-Party Load Out and Materia-

Twilight Sparkle: Unicorn
Personalized Shinra Tablet Model Number 2163g ---- Shinra Alpha(Bangle) - Restore, Esuna
Other: Stain Resistant Lab Coat, Advanced Magical and Scientific Education, Glasses

Celestia: Alicorn
Fusion Sword- Ultima, Neo Bahamut, Seal, Long Range ---- Minerva Band- Alexander, Cover, W-Magic, Comet
Other: High Level Natural Magic, Centuries of Experience, Notable Playfulness

Twilight walked through the damaged town, searching for her boss. While it wasn’t unheard of for the president to disappear occasionally, usually to simply have a little fun, the bespectacled unicorn seriously doubted that was the case this time. Only a few others knew she was missing thankfully, most believing she was resting in her personal quarters on the airship. It had been over two days since the attack and all the monsters were gone, exterminated or driven off with Celestia working tirelessly the whole time. Few begrudged her for finally taking the chance to rest.

‘If only she was actually resting’ Twilight sighed. Shiny was directing troops and preparing to take a team up to the reactor. The professor was skulking about impatiently and being a general nuisance. The troopers were assisting the townsfolk in clean up and repairs wherever they could. All but one unaware their boss was currently AWOL.

She paused in her hunt as she considered. The stretch of road she was on looked nearly untouched, as did many other parts of town. It stuck her as odd how the attack was centered in only certain areas, along certain paths. She had been stuck inside and under guard with the rest of the Shinra non-combatants for the majority of the attack but she still managed to pick up enough to learn it was a targeted effort, even if there seemed to be more than one target.

The president being one was obvious, but whoever the other targets were was harder to narrow down. She considered they may have been after Rarity and the rest but if whoever was summoning the hounds was against Shinra, she would think they’d be at least indifferent to the fugitives. She also knew the professor was attacked but Shiny said that was likely someone else, raising even more questions.

An idea then came to her. It was overtly simple but it was worth a try. She made her way to one of the damaged streets and stopped, closed her eyes and focused. The tip of her horn glowed slightly as she reached out with her magic, sorting through the lingering energies saturating the area. It was an uncommon magic here in Equestria, and even during her time studying in Spira she didn’t encounter it as much as she expected, but it was just what she needed at the moment.

The remnants were stale and faint, not surprising after two days. She frowned as she prepared to move on when she caught a trace of what she was looking for, a more recent and recognizable signature. She smiled as she followed the latent magic; Celestia had been here, and more recently than the battle too, probably while helping in the aftermath. The path grew older, prompting her to follow it back the way she came until she gathered enough to be able to trace the owner’s aura proper. Granted, if Celestia didn’t want to be found then it was an easy thing to suppress, but she cast the tracking spell anyway…

And was pleasantly surprised to feel a strong reaction, the president’s path becoming all but obvious to her. She followed the signal all the way across Ponyville, right up to the base of the mountain to a sheer cliff face bordering part of the town. She blinked as she double checked her casting. The path ended abruptly, right at a rock wall. She frowned and tilted her head, looking around.

Noone else was around. She could see the town’s community center not far away, nestled in the shadow of the cliff. She considered the president may be there and recast the spell but the trail didn’t go anywhere near that direction; it still led right to the solid stone. She stepped forward and ran a hand along the rough surface and even gave it a solid knock.

“Ow…” She mumbled and looked at her knuckles. They didn’t really hurt but it left little doubt it was solid. She cast the spell yet again and poured more mana than was necessary into it in her frustration- “Wait.”

She felt something, a fluctuation. It wasn’t in her spell, it was… right in front of her. She placed her on the rock again and focused.

‘It’s a glamor!’ she marveled. While again uncommon in Equestria it wasn’t unheard of, but that wasn’t what put her in awe. It was a permanent glamor, and one that affected all senses ‘This is old magic! Something Equestria hasn’t seen in centuries!’

Well, ancient secrets or not she wasn’t about to let a spell stand in her way. She concentrated on the fluctuations before her, probing the matrix holding the glamor together. It was even more sophisticated than she at first believed; even she may not be able to dispel it. Then again, she didn’t have to. Glamors allowed passage when you knew how to use them. She just had to find the key.

A few moments later she opened her eyes with a triumphant smirk and pressed on the spell. Her hand seemed to sink though the stone as she stepped forward, sliding gradually through the illusion until she found herself in a remarkably well lit tunnel. She made her way forward and up a flight of stone steps covered in a light overgrowth. Nobody had been through here in a long time.

No, that wasn’t quite right. Someone had been through here, the first in ages with her the close second. She continued along the only path open to her until she spotted a room up ahead. Inching forward she soon found herself in the doorway of a long room bordered with black marble polished to a mirror sheen, untouched by the passage of time. At the end of the long room was an opening overlooking the town below, the thin veil of another glamor hiding the secret retreat from the outside.

