Thousand Year Absenceby MasterweaverChaptersThe FarewellThe ArrivalThe DesolationThe Farewell"FORTY FIVE MINUTES!" Rarity nodded at the announcement, putting down the polishing stone. "There we go, Spike, your scales are all glossed up and ready to go. And might I say, you make quite the sight." "Heh, thanks Rares." The dragon rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "You're looking pretty good as well. I mean, not that you don't always look good. It's just, it's been a while since we dropped the morph spell and--" Rarity shut him up with a deep kiss, wrapping her forelegs around his long neck. Rainbow mock-gagged. "Come on, you two, we're on the clock! You'll have plenty of time to make babies after we get back." The white mare gave the pegasus a glower. "Miss Dash! You of all people should know that there are many ways to express love, and--" "Yeah yeah, I getcha." She gave her sly grin. "But would you have really been able to stop from going all the way if I weren't being a buzzkill?" "A lady has some restraint," Rarity replied with a huff. "And I am a lady--Fluttershy! STOP LAUGHING!" "I'm not, hee, I'm not laughing! It's hiccups!" Fluttershy gripped her stomach with one hand and made a squeak which could have been a hiccup, if it had not morphed into a giggle. "Hiccups. Riiiiiight." Applejack rolled her eyes. "Shy, why haven't ya dropped tha morph? Ya know humans don't exist in Equestria!" Fluttershy's face fell. "I... I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea of being on hooves again." "It won't be forever," Spike pointed out. "We just don't want to cause a panic. As soon as we tell the princesses about our experiences, you can go back to having hands." Fluttershy sighed, looking away. "...That ain't it at all, though, is it?" Applejack asked gently. "I'm just... I'm happier here then I was in Equestria. I have friends, I have family..." She looked over the balcony rails at the partygoers, who were gradually growing more somber. "Spike's letters stopped getting through. What if we can't contact Earth after we go back?" "I'm fairly certain it was just a collapse in the thaumic channeling link," Twilight assured her, levitating a crystal as big as her head as she trotted past her. "All we need to do is re-establish it, and inter-world communication will be restored. Throw in some of our advances in--hunnf--micromagic circuitry, and I can all but guarantee we'll have an inter-world portal in one, maybe two months, and a full out transit station by the year's end." She glanced around the runic circle as she pushed the crystal with a purple hoof. "Thirty five minutes. Everyone got everything they're taking with?" Her friends all nodded, checking their saddlebags and rechecking the enchantments on them. Applejack gave Rarity a look. "Yah made sure that--" "Yes, yes, I limited what I was taking. I'm not over the weight limit." "...Who're ya gettin' ta look after what you left behind?" "Charisma and Jasmine. They're excellent girls, and they needed someplace to stay while they were studying." "Eh, suppose you would know." Rainbow Dash looked over the balcony. "OY! PINKIE! GET YOUR FLANK UP HERE! WE'VE GOT," she turned to Twilight. "Thirty minutes?" "About right." "THIRTY MINUTES BEFORE HOPTIME!" "But I haven't finished saying goodbye yet!" Pinkie wailed, clutching at the various people around her with teary eyes. "Oh come on Pinkie, don't cry! If you cry, I'm gonna start crying, and then Fluttershy will cry and then we'll be in a big hugpile and then Twilight will panic because we're running short on time--" "You've got twenty-five minutes, Pinkie!" Twilight shouted. "I want you up here before the five minute mark, got it?" "I got it, I got it." Pinkie returned to hugging the people around her. "Goodbye Maple! Keep working on your art! Goodbye Hotshot, I'm sorry I won't get to see your big game. Jess, Jack, it's... it's been fun, and I wish we had more time together, but I don't know when I'm going to be able to come back so please don't wait for me, just keep doing what you're doing, okay? For each other..." Rarity bit her lip. "Maybe I... maybe I should make a few final farewells myself--" "We've been saying goodbye all day," Spike reminded her gently. "I checked your list, and there's... basically nobody you haven't already handled." "If it helps, I did prepare a speech," Twilight offered. "I was planning on starting it five minutes before hoptime, so... in twenty minutes, I think." "Maybe we should take turns giving speeches," Fluttershy suggested hesitantly. "Or at least, big public goodbyes." Applejack looked up at her, hesitated, and shook her head with a sigh. "Ah don't think that's such a good idea. We're having a hard enough time breaking it off as is... we need ta focus now. The deadline's comin' up, and we can't avoid it." She lowered her head. "Better to be ready than be caught up in a chat." Fluttershy knelt down, cupping the mare's chin in her hand. "Are you... are you okay?" "...nothing Ah ain't been through before, Shy. Ah'll be fahn in a bit." "Is a bit going to happen before or after we're back in Equestria?" Applejack broke her head out of Fluttershy's gentle grasp. "Drop tha morph, Shy. We've only got twenty minutes." Fluttershy opened her mouth, paused, and nodded slowly. Her fingers went up to the butterfly gem