Spacebound Equestria: Fall of a Nation

by TheMajorTechie

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Princess Luna, Rainbow Dash, Science Fiction, King Sombra
Length: 2414

They thought Sombra was defeated. After all, his body was utterly destroyed. That's what the ponies thought as the Equestrian Pride grounded in Canterlot. The only problem? Reality isn't always as it seems.

Sombra was gone. Defeated. Kaput. He had been utterly wiped from the physical world, barred into the mind of Celestia for as long as the Sun shone.

Only half the battle has been fought, and now, it's raging fiercer than ever.

An alternating perspective story, and honestly, a complete overhaul to my originally planned Spacebound Equestria series.

Cover art by Keriwi1, edited and colored by me.

Constructive criticism is highly welcomed. See something wrong or off? Tell me! :twilightsmile:

Published 2016-12-30 20:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-01-31 00:56:57 UTC

The Return to Equestria

Equestria had returned. Ponies all around were celebrating, all the while the Princesses solemnly gathered around Celestia, who had fallen to a mere manipulative spell crafted by Sombra.

For now, the Princess lay asleep. All signs of Sombra's presence had since been erased. As for the tyrant king himself, he had simply drawn himself back, taking residence in the very conscience of Celestia herself.

"Rusty?" Jewel shouted through the mass of ponies gathered, "Do you hear me?"

Rusty Gears emerged from the crowd with a saddlebag packed with rations.

"The returning ponies are handing out rations directly from the ship's farms. Want to get some of your own?"

Jewel shook her head, though she mentally salivated at the thought of a full meal; the first she would've had in a great many years. But allowing other ponies to eat was her top priority.

Rusty shrugged and shuffled past, his skinny frame waddling under the weight of the bulging bags. Jewel stood silent for a brief moment, staring at the behemoth of a ship that sat before her.

"Come on! We still gotta bring the others over!"

The mare shook out of her stupor, and followed.

Well, with the Equestrian Pride landed, I guess that life will return to... normal?

Normal. I haven't thought about how normal life had been before Sombra returned. For the past few weeks, "normal" had been defined by the daily treks, and the constant scavenging that had brought minor plagues to our encampments.

But that's the past now. I'm hoping to look towards a much brighter future.

Jewel and I raced through the derelict streets. Though there were now ponies working towards their repair, it would be quite a while before any noticeable progress will have been made. For now, we had to spread the word of Equestria's return. We would be safe! Order would be restored to the land, and we wouldn't have to forage anymore.

We quickly boarded the trains, along the way assuring that there was room for additional aid workers to come along, in case if anypony needed assistance. The train was slow at first; nearly unmoving, in fact. Soon, however, the fire cracked wildly, and the train lurched forward. The rusted axles creaked against the worn tracks as the engine rattled on northward. The pins of the gauges clicked as the train began reaching its physical limits. Pushing it harder now would spell disaster.

I swiftly pulled a lever to relieve some of the pressure, but to my dismay, nothing happened. The gauges were beginning to inch further towards the red, and we were barely even a quarter of the journey in. I held the lives of nearly fifty ponies in the train, and I wasn't about to extinguish any of them in an accident. I pulled the lever harder, hoping it would have an effect, but once again, nothing.

That's when I noticed in my peripheral vision that a section of the lever's connector had been severed by rust, deeming the entire section of the machinery inoperable. I panicked, polling my memory for possible solutions. The train was still speeding up, the groaning axles squealing over the icy tracks. Nopony had noticed yet aside from me for how deep the danger had become.

Out of instinct, I mindlessly decided that latching my entire body onto the breaks was the best solution. Though it would only solve the problem of our runaway train, I was able to bring the engine to a halt as the pressure continued to build inside the boiler. Nervously, I tapped on the pressure gauge in hopes that it had been a misreading, but my efforts returned fruitless.

As a final attempt to save the engine and the rest of the ponies, myself included, I charged my horn, and let loose a strong, piercing blast of fire through the pipe that the rusted lever stump connected to. Immediately, an ear-numbing screeching tore through my skull as the entire area began filling with high-pressure steam. Though, with how cold it was outside, said steam quickly froze mid-air, falling simply as additional snow.