Standing just before her, staring at the stone, was Celestia. As Twilight looked closer she could see something etched all the surface of the marble in lines. Names. There had to be dozens of them across the whole of the wall.

“A memorial” she breathed. It was barely a whisper but the alicorn woman’s head shot up, surprise clear on her freautes as she spotted the treasurer in the polished stone’s mirrored surface. Worry creased Twilight’s brow as she locked eyes with the president’s reflection. A voice in her head screamed at her to run. She nearly did… until the alicorn gave her a warm smile.

“You always were very clever Twilight” she stated kindly “Were I still taking personal students, you’d be at the top of the list.”

“You were a teacher?” the unicorn blurted out, eliciting a small chuckle from the taller woman.

“Once upon a time…” she answered with a hint of melancholy before returning her attention to the names in front of her. Twilight, more confident she wasn’t trespassing, stepped up next to her employer. Celestia’s smile had faded, her face now presenting a sad regret as she studied the names. Or rather, one name in particular.

“Tifa L-... Lockhart?” Twilight read aloud, fumbling as it struck her. Her brow furrowed as she took in what she was seeing and looked over the names again “Wait… What? I don’t understand. What is all this?”

“You were right the first time Twilight: This is a memorial” Celestia confirmed before gesturing to the room as a whole “A remembrance to lives lost during the tragedy of Nibelheim… despite so few having ever seen it that is…”

“Nibelheim?” the treasurer parroted “But why would it be here? And why is it hidden?”

“The answer to the second is… complicated. But essentially, it was to cover up a mistake. Whether that mistake should have been covered up or not, well… it seemed like the right course of action at the time. Now though?” she pondered sadly “I wonder… not that I can undo any of it...”

“But… everyone one knows the reactor went critical,” Twilight argued “That's why mako extraction wasn’t tried again until technology could reach the level needed to process it correctly. Unless-”

“The reactor did go critical, just not for the reason history says” Celestia finished for her “You’re still right however; We were not ready… for so much.”

“But again, why is this here and not the ruins to the west?”

“That has a much simpler answer,” she looked to the natural window of stone “Where better to have a memorial then the site of the incident?”

“You don’t mean-”

“That’s right Twilight,” the president walked regally to the opening, hands clasped before her. She looked down over Ponyville, mind already distant in memory.

“Welcome to Nibelheim.”

200 years prior…

The alicorn awoke with a slight start when her carriage hit a bump. After rubbing the sand from her eyes she opened the curtain to see the new day had come, the morning sun illuminating the hills rolling gently past her transport. She leaned back into her seat, simply enjoying the mostly smooth ride the landscape offered. The same couldn’t be said about the whole trip out but it was thankfully less eventful than it could have been. They were making good time, which was a welcome surprise to precede what she was sure to be a truly momentous event.

‘To actually touch upon the Stream itself, even guide it to improve our lives...’ she was once more awed by the implications of The Harnesser. Even within her own long life they had still learned so little about the life blood of their world, the river of harmony that connected all life. Much was theorized, both in faith and study, but now they may just be able to finally know. And that was only the beginning.

Why, they may even be able to create their own materia! No more dangerous mining or risky refinement. Laborers would no longer fear mana sickness and materia jewelers wouldn’t have to fear making a single wrong cut and ruining the crystal… or worse. They wouldn’t have to roam treacherous landscapes in search of mana wells in hopes of finding viable materia growths either as any significant flow could possibly be used. It could create a whole new era of magic! Even if all they could manage was imparting a simple cure spell then it could still revolutionize medicine as they knew it.

‘Though the apothecaries may end up a little sour over it’ Celestia suppressed a small chuckle and shook the day dreams from her thoughts. She was getting ahead of herself again. Still, it was hard not to get excited about what they were trying to accomplish, or that she was finally working towards the good of Equestria as a whole again. The days of her rule were long past now, few even remembering her old title beyond the fairy tales.

No, the name Celestia didn’t hold the same weight anymore, especially compared to the days before Equestria moved past the era of kingdoms. Not that she had no reputation: Being the mysterious alicorn investor still garnered her some notoriety. But the time of Princess Celestia the Wise? Princess Celestia the Radiant? Celestia the Playful?

‘Well, I suppose that one is still true’ she smirked.

“We’re coming up to Nibelheim Ma’am” the carriage driver called out, pulling her from her mental wanderings. She leaned out the window to see the small hamlet in the distance, slowly growing closer. Further up towards the mountain’s peak she could see the faint lines of the site’s construction platforms. It might take a while to hike up there but she should have plenty of the day left to get a good look at the operation.