around her neck; her form wavered and contorted, shrinking in her blouse. In a few moments, a pegasus kicked off the now too-large garments. Rarity picked them up in her magic, folding them gently and stashing them in the waiting saddlebags. "You'll be back in them soon," she said, almost too brightly. "Best not to lose them before then, no?" Fluttershy nodded meekly, walking to the saddlebags and putting them on. "I hope you're right, Rarity." "You know what the worst part about this is?" Rainbow's wings fluttered. "The waiting. I mean if there was like this big gate and we stood before it and hesitated a lot, sure, I could get that. But it's more like we just don't have any control over it at all." "We may not have control over the surge," Twilight said, "but we've got control over how we manipulate it." "More like you have control," Rainbow grumped. "What, you don't trust me?" "No, of course I trust you. I just feel kind of useless just standing here and watching you prod that crystal." "It'll only be for fifteen more minutes, Dash." Twilight gave her a small smile. "You'll probably be the one to scout out the area after we get back." "Right." She nodded. "I'll... be ready for that, I guess." Applejack glanced at the balcony railing, her ears flicking back. "...do ya think anyone but the princesses will remember us?" There was a moment of silence. "...some of the dragons might," Spike offered weakly. "And Discord." "No, Ah mean... Ah get that lil' Bloom's..." Applejack swallowed. "Ah mean, a thousand years. Ah'm sort of... wonderin' if, ya know, we're figures of legend by now." "I guess that would be cool," Rainbow Dash murmured. "Being hailed as the ancient heroes." "...we can't take anything for granted," Twilight reminded them. "We have to be ready to adapt to any changes..." She took a breath. "Ponyville might not even exist anymore." The gathered mares lowered their eyes to the ground. "...I don't know what's worse." Fluttershy kicked the ground. "I want you to be able to form a portal back quickly, but... I also want to be able to stay and help, if they need it." "Building a bridge might be the best chance we have to help them." Twilight shut her eyes. "Ten minutes. Could... could somebody call Pinkie up?" "She's still got five--" "I know, Rarity, but... I don't want us to be wrangling her to the last second." Rarity took a breath, and let out a slow sigh. She walked over to the balcony. "Pinkamena, you should wrap it up. We're going to have to leave very soon." "But Raaaaaaaaaaaaritiiiiiiiiiiii--" "Please, Pinkie! Just..." Rarity bit her lip. "Just, please. I... it's getting intense up here." Pinkie blinked, looking at her face. "...Okay. I... Okay." She turned back to the crowd, giving one last hug that enveloped five people, before walking up the stairs. By the time she joined the rest of them, her hair had lost most of its bounce. "...morph," Twilight quietly reminded her. With a nod, the woman became a mare, jumping easily out of her clothes as she had many times before. Unlike any of those times, it managed to somehow be a somber moment. "Everything in your bags?" Applejack asked gently. "Uh-huh." Pinkie stuffed her clothes into the saddlebags, taking up her place. Twilight sighed. "I'm sorry, Pinkie. I do wish we had longer." "I know." She glanced up. "Five minutes, right?" Twilight nodded. She turned, walking to the edge of the balcony, and tapped her hoof on the railing. Below, the crowd went silent. "...I would... I would like to thank you all. I know you don't remember when we first came here--none of you were even born yet, but..." Twilight inhaled. "You've all helped us, and we... we've become close. We've become a family. Some of us more literally than others, true. And I'm sorry that we have to do this." She glanced back at the gem, steadied herself, and turned around. "I don't know when we'll be able to come back. Maybe a few hours, maybe a month... if we're really unlucky, maybe a year or more. But we will be back. Because, well... you... you mean too much to just leave behind. We're going home, and we're going to clean up, and then.... then we'll be back and ready to invite you all for a visit. So, just... thank you all, for making these last few days so memorable." The crowd was silent for a moment. Then, somewhere, somebody began to clap. Then somebody else, and another. Twilight managed, just barely, to smile as the applause filled the massive room, even as tears threatened to blind her. With a final wave, she forced herself to turn around and take her place. "Not one of yer more structured speeches, Ah reckon." "Didn't.... feel right, doing a big lecture." Twilight glanced at the crystal. "One minute left." "Right." Pinkie inhaled. "Right. Time for smiles, girls and drake. We've got to be ready to cheer the welcome party!" "It'll be pretty sweet to show my new stunts off to new fans," Rainbow managed, her cocky tone just barely cracking. "I'd love to see what fashions have cropped up in my absence," Rarity mused. "I... I guess I'll just see if there's any new animal species that have been discovered," Fluttershy murmured. "Don't worry," Twilight assured her, "we're all going to be here to help you out. Spike? You ready to take a letter?" Spike grinned. "You know me, Twi. I'm always ready." "Good. Cause we're making the jump