into Ponyville.

"Take cover!"

"Hang on!"

Scootaloo ducked around the corner of a house and flattened herself against the wall. She could hear it coming, high winds loud enough to be mistaken for a hurricane. When that hurricane hit, Buildings rattled, glass shattered, carts flew through the air crashing into whatever lied out. Some structures lost their roofs, others merely their shingles.

Oh, when would this nightmare end?

The wind slowly died down, but Scootaloo was sure that shockwave was spreading further and further. They needed to get to Everfree.

She poked her head out into view. "Is everyone okay?!" She asked.

Silent Sound and the Pserateps pulled themselves free from wherever they hit or were blown into. Whether it be from inside of barrels like Majority Green, or holes in the ground like Psera's captain and his translator.

He saluted. "Ala!"

"We're fine!"

It seemed the team was good. Scootaloo pointed behind her to the edge of the Everfeee Forest. The blue beam stood tall, a beacon in the sky attracting their worst enemy in all of Equestria's history.

"We have to get there now!"

"Reports of a shockwave from west side!"

"Magical interference, we're losing our comms!"

How could a slam into a shield knock out so many of their assets?! Celestia could see it all, watching with fearful eyes as Twilight threw blast after blast at the shield. Like a bee, she tried multiple angles and multiple tactics. It seemed to be holding her back. But that wouldn't last forever. She was slowing down, thinking, taking it easy until she stopped flying entirely. Her eyes seemed to be on that mysterious beam. The one they didn't make.

She looked to Shining Armor. "Are we investigating that light?"

"There's a team from the beach, heading that way now."

Good. Celestia turned back and faced the screen. Arcadia's hooves touched down directly over Canterlot, watching them observe her from below. Sneering at them and their soldiers watching through their cameras.

Celestia put her helmet on her head and looked back to the room. "Prepare yourselves. She's analyzing."

Their systems began to falter. Glitches and freezes until Arcadia's voice took form throughout the room. A voice that ran through the castle.

"You think this can keep me at bay," she said. "You think this shield made of magic is enough to keep my power back? A big mistake."

Luna assured, "We will do whatever is necessary to protect the safety of lives everywhere."

"It's funny how you couldn't do the same for me." Twilight walked across the shield settling directly over Canterlot Castle. The sky turned violet with storm clouds. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled across the sky. High winds blew her mane askew, revealing her blind eye piercing into their souls below.

"No matter," she said. "For it all ends today."

Their systems crashed. Blue screens across the board. They were offline.

"Comms are down!"

"We lost contact with external connections!"

"No service with Lavender!"

Looks like things were going to become more hooves-on. Commanding behind the scenes was over. They all knew what time it was.

Luna grabbed her own helmet and turned back to Cadance, Shining Armor, and Princess Merry. "Stay inside. Protect Flurry." She turned to Sun Waves, Tritanium, and Sky Duster. "Let's go. She's going to find a way through."

Odega stepped forward with the rest of the Legends of Psera. "Don't forget about us."

"Never. Let's go." They all trotted through the entrance of the castle with their heads held high, through the soldiers securing the halls saluting them forward. This was the final battle. A fight to save all of magic against the goddess of magic. A team of nine against the body of one.

Who would come out on top?

They made it to the front of the castle, doors locked and sealed. The guards went to work removing the runes. Then swung them open for the last strongest line of defense.

The sun disappeared, hiding behind the violet storm clouds casting a shadow onto the land below, swirling around Queen Arcadia standing upon the shield with her wings spread. Celestia met her gaze, hoping she could see the disappointment and feel how upset she was. Instead, she saw nothing but rage, anger, and resentment in her glare.

The nine of them stood and hovered in a line, unmoving.

Calmly, Celestia said, "I feel this has been coming for quite some time. Hasn't it, Twilight?" She didn't answer, continuing to stare at them with eyes of acid, burning through their fur. "You never truly forgave us, all those years ago. I could see it each and every time we spoke after."

"The pain of the past..." Twilight said. She reared up until she was standing on two hooves. "Do not amount to our futures. Although they play a part in reason. I have witnessed and seen many things in my life. But nothing can truly amount to the disrespect I have received because of jealousy and greed. You choosing to defend this jealousy and greed proves to me that you love magic more than the ponies who died because of it."

"That isn't true and you know it."

"I guess we shall find out."

She was about to make her move. Those on the ground prepared themselves and took their stance. Twilight withdrew her sword and raised it to her face. This was a gift from her husband. To defend all that was Psera. Yet here they were attacking her, supposedly her loyal home. No more.

Twilight flipped her blade and poured in her magic. Then sheathed the blade through the shield. Immediately, it began to reject her. Magic surged up the sword and into her body, electrifying her. Twilight threw her head back and screamed through the pain, a cry of agony that rose even the fur off of Luna's back.

It burned through her like she knew it would. But all pain would end. You can either let it control and destroy you, or you can control and destroy it.

Twilight ignited her horn and wings, taking hold of the electrifying magic. It was in her grasp, in her hooves, swirling into a ball of energy until finally her cries of pain turned into cries of happiness.

"Yes!!" She shouted. "Come to me!!"

"What is she doing?!" Luna asked.

She was doing the impossible. She was doing the one thing that would surely kill her, but seemed to be empowering her even more than usual.

Celestia swallowed hard. "She's absorbing magic."