Now that the pressure was relieved, I could safely repair the damage. Once again lighting my horn, I welded the lever connector back in place, as well as shutting the hold I had created in the pipe.

With that, the train continued onward.

Twilight watched fearfully over Celestia's slumbering body. Luna had once again dived into her sister's dreams, intent on getting to the bottom of Sombra's plans. It was already clear to her that Sombra had deceived Celestia into thinking that he was his own counterpart-- the one of whom the Sun Princess loved.

In truth, even simply the sheer uncertainty of the situation made Twilight cringe. For years, the most stress she had ever gone through was topped by tests and preparations for the Equestrian Pride's launch. And now, she had found herself watching over the well-being of somepony who had single handedly ruled Equestria for a thousand years.

The thought of that made Twilight's fears grow ever larger. One wrong move, one tiny mistake... it could all conclude in the fall of not only Celestia, but the world as she knew it. Even if power was handed to Luna, she'd only be able to do so much, taking into account as how she had been moon locked for those thousand years of Celestia's lonely rule.

It was saddening, watching the Princess tremble unconsciously. Every once in a while, a minute fleck of dark magic would be sent ricocheting about; a sign of Sombra's growing control over Celestia's mind. Until the Crystal Heart is returned, there is little one can do to be rid of Sombra's presence.

For now, Twilight could only wait and hope for the best. Not for herself, but for Celestia. For all of ponykind.

Author's Note

And with that, we're officially kicking off the (barely) long-awaited sequel to the (kinda noticed) Spacebound Equestria!

Out of the Light

Celestia lay silent on the makeshift cot. Her regalia had been removed, set aside to allow for her comfort as she rested. All the while, small tendrils of Sombra's presence sat wavering about the room. As such, any and all visitors had to don protective suits to prevent any spreading.

As for the Princess herself, she had been unconscious for the past three days now. A permanent frown now stretched across her face, and as for her mental state, not even Luna could enter her dreams anymore.

"Are you ready, Princess?"

Sombra stood on the balcony overlooking West Canterlot. A gentle breeze rolled over his mane, which wavered lightly in the cool air. He turned to face Celestia.

"Well?"

Celestia nodded. For the past couple of days, the newly pronounced husband and wife had been introducing drastic changes in Equestrian law, allowing for a greater export to import ratio, as well as branching out to emerging economies. Sombra smiled warmly as his supposed "wife" stepped up beside him.