The vibrations that had been accompanying her throughout the long journey finally ebbed as the carriage eased to a stop next to some others lined outside the town gate. The alicorn woman climbed out of her wooden transport and stretched with what was a not-entirely-ladylike moan of content. If there was one silver lining of her now forgotten status (though there were actually a decent number more), it was that she no longer needed to constantly strive to present an infallible front for the sake of her people.

“Teacher!” a young woman’s voice reached her. She turned to spot a bright eyed unicorn girl running up with an even brighter smile “I’m so glad you made it in time! Did you have a safe trip?”

“There were a few encounters but nothing too troublesome” she returned with a smile “How are you Moonstone?”

“I am Fantastic!” the horned girl squealed and bounced on the balls of her feet “Because we’re Ready!”

“W-We are?” Celestia blinked at her beaming student “I thought we wouldn’t be ready for another month.”

“I know! But the Steam must have been closer to the surface than we thought, or maybe we just lucked on a flare but whatever the reason, we’ve already tapped it!” the girl explained at a rapid pace “And here you arrive as we’re packing up the igniting crystal and just in time for the activation-!”

“Calm yourself Moonstone!” Celestia interrupted with a cheerful laugh before her student sprained something “It would seem the fates have granted us most fortuitous luck indeed, though in that case I suggest you save some energy for the celebration.”

“Of course ma’am” the unicorn girl steadied herself with a deep breath “This certainly will be something to celebrate.”

Her student led her to the main entrance of the charming hamlet and into the quint town square. The space dominated by the small water tower was abuzz with activity, making the open area seem almost cramped compared to the last time she visited the village. A familiar face weaved its way through the workers loading carts as he made his way to them.

“Ms. Celestia! You can’t imagine how glad I was to hear you were arriving early!” the portly gentleman arrived in front of them, taking the taller woman’s hands into his own “None of this would have been possible without your support!”

“Hello Mayor, wonderful to see you again” she returned happily. “Moonstone just told me the good news.”

“Better than good my lady! Stupendous I’d say!” he declared, his bountiful mustache bobbing as he spoke “But come, come! We just finished packing that overlarge materia you sent and the men are gathering at the base of the mountain.”

Celestia took in the town’s newest additions as the mayor led the way, not that they were hard to miss. Copper wires hung suspended above their heads atop wooden poles as they weaved a web though the town, threaded into homes and connected to the cloudy balls of glass on metal stands that would be replacing the village’s sconces. A seemingly small thing but Celestia thought the humble fixtures more than fitting. What better way to start a new era than with a light to guide the way?

“You’ve accomplished so much since my last visit” the alicorn praised.

“Ah yes, we are very proud” the Mayor returned contently. They soon came to the edge of town, still alight with the morning sun as their guide waved down a man directing the others “Brian! Brian, over here! Ms. Celestia, this is Brian Lockhart and his daughter-”

“So I hear you alicorns live pretty long” the young woman in cowboy attire piped in with a smirk “You’re not the Princess from the old fairy tales are you?”

“Tifa” her father gave in a warning tone. Celestia for her part, merely smiled.

“I’m afraid not dear, I’m just named after her” she lied with practiced ease before turning to the brunette’s parent “It’s nice to meet you Brian, will you be leading us up today?”

“Yep!” Tifa announced with a grin before her dad saddled between them.

“Yes, I’LL be leading this group up” he clarified “She’ll be staying safe down here with her sensei.”

“Oh come on Dad!” the teenager protested “I can handle anything up there! I wanna see this thing turn on!”

“You’ll know it’s on when those bottles light up” he returned unmoved.

“There called bulbs Dad” Tifa huffed exasperated.

“Come on Tif” his tone softened as he squeezed his daughter’s shoulder “We’ve already got too many head’n up at once that I gotta keep track of, I don’t need to be worrying about you tumbling off too.”

“Okay…” the brunette relented begrudgingly. She gave the alicorn a halfhearted smile before making her way back into town “Nice to meet you Miss, thanks for giving the town all the money.”

Celestia gave a giggle as Brian sighed heavily.

“Sorry ‘bout that Miss” he offered “She’s a bit too headstrong for her own good sometimes.”

“Not at all Brian, she seems like a good kid” she returned warmly.

“Yeah, yeah she is…” he shrugged before straightening “Well, I suppose we shouldn’t keep the eggheads up top waiting too much longer. Come on men! Let’s get moving.”

“Have a safe trip you lot” the Mayor bid them adieu “We’ll all be waiting down here with baited breath.”

Celestia was prepared for the hike, having made it several times before. She did have to reign in a mild impatience caused by the care taken in transporting the igniting materia. Thankfully, she had more than enough practice in the act and knew it was far better to be safe than sorry in this case. Not only had the huge gem been quite the investment to obtain but the potential damage it could cause if mishandled warranted the extra cation. The last thing she wanted was for it to fall down a chasm and explode, triggering a rock slide toward the town.