in five... four... three... two... o--" The crystal flared with light, spinning rapidly as the runic circle began to glow brightly. Beams lashed out, connecting to the gems worn around their necks, and the one that had only recently returned to Twilight's brow. A rainbow spiraled around them, rising up high and shrieking with potent power. And then, in a flash... they were off. The ArrivalThe first thing Twilight realized was that, somehow, it was possible to stumble while standing up. Judging from the squeaks grunts around her, that was also the first thing everyone else discovered. The second thing, however, managed to throw her even more off balance then she already was. Given the confused comments of her friends, the darkness was just as unnerving to them as it was to her. She had enough presence of mind to light her horn--and, thankfully, Rarity apparently did too--which led to the third revelation--that they were standing in a small chamber composed entirely of black... things. Snakes jumped to her mind and, thankfully, were quickly discarded--the stuff had neither scales nor any visible eyes. They could be some giant form of worm, she supposed, but somehow the substance under her hooves felt too solid for that. Maybe they were some other kind of bug...? "What the hay are all these vines?!" Twilight blinked, looking over to Applejack. "These are vines?" "Yeah. Thick ones, mind. Probably real old." The orange mare bit her lip. "And ifn' they're old enough, it don't bode well for Ponyville." Fluttershy nodded, looking around. "It might not even be here anymore..." The group fell silent, eyeing the black vines that wrapped around the chamber in somber, horrified awe. Rarity took a slow, steadying breath. "Well... we always knew things would be very different. Best not to walk in with assumptions, right? We figure out what's going on and go from there." "...Right. This chamber is about as big as the main library atrium." Twilight paused. "In fact, it might actually be the main library atrium--can we tear the vines off and see if there are shelves behind them?!" Rainbow Dash saluted. "On it!" She reached into her saddlebags, pulling out a crowbar, and hooked it into one of the walls. "I'm more worried about our air supply," Pinkie pointed out. "I mean, I did pack oxygen tanks, but in this chamber we've got maybe three hours--assuming there's no air flow." "These are plants," Spike pointed out. "Doesn't necessarily mean they'll make air." She bit her lip. "Spike, can you not flame until we're out?" "We may need him to burn through some of these vines," Twilight pointed out. "But yeah, the air thing's important... we may need those tanks at some point." Spike chuckled. "Don't worry, I can keep it to myself till it's needed." "HnnnnnnnnnnGRA!" With a wet snapping sound, Rainbow wrenched a vine in half. "Got--OH GEEZE, THAT SMELL! Ew, disgusting! What is in these things?!" Twilight levitated a few vials out of her saddlebags, scooping up some of the byzantium substance dripping from the broken stem. "We can figure that out later. Can you see a shelf behind there?" "Yeah. No books, though. Not even any crumbly paper. Just a bunch of cobwebs and dead bugs." "Right. Somebody must have taken the books. Means this place was evacuated...." She shrugged. "Probably a big thing, if they took the time to clear out the library. So... maybe all of Ponyville got out before..." She trailed into silence. "...We don't have enough information," she finally admitted. "We need to get out and take a lay of the land." Corking the vials and putting them back into her saddlebags, she stared at the broken vine. "Okay, so if that's a shelf, the front door should be somewhere along this wall..." Pinkie Pie zipped to the vines, tapping them with her hooves before moving on. "Thick. Thick. Thick. Thick. Th--no." She paused, putting her ear against the wall and tapping again. "Applejack, come here, do you hear that?" Applejack trotted over, putting her ear to the wall and tapping it. "...Yeah. Good news, bad news girls." She turned. "We found the door, but... there's vines on tha other side as well, from tha sound of it." Rarity blinked. "Earth pony thing?" "Eeeyup, pretty much." She pushed off the vines. "And they're real thick, too. Not likely to be any hollow chambers or anything." "Sounds like we'll need a blowtorch," Spike commented. "Thank you ever so much for volunteering, darling." Rarity fluttered her eyelashes at him. "I'd..." Twilight sighed. "I don't want to destroy the door. Emotional connection, you know. But... it's probably rotted anyway..." Spike put a claw on her back. "I know, Twi. I don't... I don't like it either." "Well, should be easy to check." Rainbow took a tight grip of her crowbar and zipped between the two earth ponies, slamming the bent metal into thick vine. "Hrrrrrrg!" Applejack quirked a brow. "Need some help there, sugarcube?" "Nope! I, hnnf, I got it!" With a final grunt, the pegasus tore the vine away from its mount. "Hah! Yeah, beat that! Ha!" "There are still a bunch o' vines, Dash." "Yeah, but now we can see the wood of the door!" Pinkie nodded, peeking through the gap. "That's true! And--oh. Oh my gosh. Ohmygosh, girls! IT'S NOT ROTTED AT ALL!" "What?!" Twilight galloped over, almost tripping on the vines, and looked. "Oh. Oh wow. I... wow... Spike! Spike