"Ready." Celestia grinned, lighting her horn. The few clouds that hung in the sky began to part, and a bright beam of light burst down, striking both the princess and the king.

~~~{Equestrian Badlands}~~~

Everything sat still. The Badlands Hive had disbanded years ago following the war against the Crystal Empire. A stray gust curled a stream of dust through the air. Then another. And another...

Soon enough, a small dust devil had formed, encasing a brightly glowing ball of light. In an instant, the dust was dispersed, in it's place lay four ponies, and a ghastly figure of dust and light.

The light figure was the first to recover, immediately darting upwards into a standing position. From the surrounding dust it formed an arm, followed by a hand. It proceeded to place said hand over the area in which it's supposed head would've been, peering over the barren landscape.

"Safe at last," a mare in the pile of ponies murmured, clutching onto the Orb.

Author's Note

What happens when Equestria still isn't in enough chaos? Bring more chaos in by the means of universe-hopping weirdos!

Safe

Twilight sat silently in the corner of the room, waiting for any sign of consciousness from the fallen princess. It had been days now since the last sign of activity, and watching over the princess had become a boring and tedious chore.

Currently, the unicorn was reading through the twenty-second edition of "Universal Physics and the Properties that Define Them". Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she saw what appeared to be movement. Gasping quietly, the mare rushed to the bedside, gazing down upon the princess.

Celestia groaned. She turned to the other side of the bed, batting at Twilight with a hoof.

She then slowly opened her eyes, gazing lazily towards the window in the room.

"Princess?" Twilight asked softly, prodding the alicorn with a hoof, "Are you feeling any better?"

Surprisingly, Celestia jerked upright, startling Twilight and throwing her off balance. "I'm... awake?" she questioned, eyeing the mare that was currently splayed out on the floor. She glanced about the room, taking in her surroundings. "Was it just a dream?"

"What dream?" Twilight grunted, lifting herself up. "The one with Sombra in it that your sister saw?"

Celestia shook her head. "It's hard to recall already. I swear that it was real, even. I just don't remember..."

"It may have something to do with dark magic, Princess." Twilight replied, pointing out the nearly unnoticeable traces of residual dark magic in the air. They were far dimmer than before, and were already fading. Likely due to their host now being awake and in control of herself.

"Yes, I see. Must I ask why you wear that suit?"

Twilight replied with a deadpan glare, followed by a hoof pointed towards a wisp of magic hovering nearby.

"Ah. Alright. May I see my sister anytime soon?"

Twilight nodded, dialing in the number for the hospital staff.

Well, I guess it's hello back to the Crystal Empire. Though, I'm still not entirely certain on whether or not we'd ever be returning after this trip. Since the last time I had set hoof in the empire, the snow had accumulated enough additional layers to stand at roughly the same height as many of the smaller structures in the marketplace. The few ponies I saw along the way to the camps were typically too busy clearing paths and digging tunnels to notice me or the strange ponies that I led.

Eventually after quite a few mishaps relating to the low density of the snow, most of the aid workers simply gave up in attempting to trudge through the snow, and opted instead to find a clear path. Of course, since the camp was the only habitable area left in the area, it wasn't hard to find one that led directly to the heart of the city.

Jewel and I personally led the way, navigating the vast labyrinth of tunnels and trenches until we found ourselves at the Faust-forsaken camp. there were far fewer ponies than before, since many had likely died in the time we spent in Canterlot. My suspicions were confirmed upon seeing a pair of stallions hauling a frozen corpse into one of the tunnels.

"Attention please!" I shouted once we had reached the center podium of snow. It had already been quiet before, but as my voice echoed throughout the camp, it became eerily silent. "I come bringing news of Equestria's return. These ponies you see with me bring food and supplies. We will depart by train for Canterlot after rations are passed."

There was a low murmur passed along from tent to tent. Many ponies had given up on daily life, opting instead to conserve energy through sleep. Slowly but surely, as the word began spreading like wildfire, a collective cheer began to increase in volume, until the entire camp had found itself filled with joy and laughter.

I smiled. No longer would these ponies have to suffer another frigid night, or any sort of freezing storm. Now, with the prospect of escape from the Empire, I could tell that they had collectively regained their strength, their hope.

The Crystal Ponies are safe.

Safe.

That's all I can think about right now. No more demons. No more running. Just a vast, desolate wasteland, all to ourselves.

I turned to the pile of ponies that were my friends. Anicetus, the figure of light, continued peering over the landscape.

I nudged Lightning Rod with my hoof. "Get up, lazybones. We're in another universe. Again."

Lightning groaned, tumbling from the pile. "I'm not lazy," he murmured, "and you always call me Lightning, don't you? It's Electro."

I ignored his complaining, and pulled Fusebox and Sine up. The two were still out cold, but it doesn't really matter for now. Judging from the surroundings, we're near the border between the Badlands and Equestria. So yeah, pretty safe as far as safe goes for us.

Reconstruction

For the next few months, Celestia remained in her bed, plagued each night by the false dreams and fantasies of Sombra as Twilight watched on.

Luna, however, was quite busy. Equestria still needed a leader, and with Celestia down for the count, Luna would have to do. As for Shining Armor and Cadance, they were still hidden within the ship's equivalent to a throne room, crystallized by Sombra.

For the first time ever, Luna ruled alone. If it were to have occurred to her earlier on, she would've been thrilled to have the opportunity to rule without her sister but now... it was just another task to complete in Celestia's absence.

Equestria was only barely pulling itself along, and very few ponies did anything else besides repairing their broken down homes. Businesses sat silent, as did the ponies, for there was no need to speak. They all knew that they'd have to work hard to bring the nation back from its death bed, and so they did.

In days, homes were erected. In weeks, a trading system had begun. After many months, Equestria had a basic economy, relying solely on the value of salvaged weapons and various hoof-made trinkets for currency.

Author's Note

I may need some help. :twilightsheepish:

'Cause seriously, for some reason Spacebound Equestria is always the one story that I'm always hit with writer's' block on.