"We have to stop her!"

Celestia knew what to do. She teleported away, heading back to Ponyville's castle of friendship. She appeared among the turmoil. Their invention was overloading. A loud alarm blared through the lab. The device itself was quivering and shaking, smoking internally. Screws, nails, whatever held it together flew off and to the floor.

Sunset and Starlight were doing what they could when Celestia arrived, capturing their attention.

Sunset pointed back. "We shut it down! But she has direct access to the power cell!!"

"She kicked open every single safeguard we had! There's nothing we can do!"

Twilight was using their own invention against them. She managed to get her hooves on their shield . . . to absorb it. Buck.

Celestia teleported back to Canterlot amongst the line of defenders. "They can't shut it down! She has direct access to their power cell! Unless they want to fry alive and achieve nothing, then Arcadia has it!"

The shield was shrinking, losing its strength and collapsing where Arcadia stood until finally it was all gone. Arcadia fell to the ground and slammed into the street. A wave of magic and dirt expelled upon impact, forcing them to cover their eyes. A dense wall of smog prevented them from seeing what they feared. But they could make out her silhouette.

Twilight pulled herself from the crater. Her sword was lifted and stabbed into the ground, acting as her support while she caught her breath.

Luna stepped forward and shouted, "Just what do you hope to achieve today by attacking Equestria?! You give yourself merely a sentence in Tartarus, Twilight Sparkle!"

Twilight opened her eyes, glowing violet with energy unmatched. She rose to her hooves and sheathed her blade back into her scabbard. Her eyes never left theirs.

"I will achieve what you are afraid to," she answered. "Either the disruption and control, or the absolute disintegration of magical energies everywhere."

Celestia stepped forward. "You think this will make the world a safer place. That attacking our strongest magic holders will keep the world safe."

"I'm not here for your magic holders." Twilight raised her wings and flapped them, dispelling the smog and clearing out the street so they could see her. "I'm here for you."

Sky Duster floated in front of Celestia alongside Sun Waves and Tritanium. "Then you'll have to go through us."

Odega and Crystaltite teleported to Arcadia's left while Soymenar and Leacrope took her right.

"As well as us," Odega added.

Twilight tracked them with her eyes calmly, as if they were no threat. "Drop your weapon, Twilight, and surrender," Luna urged her. "You are outnumbered. You have done enough damage."

Outnumbered, she said. "The fact that you believe I am outnumbered proves to me that you don't know me well."

She was outnumbered. There were nine of them and she was surrounded. Wasn't she?

Celestia and Luna shared a glance. Something was up. Twilight turned her gaze to the rooftops of one of the buildings beside them. Where a figure slowly emerged that attracted the pony sisters' eyes. Wait... Celestia's seen this trick before.

Another Twilight. Dressed in her exact garb. Followed by another, then another and another. An access hole for the sewers was kicked open and its shield flew into the air. Two more Arcadia Novas pulled themselves out and flanked the original one's side. More appeared around them, emerging from doorways and rooftops.

"Uh oh," Luna muttered. She did a complete three-sixty. Now they were surrounded and outnumbered.

Odega cursed and calmly stomped her hoof. "Oh, I forgot she could do that."

Soymenar glared at Odega. "You forgot she could duplicate herself?!"

"Well no other creature can!!"

Arcadia poised herself into a fighting stance, eyes narrowed and burrowed, glaring at Celestia. "It's a shame how you thought I wasn't prepared."

"I was hoping you would make the right choice as usual and lower your weapon," Celestia replied. "But I see that isn't going to happen. Is it?"

Twilight sighed and replied, "Unless someone else decides to rectify the misuse of magic in this world, then I will raise my sword..." Twilight lifted her blade and pointed it at Celestia. "And make the hardest choice I would ever have to make."

Luna saw it coming. She pushed Celestia to the side before a large beam expelled from Twilight's weapon. It speared past them, through the castle's gates and slammed into the front lawn, leaving a burning hot crater in the grain of the earth. The fight was on.

The Twilights jumped from the rooftops and soared into the street below them. A distraction, it had to be. Yet, a distraction they gladly indulged in.

Luna and Celestia teleported to their hooves and summoned a shield at the moment they charged for their group. Without magic, they were normal ponies that were blown away like wisps of wind. Shadows that faded into the air at the swing of Tritanium's fist and a blast of Odega's fire.

Celestia muttered, "Dark magic." How lower could Arcadia go?

A clone hopped onto the back of Celestia, attempting to weight her down. A clone that was blown away by a blast from Sun Waves' horn.

She shared a nod with Celestia and continued to summon spell after spell, minimizing Arcadia's army of clones.

Sky Duster was teleporting around the area, hitting and kicking away as many of them as she could. She teleported briefly to Celestia. "Where's the real one?!" She asked.

The question of the hour. After launching her clones upon them, they lost sight of the real Arcadia among the horde.

Celestia referred to Odega and the Legends. "Can you track her?!"

Leacrope nodded and answered, "I feel her magic nearby!"

That tells her nothing! Arcadia's magic goes for miles! Celestia threw her hoof at one, knocked aside another, and flapped her wings at four. "Tritanium!"

"I'm workin' on it!" Tritanium ran through the rest, eventually clearing a good half of the field. "Still no sign of her!"

Luna teleported into the middle of the horde and swung her wings, erasing more. One on her left, a swing, and disperse. Another on her right, dispersed.