you've got to see this!" "Give me room," Spike reminded her as he sidled up. "I'm a big dragon now. Well, bigger. I take up a lot of space." Twilight stepped aside, nudging Pinkie out of the way. "Look, see? The boards are still there!" Spike stared at the faded red wood for a long moment. Then, suddenly, he surged forward, claws gripping the vines and tearing them off rapidly. "Whoa." Rainbow glanced from the scene to her crowbar. "Why'd I even bring this?" Pinkie shrugged. "We can't have Spike do everything." The vines were torn away in record time, leaving the door visible to everyone. It sagged on its hinges a bit, and the handle had been crumpled to a barely present streak of black iron, but it was still clearly that very same door that Twilight Sparkle had opened so long ago, when she first arrived in Ponyville. "...Can you open it?" Fluttershy's words were all but whispered, yet in the silence they reverberated without opposition. Twilight nodded. "Yeah. I think I can." Her horn lit up, magic wrapping around the mangled handle; with a quiet grunt of effort, she slowly swung the door into the room, hinges protesting every minute. The vines on the ground were slowly shoved back, their crinkling forms giving way to show the scarred, ashen wood that had once been the library's floor. "...Well Ah'll be." Applejack took off her hat and held it to her chest. "Tha candle's still there." The ponies all stared at the faded, just barely recognizable image on the front of the door. After a moment, Rarity cleared her throat. "Well. This is... all very emotional. And nostalgic. But... as much as I do want to indulge in a memoryfest, and I really truly do, we should see about getting out of here, yes?" Twilight shook her head, breaking out of her stunned silence. "Right." She turned to look out the door, took in the black vines that all but filled the passageway, and sighed. "Spike?" "On it. Half-right angle upward, right?" "Thirty degrees, actually. Less slope." "Right." Spike tapped the vines. "Living wood, or near enough... don't want anything else getting burned..." He nodded at the ponies. "No peeking. Don't want to hurt your eyes." "Got it. The kitchen door should be somewhere over... there. I don't know if the vines made that a chamber, but if it's anything like this room--" "Let me check." Applejack walked over to the indicated wall, tapped it twice, nodded, and spun around. With a powerful kick, the black wood shattered inward. "Kitchen's open." "Ooo! I wonder if the stove still works!" Pinkie bounded in. "I can bake us some flatbread while we wait!" Rainbow Dash hovered over, landing when she realized there wasn't enough room to fly in. "Flatbread?" "It's been a thousand years, Dash. I don't think there's enough sugar for cookies." "Right. Hey, could one of you unicorns come in and light this place up?" Twilight rolled her eyes. "Everypony in the kitchen! Spike, you'll be okay out here, won't you?" "I'm a big strong dragon, Twi. I'll be able to handle the dark." "You know we're just... right over there. If you need us." "Twilight." Rarity put a hoof on her shoulder. "It will be fine." "I... I'm just worried, I guess." Twilight bit her lip, looking around. "I thought there would be ponies around, or at least some ruins. I didn't expect... this. Any of this." Fluttershy sighed. "I don't think any of us expected this. But... well... it is what it is." "Seriously guys, dark room here. Not that I'm afraid of the dark or anything," Rainbow assured them, "but you know, I'd really like to not bump into vines." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright, we're coming. Spike, you think you'll be done in ten minutes?" "Ten. Hm..." Spike pushed against the vines. "Hard to tell. I'll check in with you then, or if I see light before then." "That's... that's a good idea." Twilight paused in the kitchen doorway. "If you hear anything--voices, or creatures moving around, you come right back and tell us, okay? We should face anything we find together--" "Twilight." Spike smiled. "I'll be fine. I can brush my own teeth and everything." The purple unicorn chuckled awkwardly. "I know, I know, I just... you know. Be careful, alright?" "I will. I promise." "He's only going to be burning through a few vines of suspicious coloration that have enveloped the entire building and blocked out all outside light sources and whose inner substances smell worse than a rotting skunk," Pinkie pointed out casually. Twilight snorted. "Yes. He's only going to be doing that." She stepped into the kitchen, put a semi-translucent forcefield over the doorway, and nodded to the dragon as he turned to start at his task. "And now, we wait." For a moment or two, the only sound was the roar of fire and the crackling of burning vines. "...Soooooo." Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head. "Now that we're here and all... I mean... what do you think is out there?" Applejack snorted. "Nothin' we'd recognize, Ah reckon." "No no no, yeah, I got that, but is it like... roving bands of ponies worshiping ancient technology, or some grim kingdom ruled by an insane Celestia, or maybe it's after the end and everyone's a mutant, or... what?" "Idle speculation won't help us," Twilight pointed out. "But it'll pass the time," Pinkie pointed out. "Ooo! What if we've become figures of legend?" Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't think I would like that. I'm not really all that... legendary. They'd probably expect me to be some sort of monster-fighting lady of war...." The DesolationAt long last, the group stepped out into the rotting morass that covered what had once been Ponyville. The twisted black vines gave slightly under their hooves as they stepped around carefully... not enough to hinder them, but enough to notice. The stars above shimmered heartlessly, their light illuminating not one thatched roof, not one broken girder, not one ruined statue. The seven of them served as the only splash of color against the darkness beneath them. Applejack took her hat off slowly and held it to her chest. "Ah knew things would be different, but... Ah never thought Ah'd see mah home wiped off tha map completely." "What happened here?" Rarity murmured. "If the library is in the same place it was... there are enough of these vines to bury the town. I'm not sure that's not what happened--" Pinkie Pie gasped. "Wait, are you saying Sugarcube Corner might still be here, underneath all this?!" Twilight bit her lip. "It's... not impossible, Pinkie, but if it's like the library--" The group fell silent again, across the plain of dark vines. "...Besides which," Twilight finally pointed out, "our priority is to find civilization. Once we make contact, we can... figure out what to do from there. And it doesn't look like there's much civilization here, unfortunately." She turned. "Maybe we should head... to..." Her voice trailed off. "Twi?" Applejack followed her gaze. "What's... oh... oh wow." Rainbow managed a low whistle. "I could see Canterlot maybe being destroyed, but the whole mountain? What happened there?" Spike said nothing, only sidling over to Twilight and gently wrapping a claw around her shoulders. She didn't even react, still staring dumbfounded at the shattered rubble visible from miles away. A chill wind whispered around the group, as their preconceptions slowly decayed away, leaving only empty confusion. "...What do we do now?" Fluttershy murmured. "Do we... can we go back? To the other world?" "...it would... take... time." Twilight sighed. "It would take time, and maybe resources we don't have. I'm not sure. I'd planned to make a request to Celestia, but..." She trailed off. Applejack took a breath. "Alright. Alright, so... list of what we need to do. Survive. Find out who's still livin' and where. Open a path 'tween Equestria and the other world. Probably get lots of therapy, but that ain't likely ta happen soon, so let's just wait on it." Spike nodded. "Right... Twilight? Where do you think ponies would be?" "I... I don't... know. I never memorized census data..." Rarity cleared her throat. "I did look into expanding my business back in the day, demographics was a part of that. Do you have a map? Even an out of date one would be helpful--" Their conversation was interrupted by a dark-winged flurry of forms bursting forth from beneath, assailing them with fang and claw. Spike swept his wings out as they all reared back, trying to fight back the swarm of tiny creatures with powerful flaps. "What are these things?" Rainbow demanded, taking to the air and hovering around them. Applejack hissed as she was scratched up. "Ah dunno, but they're right dangerous! We need ta find shelter!" "The Everfree!" Pinkie suggested, barely dodging a wave. "Large predators!" "Dangerous predators!" Rarity objected. "OH THEY'RE IN MY TAIL!" "Better the devil you know!" Rainbow pointed out. "Between Shy and Spike we can handle them!" Twilight nodded, blasting a few of the creatures off. "Everfree! I'll teleport us!" With a flash of her magic, the seven vanished from the swarm of creatures, reappearing a good distance away. "Uh, problem!" Spike pointed at the ground. "The vines go into the Everfree too! What if those creatures are under all of them?" "We can still hide in the trees!" Rarity insisted. "Come along, I don't want to get caught in another swarm of those beasts!" The group galloped into the forest, the branches of the trees brushing against their coats and scales as they rushed away from the confused screeching of their assailants. Even as they rushed headlong, they were aware of a strange sense of unwitting familiarity to their surroundings, as though the path beneath their hooves had been trod before, though all the landmarks had changed. The starlight glimmering overhead seemed to stream through the battered branches, guiding each step of their journey as it had so long ago. Eventually, as the screeching faded into the distance, the seven of them slowed to a trot, then a walk. "...It's strange," Rarity murmured. "I mean, this whole situation is strange, of course, but it feels a little familiar, doesn't it? Like... like when we tried to stop Nightmare Moon." "Ah know whatcha mean. No idea what to do, on tha run from some dangerous mojo..." Applejack chuckled. "Wanderin' tha Everfree under tha stars." Rainbow huffed. "Back then we knew the Elements could fix things, we just had to find them. Now... I dunno." She rubbed the gem set around her neck. "It'd be awesome if they could, but... they need a target, right?" Fluttershy hummed thoughtfully. "What would happen if we pointed them at Equestria? Would the entire planet be harmonized?" "You know, I like that idea," Pinkie said with a grin. "The orbital friendship cannon! I mean I don't know how we'd get up that high--oh wait! Duh, we have Spike now!" Spike rolled his eyes. "What, you want to hop on my back and have me fly into space so you can zap the rainbow of light down at everything? I'm sure absolutely nothing will go wrong with that plan. Not a single thing." "Okay Spike." Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder, smiling wryly. "We get it. You don't want to be used as a weapons platform. We'll just keep you to ordinary secretary work, okay?" "Sure thing." He gestured at the trees and vines surrounding them. "You want me to file a complaint to the home-owner's association? Somebody here really let their yard get out of control." The ponies laughed and, for a moment, the bleakness of the situation drew away. Eventually, though, Twilight sighed. "...maybe the castle of the two sisters survived. The princesses could have left us something in there... and if not, maybe we'll find magical artifacts or something to get back to the other world." The others shared quiet looks. "...You want to lead the way, Twilight?" "Mmm..." Twilight glanced up. "Southeast of Ponyville... probably this way." Quietly, they started trudging through the forest again.
The Farewell"FORTY FIVE MINUTES!" Rarity nodded at the announcement, putting down the polishing stone. "There we go, Spike, your scales are all glossed up and ready to go. And might I say, you make quite the sight." "Heh, thanks Rares." The dragon rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "You're looking pretty good as well. I mean, not that you don't always look good. It's just, it's been a while since we dropped the morph spell and--" Rarity shut him up with a deep kiss, wrapping her forelegs around his long neck. Rainbow mock-gagged. "Come on, you two, we're on the clock! You'll have plenty of time to make babies after we get back." The white mare gave the pegasus a glower. "Miss Dash! You of all people should know that there are many ways to express love, and--" "Yeah yeah, I getcha." She gave her sly grin. "But would you have really been able to stop from going all the way if I weren't being a buzzkill?" "A lady has some restraint," Rarity replied with a huff. "And I am a lady--Fluttershy! STOP LAUGHING!" "I'm not, hee, I'm not laughing! It's hiccups!" Fluttershy gripped her stomach with one hand and made a squeak which could have been a hiccup, if it had not morphed into a giggle. "Hiccups. Riiiiiight." Applejack rolled her eyes. "Shy, why haven't ya dropped tha morph? Ya know humans don't exist in Equestria!" Fluttershy's face fell. "I... I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea of being on hooves again." "It won't be forever," Spike pointed out. "We just don't want to cause a panic. As soon as we tell the princesses about our experiences, you can go back to having hands." Fluttershy sighed, looking away. "...That ain't it at all, though, is it?" Applejack asked gently. "I'm just... I'm happier here then I was in Equestria. I have friends, I have family..." She looked over the balcony rails at the partygoers, who were gradually growing more somber. "Spike's letters stopped getting through. What if we can't contact Earth after we go back?" "I'm fairly certain it was just a collapse in the thaumic channeling link," Twilight assured her, levitating a crystal as big as her head as she trotted past her. "All we need to do is re-establish it, and inter-world communication will be restored. Throw in some of our advances in--hunnf--micromagic circuitry, and I can all but guarantee we'll have an inter-world portal in one, maybe two months, and a full out transit station by the year's end." She glanced around the runic circle as she pushed the crystal with a purple hoof. "Thirty five minutes. Everyone got everything they're taking with?" Her friends all nodded, checking their saddlebags and rechecking the enchantments on them. Applejack gave Rarity a look. "Yah made sure that--" "Yes, yes, I limited what I was taking. I'm not over the weight limit." "...Who're ya gettin' ta look after what you left behind?" "Charisma and Jasmine. They're excellent girls, and they needed someplace to stay while they were studying." "Eh, suppose you would know." Rainbow Dash looked over the balcony. "OY! PINKIE! GET YOUR FLANK UP HERE! WE'VE GOT," she turned to Twilight. "Thirty minutes?" "About right." "THIRTY MINUTES BEFORE HOPTIME!" "But I haven't finished saying goodbye yet!" Pinkie wailed, clutching at the various people around her with teary eyes. "Oh come on Pinkie, don't cry! If you cry, I'm gonna start crying, and then Fluttershy will cry and then we'll be in a big hugpile and then Twilight will panic because we're running short on time--" "You've got twenty-five minutes, Pinkie!" Twilight shouted. "I want you up here before the five minute mark, got it?" "I got it, I got it." Pinkie returned to hugging the people around her. "Goodbye Maple! Keep working on your art! Goodbye Hotshot, I'm sorry I won't get to see your big game. Jess, Jack, it's... it's been fun, and I wish we had more time together, but I don't know when I'm going to be able to come back so please don't wait for me, just keep doing what you're doing, okay? For each other..." Rarity bit her lip. "Maybe