They arrived at the Harnesser within a couple hours, the great pillar of iron and glass jutting from the rock from within the center of a wide metal disk leveling out the incline. It was a decidedly ugly piece of machinery with a particularly jury rigged appearance, but what it represented couldn’t be more beautiful to the pair of honed women taking in its form.

The shorter of those two stepped forward and began directing those that were already gathered and awaiting their arrival. Celestia stood back with the laborers, watching her student at work. This had been her project even more than Celestia’s, her near obsessive, single minded focus leading the way since her teacher approved it.

“Any trouble?” Brian’s concerned tone came from behind her. She tore her eyes away from the work to see the bandana-wearing man conversing with a couple of the tower’s guards.

“Not a peep since yesterday actually” one answered “And that was just a couple of Zuus flying past. They didn’t even swing around for another look.”

“Do the monsters really give you that much trouble here?” Celestia frowned. Brian shifted his feet before giving her a nod.

“We figured all the noise and vibrations would rile them up a bit, but they’ve been haggaring us particularly hard up here the past few weeks. Few even found their way near the town… we lost two before we upped the guard” he relayed with grim honestly. He then squinted up to the spire of metal “Sure hope this thing will be worth as much as you think it is.”

“I’m sorry about your losses” she returned with remorse but then looked to the tower with more resolve “But this will be the first step into a new world. It’ll be worth it.”

‘It has to be…’

The more scientifically and magically inclined workers continued to prepare, though the more physically oriented had to help when it came to lifting the heavy segments of the great disk the tower was situated in. The heavy wedges housed large, polished metal mirrors that were now aimed at the glass panels around the tip of the pillar. Just as Celestia helped lift the final wedge, Moonstone emerged from a hatch beneath it.

“Igniting crystal in place! Let’s get this baby harnessing!” She cheered, climbed up and led the group along a cluster of thick cabling connected to a set of panels set a safe distance from the machine. As she and a few others twisted knobs and cranked dials, the alicorn looked back to the Harnesser. The raised segments now made the spire look like a giant fork stuck into a huge metal pie missing every other slice, making it even more of an eyesore. Yet no one dared look anywhere else. “Okay! Activation in 3… 2… 1!”

Moonstone slammed down a comically large knife switch lever, flinching away from some unexpected sparks. Her expression grew tentative until a low hum began to fill the area. She rushed to her teacher’s side and began to bounce excitedly again. The hum rose in intensity as a dull, green hued light began enveloping the machine. It didn’t remain dull long and soon even Celestia had to squint before the radiance. A final, blinding flash forced all gathered to look away; the alicorn suspected even those down in Nibelheim had to shield themselves against the glare.

When the light faded, the sight that met them was a shining spire surrounded by half a dozen beams feeding into the panels from the mirrors.

A scream of pure delight sounded next to her as her student literally jumped for joy. The young unicorn pounced on the alicorn with a tight hug, which she happily returned without a care at all about the lack of decorum. The gathered townspeople joined the revelry with hoots, hollers and applause all around. The pair extracted from each other enough to take in the sight again with proud smiles.

“Huh” Brian muttered next to them, genuinely impressed “Well, whether you changed the world or not, that’s still a hell of a sight.”

‘It sure is…’

Celestia’s predictions of their celebrations ended up not being ambitious enough. The entire town was filled with music and jubilation. Everyone was eating, drinking, dancing and laughing beneath the shining moon and the glow of the freshly powered electric lights. The alicorn herself was smiling as she watched Moonstone dancing in the square when Nibelheim’s portly leader offered her a hand. With a bright grin she rose and joined him amongst the rest, laughing heartily as he led her in a swinging waltz.

“Ah, Ms.Celestia!” he exclaimed through the music “Your and your student’s names will be remembered for eons with this! I dare say even beyond your long life!”

“And Nibelheim with them!” she shouted back. The music eventually ended, the band taking a small break before continuing. The mayor layed a gentle kiss upon her hand as he bowed at the end of her dance. She darted in and planted a peck on his cheek before leaving the blushing, chuckling Mayor to make her way to her student. The girl spun with an open mouth smile before spotting her teacher, somehow having it grow even wider. She took a heavy, panting breath.

Celestia never heard what she was going to say though, the words dieing in her throat as a massive tremor ripped through the town. The townsfolk fell to the ground as their entire village quaked beneath them. A horrific whine filled the air, drawing all attention to the tower half way up the peak where immense bolts of green lightning arced across the slopes as the harsh light strobed.

A second, far more terrible flash then filled Celestia’s vision, granting barely an instant for her to react.