One near her rear, she lifted her hooves and bucked backwards, only coming into contact with air. What? She turned back around and stared directly into the violet neon eyes of Arcadia.

Before she could react, Luna was blown back through the field and directly into Tritanium. They hit the ground and rolled to the hooves of their allies.

Luna pointed her hoof from under Tritanium. "Found her." They could see her, standing there with her large wings spread and poised for a fight. Well, if she wanted one...

Sky Duster fired a spell, a large light blue beam of magic towards the direction of Equestria's greatest foe. It speared through the air and froze, an inch away from Arcadia's nonplussed expression.

"....whoa," Sun Waves muttered. She shared a glance with Sky Duster. Uh oh.

The beam Arcadia managed to control curved and turned itself in a revolution, picking up speed before turning into a neon blur, expanding and growing in a disk shape. She tossed it in the air, jumped up, turned and kicked it down in their direction. A slice of magic sharp enough to rip a head off.

"WHOA!!" Sky Duster dodged to the side, barely avoiding a clean cut with Arcadia's latest manipulation. Instead, it found its home in the concrete street.

That was way to close. Celestia and Luna looked back to Twilight. Her hooves were glowing. She wasn't done. "Scatter!" Luna shouted.

Twilight swung one hoof up, sending a blade of magic in their direction followed by more whilst they seeked shelter behind the edges of buildings. Any location not in her sight was the safest space.

"Running only prolongs the inevitable!" Arcadia shouted.

Celestia shouted back, "No matter what you do, Twilight, you will never wipe away magic!"

"You don't know me well enough! You never did!"

They knew her well enough when to run and when to fight back. Twilight wasn't always the best at focus. Both Luna and Celestia knew that. Distractions, her greatest enemy she had yet to overcome. Wave after wave sliced through the street, hitting the side of their hiding place and knocking aside chunk after chunk of concrete, wood, and metal. One beam hit a stop sign, giving Luna an idea.

She turned to Celestia. "Follow my lead! We only have a second to fight back."

Lead? What lead?! Luna used her magic to rip the stop sign off and bring it over to them. Ohhh, so that's what she was going to do! Celestia looked past Luna to the Legends and Defenders on the other side.

"Prepare yourselves!" She shouted.

Give it a second. Twilight's magic slowed briefly, giving Luna her window. She jumped out of cover and threw the stop sign up to Twilight.

What the...?! Twilight stopped throwing her magic and teleported to a rooftop. Did they just throw a sign at her?! She watched it fall to the ground before turning back to where they were hiding, now vacant. Ugh! They distracted her! Twilight teleported over to where they were and shot her angered look from side to side.

"You can't hide forever!!" She shouted.

"We're not hiding!" Twilight jumped to the side and rolled away before Tritanium came crashing down where she once stood. the ground beneath his hooves crumbled under the weight of his mass. An opportunity arose for Twilight.

She aimed her horn at Tritanium, glowing with energy before she was blown to the side by Leacrope. She crashed into a building and into a wall. Curse her distractions!

On her right. Twilight ducked and used the magic in her wings to slice at her attacker. Sun Waves however knew she would go for that trick. She teleported to the other side of Twilight and blew her out the front of the store with a cry and into the street. She rolled out but was back upon her hooves in an instant.

"Not so tough now are you?!" Twilight looked up and was blown back once more by the force of a filly. That Sky Duster. Curse all of them. She rolled to the hooves of Celestia. They needed to pin her down, if she gets back up and gets the upper hand, there would be no way for them to stop her. So she summoned a spell.

A golden ring outlined with runes was drawn underneath Twilight. Threads of gold cocooned her, pinning her to the ground. The Defenders and Legends quickly surrounded and held down her limbs, preventing her from flapping them. Soldiers waiting for the right moment stormed out of their hiding places in Canterlot and quickly rushed towards the scene, weapons drawn and aimed at Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle.

"Let's go, let's go!!"

"Weapons hot!!"

Twilight grunted and struggled to escape. Before she could light her horn, a ring was placed on her horn. Followed by another and another. Three, just enough to dim her magic.

No. No it can't end like this!! Twilight continued to fight. Eyes narrowed, she stared up to her enemies, the rest of the world. To Celestia glaring in disappointment. To Luna, bearing murderous intent. To Odega, to Cadance, to Shining Armor, to all of them.

"It is over, Twilight," Celestia said.

No. No it wasn't over until she said it was over. Because she gave them their power. She gave them life, she gave them her all. And this was how they repay her?! No. It shall not end this way. It ends when she says it ends.

"Release me." Her inner demon. The one born of pain, anger, and frustration. She could see all of what she has experienced flash before her eyes that they haven't. The deaths, the fights, the pain, the anguish. Did they care? Did they truly care as much as she does? Do they share her passion for the cleansing of magic? No, for they hold her down now to prevent her tirade, as if she were nothing more than a mad mare. They didn't understand her. None of them ever did. her friends, her family, her teachers, their teachers. Her inspiration. They would never understand her passion for magic.

But no matter, for it would live on; it would not die here. "Release me." Release the anger. Release the frustration. Release that pain.

She was fighting harder. The rings lying on Twilight's horn glowed in intensity. She was fighting back.

Celestia looked back to the soldiers. "Cadance!! We need a sedation spell!!"