I... maybe I should make a few final farewells myself--" "We've been saying goodbye all day," Spike reminded her gently. "I checked your list, and there's... basically nobody you haven't already handled." "If it helps, I did prepare a speech," Twilight offered. "I was planning on starting it five minutes before hoptime, so... in twenty minutes, I think." "Maybe we should take turns giving speeches," Fluttershy suggested hesitantly. "Or at least, big public goodbyes." Applejack looked up at her, hesitated, and shook her head with a sigh. "Ah don't think that's such a good idea. We're having a hard enough time breaking it off as is... we need ta focus now. The deadline's comin' up, and we can't avoid it." She lowered her head. "Better to be ready than be caught up in a chat." Fluttershy knelt down, cupping the mare's chin in her hand. "Are you... are you okay?" "...nothing Ah ain't been through before, Shy. Ah'll be fahn in a bit." "Is a bit going to happen before or after we're back in Equestria?" Applejack broke her head out of Fluttershy's gentle grasp. "Drop tha morph, Shy. We've only got twenty minutes." Fluttershy opened her mouth, paused, and nodded slowly. Her fingers went up to the butterfly gem around her neck; her form wavered and contorted, shrinking in her blouse. In a few moments, a pegasus kicked off the now too-large garments. Rarity picked them up in her magic, folding them gently and stashing them in the waiting saddlebags. "You'll be back in them soon," she said, almost too brightly. "Best not to lose them before then, no?" Fluttershy nodded meekly, walking to the saddlebags and putting them on. "I hope you're right, Rarity." "You know what the worst part about this is?" Rainbow's wings fluttered. "The waiting. I mean if there was like this big gate and we stood before it and hesitated a lot, sure, I could get that. But it's more like we just don't have any control over it at all." "We may not have control over the surge," Twilight said, "but we've got control over how we manipulate it." "More like you have control," Rainbow grumped. "What, you don't trust me?" "No, of course I trust you. I just feel kind of useless just standing here and watching you prod that crystal." "It'll only be for fifteen more minutes, Dash." Twilight gave her a small smile. "You'll probably be the one to scout out the area after we get back." "Right." She nodded. "I'll... be ready for that, I guess." Applejack glanced at the balcony railing, her ears flicking back. "...do ya think anyone but the princesses will remember us?" There was a moment of silence. "...some of the dragons might," Spike offered weakly. "And Discord." "No, Ah mean... Ah get that lil' Bloom's..." Applejack swallowed. "Ah mean, a thousand years. Ah'm sort of... wonderin' if, ya know, we're figures of legend by now." "I guess that would be cool," Rainbow Dash murmured. "Being hailed as the ancient heroes." "...we can't take anything for granted," Twilight reminded them. "We have to be ready to adapt to any changes..." She took a breath. "Ponyville might not even exist anymore." The gathered mares lowered their eyes to the ground. "...I don't know what's worse." Fluttershy kicked the ground. "I want you to be able to form a portal back quickly, but... I also want to be able to stay and help, if they need it." "Building a bridge might be the best chance we have to help them." Twilight shut her eyes. "Ten minutes. Could... could somebody call Pinkie up?" "She's still got five--" "I know, Rarity, but... I don't want us to be wrangling her to the last second." Rarity took a breath, and let out a slow sigh. She walked over to the balcony. "Pinkamena, you should wrap it up. We're going to have to leave very soon." "But Raaaaaaaaaaaaritiiiiiiiiiiii--" "Please, Pinkie! Just..." Rarity bit her lip. "Just, please. I... it's getting intense up here." Pinkie blinked, looking at her face. "...Okay. I... Okay." She turned back to the crowd, giving one last hug that enveloped five people, before walking up the stairs. By the time she joined the rest of them, her hair had lost most of its bounce. "...morph," Twilight quietly reminded her. With a nod, the woman became a mare, jumping easily out of her clothes as she had many times before. Unlike any of those times, it managed to somehow be a somber moment. "Everything in your bags?" Applejack asked gently. "Uh-huh." Pinkie stuffed her clothes into the saddlebags, taking up her place. Twilight sighed. "I'm sorry, Pinkie. I do wish we had longer." "I know." She glanced up. "Five minutes, right?" Twilight nodded. She turned, walking to the edge of the balcony, and tapped her hoof on the railing. Below, the crowd went silent. "...I would... I would like to thank you all. I know you don't remember when we first came here--none of you were even born yet, but..." Twilight inhaled. "You've all helped us, and we... we've become close. We've become a family. Some of us more literally than others, true. And I'm sorry that we have to do this." She glanced back at the gem, steadied herself, and turned around. "I don't know when we'll be able to come back. Maybe a few hours, maybe a month... if we're really unlucky, maybe a year or more. But we will be back. Because, well... you... you mean too much to just leave behind. We're going home, and we're going to clean up, and