“TEACHER!” echoed unheard as the flash collided with an enormous golden barrier, shattering it in an instant and overwhelming the consciousness of its caster.

An acrid smell tinged the edges of Celestia’s senses, slowly drawing her out of the dreamless dark. She could taste blood and feel a dried trail of it from her nose. She attempted to stir only to be met with an intense pain flaring in her head. Nevertheless she pushed on, groggily rolling up onto her knees and opening her eyes.

She almost wished she hadn’t.

The entire village was ablaze. Nearly every house she could see was covered in flames. She looked up to where the harnesser once stood and gawked at the sight, her heart skipping a beat. The whole mountain face was twisted and charred, the glimmer of darkened glass reflecting the light still emanating from the crater now at its center. Great ribbons of white and green reached toward the moon hanging low in the sky as tendrils of pure black spread through them.

‘Oh dear Minerva, what have we done?!’ she lamented. She forced herself to her feet, fighting off the persistent pain and dizziness to begin searching. Bodies surrounded her on all sides, none of them moving. She didn’t understand; if the town was still here then she stopped the explosion from reaching them. If there was falling debris then there should be craters. She began walking, and then running as she searched for anyone left alive. The more ground she covered, the more frantic she became ‘Please, someone! Anyone! SOMEONE has to still be alive!’

She turned a corner and froze.

“No” she whispered desperately, stumbling forward and falling to her knees.

“Noooooo…” she moaned weakly, staring down at the unmoving form of her student. Gently lifting it up, she cradled the girl’s body to her chest and began to rock back and forth. Tears streamed down her face as choked, haggard sobs ripped themselves from her throat. “I’m so sorry...”

She looked down to Moonstone’s face, brushing a lock of hair away. The shadow of a worried distress still lingered on her features, disturbing what should have been a peaceful and far off final rest. She inspected the rest of her student’s body and gasped at the wound across her chest; A deep gash running from collar to hip glistening a dark red.

‘But… this looks like it was caused by a weapon!’ her mind reeled ‘Who-’

“Dad! Daddy!” Celestia’s eyes flew wide and her head snapped up, a sorrowful hope raising in her breast. Someone was still alive! She remorsefully set her student back down upon the stone and sprinted toward the calls. Charging straight through the crumbling remains of one of the burning homes, she emerged onto the next street in a burst of embers and fire.

The world seemed to slow to a crawl as the frightened brunette turned toward the former monarch. She met her with wide, red-brown eyes as she was silhouetted by the flames behind her. Before the alicorn could react, there was a flash of metal and the sharp keen of a blade filled the air. She felt a warm splatter across her face as the teenager’s bright eyes glazed over and she fell limp to the ground at her feet.

“Sister…” Celestia’s blood turned to ice. She began to tremble as her gaze rose from the teenager before her to the woman standing across the road. She matched her in height and shared in having both wings and a horn. “It has been Far too long…”

“Luna” a shaky gasp slipped past the paler alicorn’s lips as she stared in disbelief “How?”

“How?” the nightmare purred, slitted pupils sitting in irises glowing a sickly green sparkled with sadistic humor “Why, you set us free of course… meddling in the flow of the stream, draining the lifeblood of the planet to light up some baubles… really sister, We’d expect you of all people to know better.”

“Lifeblood?!” she repeated. She shook her head “No! No, we were just-”

“Using the planet as a battery, yes. And we are so pleased you did” she smiled with a disturbing smugness “Here we thought to be trapped forever, eternally waiting for the end of it all, sealed helplessly away by harmony. Yet here you and your little pebble go and wound the planet. A mere pin prick of a thing perhaps but even the smallest of cracks can grow. You destabilized the Stream just enough for us to fit a wedge, and pave the way for our return... We cannot thank you enough.”

A blaze of solar flame ignited as Celestia leapt back, a massive, solid slab of gold gilded steel appearing in her hands.

“You will not leave this place alive!” the older alicorn declared, readying her immense sword. The twisted image of her sibling threw her head back and laughed.

“Calm yourself Sister” the corrupted alicorn hummed. She lifted her impossibly long katana, admiring it as she ran her fingers across its length “Our time is nearly done here… for now.”

“Your time?!” Celestia snarled “Your time slaughtering innocents?!”

“Oh these meaningless dregs? A pitiful bunch, hardly sporting” she waved off before shooting her sibling another cruel smile “Just a small gift of despair, but a taste of things to come. But don’t worry, you’ll have a while to prepare whatever pitiful plan you’ll come up with now that the Elements are gone; do try to make it at least entertaining. But yes, it will take time to come back ourselves.”