One of Twilight's hooves broke free of the ropes and runes, glowing with magic. It fired off a bolt to the sky. The sound of thunder reigned for miles.

"No!!" Luna went for the hoof and pushed it down.

Twilight shouted through her struggles. "You think you can hold back what is true, and continue lying to yourselves!! You think you can hold down the reality of what is real, and push forward with the facade you've painted!!"

Twilight pulled her right hoof free from the strong grip of Tritanium and swung it through the air. A blast of magic threw them off her body and back from their subject. Tritanium slammed into a wall. Pserateps flapped desperately amongst high winds before it overpowered and blew them from the sky.

The rings burning upon Twilight's horn burst, shattering to pieces. Encased in a glow, Celestia, Luna, and the Legends of Psera were thrown from Twilight's side. So close! They almost had her!

Twilight yanked herself free from the hold of Celestia's detainment spell and stood upon her hooves. Wings spread and hooves poised, she stared down the creatures of the world gathering themselves for another fight. The dragons, taking to the rooftops. The changelings crawling from the windows. The Pserateps aiming from the skies. The Alicorns ringing her from above. The Princesses watching her stand on her own hooves.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP THE TRUTH!!" She shouted.

Admiral Silver pointed at Arcadia. "Fire!! Let her have it!!"

The Pserateps pulled on their triggers. Bullets from the sky rained down upon Twilight's shield. But nay, they would land no hit. Twilight shot her head back and released a ball of energy from her horn. Shining white and glowing with energy, it exploded. A violet shell captured the Pserateps shooting away at Twilight and pulled them together. Then, with a release of kinetic energy that blew back manes, and a camera-like flash, they were gone.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN LIVE A LIE FOREVERMORE!!"

The dragons jumped from the rooftops and charged for Twilight. A big mistake. The ground betrayed them. Twilight raised her wings, glowing with magic. The ground broke down beneath their claws, dropping them into the darkness below filled with rock and concrete. One dragon managed to grab hold of the edge and attempted to pull themselves from the land below.

Twilight approached, staring down into his eyes, begging, pleading for mercy. She could see it. They all could see it. She couldn't. She wouldn't. She did.

Twilight pulled her sword from its scabbard, raised it high, and stabbed it down into the neck of her enemy. Blood stained the blade poking from the back of his neck. Cadance watched in terror, in utter horror as he fell lifeless while his killer moved forward for them. Her eyes were trained on Celestia. On Luna. On Cadance. On Shining Armor. On her family.

"WELL I AM THE TRUTH!!" Before the Pserateps could even try. Twilight jumped in the air and spun herself around. Shot after shot of magic were launched for the rooftops. At contact with the edge, explosions blew fire and destruction into the sky. The debris and bodies of their allies flew aimlessly from the rooftops. Through the smoke and fire, the fury of Twilight continued pushing forward.

"TWILIGHT, STOP!!" Odega ran forward, the bravest of them all. She slid from an incoming attack Twilight threw at her and collided into Twilight. But she held her footing. "THIS IS WRONG! YOU MUST STOP!!"

"YOU KNOW IT TO BE TRUE, ODEGA!! YOU WITNESSED MY FAMILY DIE, AND YOU WITNESSED INNOCENT LIVES BE TAKEN BECAUSE OF MAGIC!!" Twilight lifted Odega off her hooves and threw her aside. She slammed into the side of a building. But before she could rise, a zap of magic rendered her body to ice. The keeper of Psera's seas rendered powerless in less than five seconds. Adorned with the stare of pain.

"NOOO!" The Legends of Psera rushed forward. Magic flew through the air, impacting against Twilight's shield. Leacrope, the commander of air appeared behind it. Twilight dodged her hit. A worthless attempt. Glowing hooves lit, Twilight threw Leacrope aside as if she were lighter than her element. She was encased in a violet bubble, trapped in the air. She beat against it, demanding release.

Crystaltite flew in to assist and was instantly grabbed and thrown back through the castle walls. Soymenar, Commander of the Earth, had his body lifted and slammed into a wall back first. Pinned, the concrete lifted and shaped itself into restraints that tied him to the wall. Just like that, the Legends were down.

The alicorns moved in with their weapons from above. Twilight's horn illuminated, and at a twist of her head, a violet wave shot for them. It blew over their coats, turning their bodies to stone. They fell from the sky, crashing into Canterlot and shattering into pieces.

"DON'T YOU SEE?!!" She shouted. Twilight raised her hooves and conjured a rune in the air, glowing with energy. She rotated it quickly and blew it forward with her breath. A portal, filled with a darkness opened. Tentacles of magic shot out and grabbed Pserateps hiding behind a barrier. They were pulled in, screaming for help before the portal closed, and Twilight moved forward. Their barrier disintegrated at the touch of her hooves.

"DON'T YOU SEE WHAT MAGIC HAS DONE TO US?!!"

No! No, she couldn't get any closer! Luna released spell after spell at Twilight Sparkle. All of them, the last line of defense that IHT had left released spell after spell in Twilight's direction. With one hoof raised and the stare of fury, they reflected to the side and Twilight continued forward. She was unstoppable. In a single day, they witnessed the impossible. Psera's expansive military fall, the beach be blown to bits, a shield built to withstand any attack be absorbed, and death. Equestria watched ponies die up close and personal by the same pony who swore to save them all.

Shining and Cadance combined their magics and created a barrier, strong enough to hold as they all backed away slowly. Even Tritanium, Sky Duster, and Sun Waves. They could see the anger in her eyes, the tears running down her face.

"MAGIC IS A VIRUS!!" Twilight raised her hoof and slammed it into the shield. A crack appeared in the middle and a cry of pain was pulled from the throats of Shining and Cadance.

"TWILIGHT, YOU MUST STOP THIS!!" Celestia wailed.

"THAT VIRUS WILL KILL ALL OF US!!" Another hit, a large crack, and a louder grunt of pain. Headaches pounded against both Shining and Cadance.

"AND YOU LET IT HAPPEN!! FOR THIS LONG!!" Twilight finally smashed through their shield and swiped it from existence. Like glass, it fell to the ground. Both Cadance and Shining were thrown across the lawn in opposite directions. Twilight dodged a hit from Tritanium. In return she lifted him in the air and threw him weightlessly behind her. Sky Duster was slammed downwards into the grass of the castle lawn from her hovering position, rendering her unconscious.

Sun Waves was the final pony left. She ran forward and grabbed Twilight's hooves, pleading with her eyes. "You must stop this! I don't know much about you, but this isn't the way! There are other choices!! Magic is beautiful, I'm sure you know that!"

Twilight peered into her gaze. "Magic has done nothing except give us a reason to forget who we once were."

Electric energy surged through Twilight's body and into Sun Wave's. She shot her head back and screamed through the torturous pain of electrocution. Slowly, she fell to the ground. Her hoof slipped from Twilight's and she lied at her hooves. Alive, but not well.

No... No... Was this it? Was this what she wanted? To end them all? Celestia and Luna scurried back as far as their weakened states would allow them. Twilight stepped over Sun Waves and walked over to Celestia and Luna. The last two lying on their backs underneath her power.

"And now, here we are. The three of us, the great ones. I heeded you a warning once. That magic was too strong. That it must be controlled. Yet, more than a decade later and only I am the one to take action against the world's true enemy. Ourselves."

Luna slowly rose to her feet and faced her. "There are other ways, Twilight. We see the pain this has caused you—"

"IT WAS NEVER ABOUT ME!!" She screamed back. Luna dropped back to the ground. "For I am the guilty one! They used my spells to take my ponies!! To take my family!! To take my peace, to take my dreams, and to take my life!! Fine, take everything from me, I already know I'm a target!" Twilight pointed behind her. "But do not take theirs!! Do not attack my country because of my magic! Do not take my daughter's life because of my strength!"

Twilight stomped her hooves upon the chests of Luna and Celestia, pinning them to the dirt. Tears welled in her eyes, rolling down her cheeks and to the grass below. "Yet, here I stand, alone. Because the greed of magic and power outweighs the needs to live. Knowledge is sought after more than life. Convenience, than health. I have seen it all. I've witnessed it in IHT, I've witnessed it in Equestria. I've witnessed it amongst my own family. I've witnessed it in myself.

"I couldn't even raise my own daughter in peace because I come from a line of magic. I was born to be the strongest. I was born to become the symbol we all shouldn't be, and I was born to be feared."

Celestia sighed with dread. Her mind was set, her heart in stone. "What would your family say if they saw you do this?"

"I wouldn't know. I wouldn't be doing this at all if they were still alive and my people were safe." Twilight raised her blade. "This will hurt me as much as I hurt you. But my passion for a better Equus outweighs..."

She froze. Twilight blinked once. Then two more times. She glanced up and looked towards the blue beam shooting into the sky. That feeling... She knew that feeling very well. She held it in her hooves on a daily basis. She'd wipe away its tears. She'd play with it when she was bored. She... She created it.

Twilight dropped her sword. Celestia, Luna, and Cadance watched it fall and sheath into the grass. Twilight's wings lowered. She removed herself from the chests of Luna and Celestia and strode a few feet to the light.

"...what's going on?" Cadance muttered. They didn't know. No one could answer.

The bubble holding Leacrope suddenly popped, dropping her face-first to the concrete. The ice keeping Odega hostage crumbled, releasing her fiery existence. Crystaltite dropped out of the castle walls and Soymenar was released from his stony prison.

"What is happening?" Luna asked. As if time reversed, the world was restored. The violet clouds were parting, letting in the sunlight. The pieces of rock, damages, and fires were put out and placed back as if nothing happened. But the bodies of lifeless ponies lied still. Unmoving.

Cadance ran past Twilight and over to Shining. "Oh my stars, are you okay?"

He coughed and rubbed his head. "I have a massive migraine, but I'm fine." He looked past Cadance and over to Twilight. Her back was turned. This was the moment. "We can restrain her. While she's distracted."

"No," Celestia told him. She turned to all the creatures, generals, soldiers, and military waiting for the signal, aiming and ready to go. But she raised her hoof, stopping them before they could even start. She was calm. She was peaceful. Why?

Celestia was approached by Admiral Shooting Star. "Comms are back," he whispered. "Her Majesty wants an update. What's going on?"

"i don't know. She was about to finish us and then . . . this."

They couldn't feel what she felt. See what she sees, hear what she hears. Twilight lifted her giant wings and floated off the ground. She took flight through the sky, leaving Canterlot with a contingent of military behind her. No way were they going to let her out of their sights after all of this. Use of force was denied, but it was surely tempting.