“Yoursel-” Celestia parroted until wisps of green began to rise around Luna’s image “Just a shade… all this-You’re-”

“A mere shadow. A simple puppet to deliver a gift” Nightmare’s image purred again before the wisps of the stream began to dissolve the illusion “We are so glad we had the chance to talk with you again Tia, so sad to have to wait so long again before the next… but at least we had the pleasure of meeting your newest student.”

Celestia charged with an anguished, furious wail, bringing her heavy blade down on the smirking shade. The ground split as the sword crashed to Gaia, little left of the illusion but fading smoke. She fell to knees, clutching the blade for support as more tears rained to the dirt...

The laughter still echoing in her mind.

Present...

“I searched among the rubble for days, but there were no survivors. The town was reduced to ash and the mountainside little more than glass” Celestia delivered, her low, regretful tone barely wavering “I buried the bodies and used my connections to cover up any hint of what really happened. I knew I couldn’t make people forget the town, but with travel and communication not even a fraction what they are today, it wasn’t too hard to make everyone think it was just a little further along the range…”

Twilight stood in stunned silence, not even thinking to interrupt. As the tale finally came to a close, she found herself teetering in place and nearly collapsed. She would have had the president not caught her. After she was raised back to her feet and stabilized by the alicorn, she finally found her voice.

“Nightmare Moon… The Mistress in the…” she fumbled, eyes searching and distant “I always thought it was just a myth. A scary story for kids to tell eachother.”

“That was the intent” Celestia stated plainly.

“But why? Why cover it up? Why go to the extent to build fake ruins just to still admit to the reactor failure?” Twilight pleaded for answers. Celestia sighed.

“Because a failure people will accept. A tragic mistake is just that, a tragedy. A regrettable event but nothing more. But an ancient evil returning to slaughter a town? A malevolent force corrupting the very Stream of Harmony itself and threatening all life?” She mused rhetorically “That’s reason to fear, to panic… and to exploit.”

“Exploit?” Twilight repeated.

“I fear not all believed my sister was a myth. Even now there are cults that worship the name Nightmare Moon. I suspect those that attacked the town to be among them. At least, I hope that is the extent of their connection to her. Given their abilities though…” she trailed off for a moment before continuing “Even without the cults, there are still souls that would fall to the temptation of her power, her gifts. They could sow panic, even wound the planet again to hasten her return should they ever learn what enabled it.”

“That’s why we’re gathering the Huge Materia! That’s why we need Bearers! Because-” the realization hit the treasurer all at once. Her face grew pale, her next words coming in a terrified whisper “Because she’s coming back…”

The president put a comforting hand on the unicorn girl’s arm, looking regretfully into the frightened eyes staring back at her.

“I’m afraid so.”

“...W-when?” she stuttered.

“Soon… that’s all we know” the alicorn lamented, head dropping as she turned away again. Twilight closed her eyes, hoping to find this was all just a bad dream when she opened them. That was of course not the case as they opened to the president once more looking over the town.

“Ponyville. None of them have any idea, do they?” she asked, seeing Celestia shake her head out the corner of her eye.

“The Apples and Pears only resettled the land about 70 years ago, finding it perfect for mana crops. Not that they know the Stream surges closer to the surface here in an attempt to heal the damage caused by my sister” she explained, though then gained a rather comically disgruntled look immediately after “Not that the knowledge stopped Shinra from building another reactor here. He was a brilliant young man but certainly not always the wisest… arrogant little twerp.”

A snort abruptly escaped the unicorn, completely catching her off guard and earning a small smile from the president. Twilight fought off the laughter, finding she very much needed the reminder that such things still existed.

“History does say he was quite the character” she added in regard to the company's first president, though it wasn’t long before her smile faded again “Though to think he’d build another reactor, to build ANY reactors if he really did know what happened.”

“You understand better than most how much we consider the effect they have on the Stream now Twilight. We made a lot of progress over that century and then under Shinra’s talented leadership.” the former Princess countered “We make triple sure and then quadruple sure again we aren’t actually depleting the Stream, or ‘confusing’ it anymore than necessary. We even built the Shinra Mansion to house a hidden monitoring lab beneath the mountain. This land is stable again, if overly active. Though yes, had I found out about the reactor here before it was already finished I would have stopped it…”

"And the mountain? Everything is still dead and, as I understand it, there monsters are quite vicious even when not assaulting the town.”

“I fear some scars never fade, even long after the wound is healed” she returned somberly. Twilight nodded, thinking over all she had learned.

It made sense, hiding this big of a secret. She didn’t like it but she understood it. She could only imagine what certain members of the board would do if they got wind of the truth or, Minerva help them, Chrysalis Hojo… Still, did it justify all that the president tolerated to prepare? Was it worth enabling people like the professor or betraying people like Rarity and Tifa? At that thought, another realization stuck her.

“Tifa…” she muttered, looking back to the wall of names.