Twilight soared off the mountain and over the plains towards the town of Ponyville. The sun basked down upon the town, a ray of light that shone upon the entrance of the Everfree Forest where a small gathering of different creatures stood, escorted by the Pserateps and Equestria's military. Directly at the front of them was her reason to stop. To surrender. To lay down her sword and drop it to the soil.

The scabbard fell from her side and she landed in the dirt, meeting her own eyes. Then time stood still.

"...Dawn?"

Epilogue

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How long have they been trotting through these woods? And how long does it go?! After the appearance, they finally entered the Everfree Forest and made tracks for the blue beam. They crossed through dark forests, swam through glowing green lakes, and climbed impossible cliffs to finally reach this point.

A blue glow basked upon their bodies. Standing before a bridge leading over an endless chasm to an abandoned castle. Damaged from age and destruction, it lied lifeless, save for the blue beam creating winds.

Scootaloo was joined by Majority Green. "What is that?"

"I don't know." She raised her Comm Block. "Command, you copy?... Command."

One of the Pserateps walked forward. "Comms are down."

"Arcadia Nova must've taken them out."

"Great." Scootaloo pointed ahead. "Let's continue."

Carefully, they treaded the bridge that thankfully held up all the way to the other side. They walked into the ruins with questions on the Pserateps' minds.

"Ah chala a shoo?"

"What is this place?"

Scootaloo opened the doors and walked in with her team first. "This is the old castle of the two pony sisters. Damaged due to Nightmare Moon. This was before the castle in Canterlot."

"Nightmare Moon?"

"Long story."

They walked out into the courtyard where the beam was placed. Scootaloo held her hoof up to keep the winds back. It seemed to have erupted where a statue used to stand. Still, answers for what it could be have yet to make themselves known.

The Pserateps and soldiers looked at each other before an electric snap came from it. Followed by two more.

"Is it a portal?" Mixed Candies queried.

"I don't know what it is."

An eruption of electric current forced them back behind stone. It had to be a portal. No other reason for it to be snapping like that.

The Captain pointed forward over his rock. "Telma kavra out!"

"Something's coming out!"

Scootaloo squinted her eyes. Those Pserateps have excellent vision. She couldn't see it until finally a silhouette of an Alicorn was made out.

"Ready weapons!" They were raised and pointed to the beam. If a threat stepped out of there then they weren't going to be standing long.

A violet hoof slowly poked out before the rest of the body. A filly with maddeningly long red hair, a crown upon her head, a horn, and long wings soared out as if in slow motion. Strange. On her head and back were two animals and a few books.

Where has Scootaloo seen her before? She was familiar. Really familiar. But from where?

Once her entire body was out, time sped up and she fell facefirst. "Ow, mahnurka!!" Dawn shouted. Was normal magic supposed to hurt?

Juniper jumped off Dawn's back and over to her face. She licked her cheek repeatedly.

"Okay, okay," she said. Dawn sat up and shook dirt off her coat. Then finally took a moment to look around. They seemed to be in some dilapidated structure, broken beyond repair.

The sky was filled with violet overcasting clouds, swirling around an unseen point in the distance. Where were they?

Dawn was quickly joined by Night Life, who too had an unfortunate meeting with the ground. "Wow. Quite the greeting." He popped up and rubbed his cheek before referring to Dawn. "So where are we?"

"I have no clue. What is—"

"PUT YOUR HOOVES UP!!" Scootaloo and the rest finally emerged from their hiding places and approached them with weapon's drawn.

Dawn eeped and quickly did as asked. "What's going on?! Ala tashee, ala tashee!"

"Name! Now!"

"Princess Fresh Veola Dawn! Of Psera!"

What? The Pseratep Captain jabbed his weapon in her direction. "Cal masenyo!! Dawn gorra!!"

"No, Dawn tyle! Dawn tyle, Dawn see! Queen Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle is my mother and King Shimmering Madun is my father! We've been trapped in a time pocket but we escaped. I need to see my parents! We are all in danger!"

More creatures began falling out of the portal, backing up their claim. Many more. Dragons, ponies, hippogriffs until the courtyard was full of them. Scootaloo couldn't explain it. Unless it was the truth.

Dawn lowered her hooves. "Let me prove it to you. Take me to mom. She'll know if I'm...wait a minute."

Something was up. She pointed to the Pserateps, then to the Unicorns and Pegasi. Equestria and Psera were working together?!

Dawn met the curious glance of Night Life. He noticed it too. What happened while they were gone?

She looked back to the unit. "Why are you working together? Psera and Equestria aren't allies."

"Arcadia Nova," Scootaloo answered. She pointed to the sky. "She's attacking civilization."

Wait, what?!!! Dawn shouted, "Wait, hold on! What... Why? What's going on?!"

A Pseratep stepped forward and explained. "She's trying to extinguish magic. She's thrown away her crown and stepped down as Queen, escaped Psera, blew through our defenses, and is attacking Equestria as we speak. We've lost ten Aquatas, The Front Lawn has been disabled, our shield has faltered, hundreds of wounded lie on the beach of Las Pegasus, and we fear she's reached Canterlot."

What? No, no, that wasn't what was on the foretelling! Dawn began pacing in front of them. A war between the creatures was supposed to reign. Lead by mom. Not every creature against her! Unless...

Dawn stopped pacing. "...we got the estimation wrong."