“Ah yes,” Celetia returned to the name she had been studying so intently before the treasurer arrived “The mystery that brought me back to this place after so long.”

“Could it just be a coincidence?” the bespectacled woman offered. The CEO chewed the inside of her cheek at the thought. She had considered it but…

“You’re aware of the Stream cycle theory, yes?” she asked. The unicorn’s brow furrowed as she tilted her head.

“Well, sure. It theorizes that when anything that’s alive dies, its lifeforce and soul returns to the Stream of Harmony... or Lifestream, depending on the interpretation. There it joins the current and shares its experiences before mingling with other strands of the Stream and returns to the surface to create a new life” she iterated. She then squinted, unconvinced “You’re saying Tifa’s been reincarnated?”

“I’ve met a great many souls over my long life Twilight, some of them very familiar after a while. Those that carry sparks that I’ve sworn I’d encountered in an earlier generation. Why, I can even think of a couple that I can easily see being among your past lives” the president informed the treasurer, enjoying her blink of surprise at the idea. Then her own brow furrowed however, as she once again took in the girl’s name resting beneath her father’s “But never, not once, have I ever met the same person. Miss Lockhart has the same name, the same face, even the same voice as the girl I saw die that night. She even uses a martial art that died out shortly after the incident. Only her personality and age seems to have deviated. Tifa Lockhart died before my eyes and yet, two centuries later, I find her staring at me from almost the same spot I saw her fall. I have no answers for any of it…”

“I’ll help!” Twilight announced suddenly, catching herself right after. Trying to shake away her embarrassment, she clarified “I mean, I’d like to help you find those answers, if they’re there to be found. I mean… if you want me too.”

Celestia smiled warmly down to the blushing woman, placing her hand on her shoulder.

“Twilight, you’re in the know now. I dare say you’ll be helping me with much more than that from here on” the unicorn paused at the implication, though only for a moment before nodding back confidently. Celestia’s smile grew and she gave one final glance to the memorial “We don’t seem to be finding those answers here though, and I daresay we should get back before anyone else realises I haven’t been resting.”

She made her way to the tunnel doorway but stopped to see her newest confidant hadn’t followed. The bespectacled woman was instead looking over the wall thoughtfully.

“It’s sad” she said “All these names, hidden away to be forgotten.”

“They’re on the memorial at the false ruins as well. For however little that’s worth” the president offered with a sigh. Twilight gained a small grin.

“It’s worth something.” she answered without doubt and joined the alicorn.

Shining Armor paced across the deck of the airship impatiently. He immediately had to catch himself when he realized what kind of message it was sending, so instead she started doing squats. Still weird for most people but everyone had long since gotten used to his restless habit. Celestia was still missing and now his sister hadn’t been seen for over an hour. The sun was beginning to set and he had no idea where either the most important person on the continent nor the most important person to him were. He stopped at fifty and made his way to the railing to scan the town again…

And let out a sigh of relief at the sight of a notably tall woman making her way to the ship. He squinted and saw what could only be his sister’s hair bobbing next to the alicorn beacon. He turned to make his way down to meet them when he caught an unexpected sight in his peripheral; an unusually pensive looking Gilda was leaning against the opposite railing and staring off at the horizon, her expression stressed.

“You alright there Gild?” he called out, approaching his fellow SOLDIER.

“Huh? Oh, hey Shiny. Yeah I’m alright, I was just…” she turned to face him and hesitated, expression still down “Thinking.”

“I thought I smelt something burning” he quipped.

“Fuck you too Boss” the second class smirked back before giving a shrug “Ehhh… It’s just that psycho chick that went after the professor. I realized she kinda looked like someone I used to know. Friend of an old friend.”

“Yeah?” Shiny crossed his arms, trying not to show his redoubled interest “You sure it wasn’t her?”

“Nah, she wasn’t a thestral. Even if she was, this chick was wuss wrapped in a door mat made of gimp leather. Meek doesn’t even begin to cover it. No way she could have turned into that.”

“You’d be amazed how much people can change” the first class returned.

“Species?” Gilda countered, earning an acknowledging shrug “Yeah, not that much. Even if I had a falling out with my friend, I doubt they went exchanging half their feathers in for webbing.”

“Falling out?” the unicorn inquired. A frown tugged at the corner of the griffon woman’s lip.

“Ok, so y’know how I can sometimes be kind of a bitch?”

“Sometimes?”

“Yeah well, back then I was also a bully. Mix that with Little Miss Scared of her own Shadow and it doesn’t take a genius to figure how we got along” she elaborated “When my friend found out, she dropped me like a bag of hammers. Literally. Socked right across the jaw and knocked me right on my ass. I mean we’d been tight since our preteens but she chose her over me without a second thought. I was so stunned I couldn’t even say anything as I watched her grab her friend and walk out of my life forever.”