Lucky asked, "What?"

Dawn rushed back and grabbed Night Life. She shook him back and forth. "This was her plan!!! All along!!! Mom isn't leading an army, she is the army!!!"

Scootaloo asked, "What are you talking about?!"

Dawn turned around and ordered. "There's no time! Take me to her and she'll stop everything! All of this will come to an end!! She's doing this because she thinks I'm dead; you have to get me to her!!"

They didn't have a lot of time to lose. Too much was at stake to second guess. Scootaloo nodded. "Silent Sound will aid in your escort. This way, Princess."

She turned around and ran back through the door. Dawn was quickly on her hooves, following her through the castle and soon over the bridge into the woods with the rest following them.

That's why the sky was violet. Mom's power was beyond understanding. For her to control even the sky was so fathomable Dawn would've thought it to be a normal thing. But no. She looked to the clouds and watched violet lightning flash, felt the wind pick up. The storm was here. They had to hurry.

Dawn asked, "Is there anyway to speed up?!"

Oh, she wanted speed? Scootaloo smiled and replied, "I thought you'd never ask."

In a snap, Scootaloo lifted her hoof and placed it under Dawn so she "tripped." Dawn flipped through the air and landed on Scootaloo's back, who then jumped up, kicked open her scooter and blazed a fiery path into the forest.

Now they were moving at her speed. Dawn looked back to see the rest be left behind. At least Juniper and Sky Blue clung tight.

"Cool gadget!" Dawn shouted.

"It's not the scooter that makes me this fast!" Scootaloo shouted back. "Although it helps."

They launched over cliffs, bouncing through hills, and soon reaching the front of the Everfree.

"We're coming up on Ponyville!" Scootaloo shouted.

If Dawn was correct then that meant they were close to Canterlot. The ringing of explosions reached her ears. The horrendous sound of fighting between her family.

"...Ponyville should be good."

Scootaloo peered back briefly. "What? Why?"

"I can't get too close, mom probably has a shield or something up. She's furious. It's best we stay back to prevent her from hitting us. But she'll know I'm here, even If I'm as far as Ponyville."

"How?"

"I'm . . . a little different from other ponies."

Yeah, tell that to her freezing back. Something was clearly up with Dawn. As if an ice cube decided to make its home in her flesh. But if she could stop this war, then it didn't matter. She'll carry that ice cube for miles.

Scootaloo burst through the thicket of Everfree and kicked up dirt into the clean air of Ponyville to brake. Or what used to be. Now, a tornado had swept through. Oh mom, what have you done?! Dawn jumped off of Scootaloo's back and walked forward in disbelief. This was such a beautiful town when she was last here and now...

The Pserateps and ponies from the island caught up and met her at the treeline. The Pseratep Captain spoke. "Oscha kalman see?"

"It too qutalman et'soo. Aschella Arcadia it too war." Dawn looked back to the mountain of Canterlot. "But she'll know I'm here."

"How?"

"She always knows. She'll come to us."

Night Life flanked her side. "Finally, I can meet this mother of yours."

And mother can finally meet my angry side, Dawn thought. All of this destruction... How could she fall for Narmeelah's plan like this?! How could... Narmeelah...

Dawn whipped back around and eyed their group. "Night... Where is Shaoloh?"

Uh oh. Night Life scanned the crowd. "Yeah, she escaped. We really should've seen that coming."

It doesn't matter. If Shaoloh is free, then she's going to Narmeelah. She'll lead them straight to her. Dawn looked back to Canterlot. A connection was made. Dawn could feel it. "She knows."

Suddenly, the damage of Ponyville was repaired. Buildings, structures, the debris floated back into their rightful places and repaired themselves. As if a battle never blew through. The clouds began to part, letting in the noon sun, shining down upon them specifically.

There she is, the large violet wings desperately flapping in her direction followed closely by a storm of military behind her. Her presence was enough for Dawn's party to back away in fear. Even Night Life, ever eager to meet her. But Dawn had yet to move. She would hold her ground.

Twilight's scabbard met the ground first before she followed shortly. Bruised and dirty, she met her Daughter's eyes with disbelief. "...Dawn?"

Dawn swallowed and asked in a hush. "...Mom, what are you doing?"

"DAWN!!" Twilight teleported Dawn into her hooves and held her close. "My baby, my baby's alive, Dawn!!" She placed kiss after kiss upon her cheek, uncaring to the military surrounding her.

But Dawn wasn't having it. She fought her way out her mother's hooves and dropped to her own. "Mom, what did you do?! Where is dad?!"

The smile upon Twilight's face fell. She whipped around and pulled Dawn underneath her, glaring at the military with wings spread. "Not now, Dawn! We have to get out of here!"

"What?! No!"

Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart quickly teleported into the fray. "You are not leaving of your own free will, Twilight Sparkle!" Celestia shouted. "You have proven yourself to be a threat to all creatures everywhere!!"

Dawn pushed her way out between her mother's legs and settled between the two of them. "Okay, everypony needs to relax!!"

Her words went unheard. "Only because magic has proven itself to be a threat for generations!"

"And you thought killing us, your family, would help rectify that?!" Shining Armor retorted.

"Clearly it was a start in the right direction!"

"Could everyone shut up?!!" Dawn screamed. All yelling ceased and focused on the little filly beneath them. Dawn pointed up to Twilight. "Mom, what did you do?! Where is dad?!"