“I’m sorry to hear that” the senior SOLDIER offered, but then pushed “Still, if there’s any chance, then maybe it’s worth trying to reconne-”

Gilda turned back around with an exasperated groan.

“It’s not her Shiny! And I couldn’t reconnect if I wanted to” she reiterated in almost a growl, leaning on the railing again. She looked down to her fidgeting hands, her tone softer and much more somber when she spoke again “They were both at Cloudsdale.”

“Oh. Uhh…” Shining’s posture dropped as he awkwardly shuffled his feet and scratched the back of his head “Shit... Sorry.”

“Yeah…” Gidla returned, eyes returning to the horizon without really seeing it “Me too.”

“Professor, we really should wait to head up with the others.”

“Yes, you’ve made your opinion perfectly clear. I don’t care” Chrysalis rolled her eyes, her gossamer wings twitching in annoyance. She was already twenty minutes up the mountain on the way to the reactor. She may not be able to extract the maretia by herself but she could damn well start studying it without having to wait for the president to satisfy her infantile guilt indulging the townsfolk “You can go back. At this point I’d rather deal with any creatures myself than listen to anymore of your whining.”

“We can’t just let you go up alone Ma’am” her other trooper bodyguard informed her. She finally stopped, her stooped posture twisting around to let her sneer at the pair.

“Are you worried about keeping your pathetic jobs that much? Then allow me to ease your burdens. You’re fired. Now shut up and go away.”

“I’m afraid you don’t have the authority to fire us Ma’am” the second trooper informed again, unintimidated. The changeling woman groaned as she shook her head, looking to the shy.

“Someone save me from these imbeciles” as soon as she spoke, two booming shots echoed through the pass. Her guards flew back as heavy rounds tore right through their armor and dropped both to the ground. Hands still clasped behind her back, she nevertheless started on with wide eyes. She turned toward the direction of the shots to see a trio of dark coated pegasi with blue-silver hair descending in front of her.

“What’s the matter Doctor? Afraid it was that thestral back for seconds?” the one with the large, scoped rifle quipped as they landed. The changeling’s expression dropped back to boredom.

“I would assume since you didn’t shoot me as well that you have something to say?” she drolled with a slow, unimpressed blink. The shorter female leading the other two tilted her head with a curious smile.

“Not even a flinch at the death of your bodyguards?”

“A couple of troopers?” the professor returned a single arched eyebrow “Kill a pair of SOLDIER with the same ease and maybe you’ll illicit my interest.”

“I must say, you’re not quite what we were expecting, Doctor” their leader grinned. She twirled her dual bladed katana in her hand as she turned to the others with an exchange of looks. The sword stopped as her gaze returned to the doctor and considered a moment, before being sheathed with a flourish “Here we were going to just scoop up a potential tool yet instead we may have just found a kindred soul.”

“You insult me by thinking you three are anywhere as smart as I am” Chrysalis’s sneer returned. The taller pair scowled at the insult but their leader threw her head back and laughed.

“And not an ounce of fear! Oh, I do like you Professor. But no, I didn’t mean to suggest we could match your intellect. Simply that our goals may align” she leaned in and began to circle the changeling “Our Dear Mother could offer you untold opportunity without any of the stifling limitations you seemed to be burdened with under the president.”

“Your Mother?”

“The Mistress of the Moon herself” she declared as she and her siblings stood proudly.

“Nightmare Moon?” the woman with the jagged horned asked incredulously, receiving an eager nod from the pegasus. She reached up and adjusted her glass “I see. So you’re insane.”

“Maybe a little” the girl purred, “That doesn’t mean we’re wrong.”

“No, the lack of her existence does” Hojo returned bluntly “Your ‘Mother’ is nothing more than a fairy tale.”

“She’s not!” the male pegasus shouted before his rifle wielding sister grabbed his arm.

“Calm down Loz” she offered and rolled her head back toward the doctor “You know how much Auntie has done to bury Mother’s legacy.”

“Belief or not Doctor,” The katana wielding sibling spoke again “I know you can accept the fact the president has been keeping things from you, secrets she greedily locks away despite their potential.”

“I have no idea of their potential,” Hojo countered.

“Always the pragmatists, you scientists” The winged woman complimented. “Would you like to know why you’ve been seeking the Elements and Bearers? Why it’s so very imperative to not disturb the Stream?... Have you ever even heard of The Promise Land?”

She watched the doctor’s eyes narrow slightly, glancing at her brother and sister before returning to her. A wider smile crossed her lips as she saw the Changeling’s eyebrow rise again.

“...I’m listening.”

Author's Note

Couldn't sleep so edited, put out early. May be mistakes, will check later.
Now try sleep again

Thank for read, have good ones