"Your father is dead, Dawn!"

Dawn quieted. "... What?" She whispered.

"The Zebras planted a bomb in the castle throne room and it took your father's life." Twilight looked back up and glared at Celestia. "But do not worry. They will harm us no longer."

"Tell her the truth, Twilight!" Luna shouted. "Tell her it's because you blew them all up!! And then tried to get us to hand over those we rescued!!"

Dawn shouted, "You did what?!!"

Twilight pointed accusingly at all of them. "Well what should I have done, since you're so wise! Let IHT handle it? What exactly would they do to the country that has nothing and does nothing in IHT?! There are no trading relationships to cut, no sanctions to place!! It was Psera's right to attack after they slaughtered all of my ponies, and not just Madun. They—"

She never finished. A bright ray of white originating from Canterlot speared into Twilight. She jolted and twitched before falling to the ground unconscious.

Before Dawn could rush to her side, she was encased in a golden bubble and levitated over to the side of Equestria and Psera.

Dawn beat against it. "MOM!! MOM—Let me out of here! Let me out right now!!"

Celestia met her desperate expression with a steeled one. In the background, Twilight was quickly surrounded. "I'm sorry, Dawn. But your mother is being arrested on crimes against ponykind. We're going to take you in for now."

"No! No, you can't do this! Mom, wake up!!" Luna and Cadance quickly worked together encasing Twilight in magical chains and rubbed. "No, stop, please stop!!

They didn't. Once Twilight was encased, they quickly lifted her and carried her over the trees of Everfree Forest. "No! No, no, bring her back!! She's all I have left!!"

Celestia turned to Shining Armor. "We'll take Dawn to her Grandparents. Canterlot is no place for a filly right now. Keep the woods and the airspace sealed off. Flurry, come with me."

Celestia, along with half of Psera's guards turned and walked into Ponyville before Shining could say anything else.

"No, you can't do this!! Mom!! Mom!!" But no matter how hard she cried out, no matter how hard she beat against Celestia's bubble, Dawn witnessed the parting of her family. She witnessed the fighting between her mother and her home country. She witnessed the destruction of any relationship Equestria would have with Psera founded on peace. Instead, it would be founded on the imprisonment of her mother.

The seas were calmed once more. But were they safe to travel? Were they safe to sit on the beaches of Merōl and paddle a pair of hooves through the splashing waves? This little filly thought so. The one with no care to the horrors around her, sitting alone on the edge of a seemingly endless ocean. What was out there, she wondered? What lied beyond her home, this magnificent place of technology and riches? The one where she can dress up in the finest of clothes and walk around as if this were her kingdom?

It was none of her concern. All she wanted to focus on was this strange clam that kept opening its mouth when she tapped it. The waves would cover it then it would shut its mouth. But when she'd tap it, pop! It would open again! Cool, wait until mom saw this! She picked it up with her mouth but instantly spat it back out. Gross, salty! But she must try.

She bent low and picked it back up again. The taste was awful, but it was there. Now she could carry it.

She raised her head back up, ready to turn around and fly back to the house. But the clam dropped from her mouth again, but this time because she allowed it. The tallest pony she's ever seen stood before her, staring expressionless. A pony with a glowing green coat, an orange-red mane flowing with a wind she herself couldn't feel, and icy-blue eyes filled with the universe. This filly could see all of it. The stars, planets, knowledge she didn't know previously poured into her.

"Be wise, my child," Narmeelah spoke down to her.

She stepped over her, walking into Merōl with that filly's eyes watching her back. Her coat gradually changed into a darker green, her mane to a normal straight style, her eyes a dark blue. Her height shrunk to that of a regular mare until Mimi took her place.

Ah, the beauty of Psera. The scent of peace wafted into her nose. But the corruption, it was still there. She could feel it. She could see it, the magic flying through the air, creeping through the ground. Arcadia Nova has infected this world, and it all began here.

A tap to the hoof pulled Mimi's eyes down to look into the filly's. They were wide with excitement, staring up into the eyes of her creator.

"Do not worry." She ran a hoof through her mane, petting her gently. "All of this will be fixed shortly. Just give it time."

It felt good to be home.

Twilight Daylight: The Cold War

by thedarktome

Prologue

Chapter 01 - Preparing For War

Chapter 02 - Trouble In Psera

Chapter 03 - Approaching

Chapter 04 - Landfall

Chapter 05 - The Feeling of Darkness

Chapter 06 - Worry

Chapter 07 - Stalker

Chapter 08 - Traitor For Good

Chapter 09 - Structure

Chapter 10 - Discoveries

Chapter 11 - Time To Go

Chapter 12 - Anger

Chapter 13 - Prep The Future

Chapter 14 - Equestria's Reinforcements

Chapter 15 - Intermission 1

Chapter 16 - Departure

Chapter 17 - Eventful Night

Chapter 18 - The Envoy

Chapter 19 - Talks

Chapter 20 - War

Chapter 21 - Intermission 2

Chapter 22 - Monoliths

Chapter 23 - Change

Chapter 24 - A Rotating Star

Chapter 25 - Fading Light

Chapter 26 - Darkness Falls

Chapter 27 - High Winds

Chapter 28 - Storm Pt. 1

Chapter 29 - Storm Pt. 2

Chapter 30 - Storm Pt. 3

Epilogue