then.... then we'll be back and ready to invite you all for a visit. So, just... thank you all, for making these last few days so memorable." The crowd was silent for a moment. Then, somewhere, somebody began to clap. Then somebody else, and another. Twilight managed, just barely, to smile as the applause filled the massive room, even as tears threatened to blind her. With a final wave, she forced herself to turn around and take her place. "Not one of yer more structured speeches, Ah reckon." "Didn't.... feel right, doing a big lecture." Twilight glanced at the crystal. "One minute left." "Right." Pinkie inhaled. "Right. Time for smiles, girls and drake. We've got to be ready to cheer the welcome party!" "It'll be pretty sweet to show my new stunts off to new fans," Rainbow managed, her cocky tone just barely cracking. "I'd love to see what fashions have cropped up in my absence," Rarity mused. "I... I guess I'll just see if there's any new animal species that have been discovered," Fluttershy murmured. "Don't worry," Twilight assured her, "we're all going to be here to help you out. Spike? You ready to take a letter?" Spike grinned. "You know me, Twi. I'm always ready." "Good. Cause we're making the jump in five... four... three... two... o--" The crystal flared with light, spinning rapidly as the runic circle began to glow brightly. Beams lashed out, connecting to the gems worn around their necks, and the one that had only recently returned to Twilight's brow. A rainbow spiraled around them, rising up high and shrieking with potent power. And then, in a flash... they were off.
The ArrivalThe first thing Twilight realized was that, somehow, it was possible to stumble while standing up. Judging from the squeaks grunts around her, that was also the first thing everyone else discovered. The second thing, however, managed to throw her even more off balance then she already was. Given the confused comments of her friends, the darkness was just as unnerving to them as it was to her. She had enough presence of mind to light her horn--and, thankfully, Rarity apparently did too--which led to the third revelation--that they were standing in a small chamber composed entirely of black... things. Snakes jumped to her mind and, thankfully, were quickly discarded--the stuff had neither scales nor any visible eyes. They could be some giant form of worm, she supposed, but somehow the substance under her hooves felt too solid for that. Maybe they were some other kind of bug...? "What the hay are all these vines?!" Twilight blinked, looking over to Applejack. "These are vines?" "Yeah. Thick ones, mind. Probably real old." The orange mare bit her lip. "And ifn' they're old enough, it don't bode well for Ponyville." Fluttershy nodded, looking around. "It might not even be here anymore..." The group fell silent, eyeing the black vines that wrapped around the chamber in somber, horrified awe. Rarity took a slow, steadying breath. "Well... we always knew things would be very different. Best not to walk in with assumptions, right? We figure out what's going on and go from there." "...Right. This chamber is about as big as the main library atrium." Twilight paused. "In fact, it might actually be the main library atrium--can we tear the vines off and see if there are shelves behind them?!" Rainbow Dash saluted. "On it!" She reached into her saddlebags, pulling out a crowbar, and hooked it into one of the walls. "I'm more worried about our air supply," Pinkie pointed out. "I mean, I did pack oxygen tanks, but in this chamber we've got maybe three hours--assuming there's no air flow." "These are plants," Spike pointed out. "Doesn't necessarily mean they'll make air." She bit her lip. "Spike, can you not flame until we're out?" "We may need him to burn through some of these vines," Twilight pointed out. "But yeah, the air thing's important... we may need those tanks at some point." Spike chuckled. "Don't worry, I can keep it to myself till it's needed." "HnnnnnnnnnnGRA!" With a wet snapping sound, Rainbow wrenched a vine in half. "Got--OH GEEZE, THAT SMELL! Ew, disgusting! What is in these things?!" Twilight levitated a few vials out of her saddlebags, scooping up some of the byzantium substance dripping from the broken stem. "We can figure that out later. Can you see a shelf behind there?" "Yeah. No books, though. Not even any crumbly paper. Just a bunch of cobwebs and dead bugs." "Right. Somebody must have taken the books. Means this place was evacuated...." She shrugged. "Probably a big thing, if they took the time to clear out the library. So... maybe all of Ponyville got out before..." She trailed into silence. "...We don't have enough information," she finally admitted. "We need to get out and take a lay of the land." Corking the vials and putting them back into her saddlebags, she stared at the broken vine. "Okay, so if that's a shelf, the front door should be somewhere along this wall..." Pinkie Pie zipped to the vines, tapping them with her hooves before moving on. "Thick. Thick. Thick. Thick. Th--no." She paused, putting her ear against the wall and tapping again. "Applejack, come here, do you hear that?" Applejack trotted over, putting her ear to the wall and tapping it. "...Yeah. Good news, bad news girls." She turned. "We found the door, but... there's vines on tha other side as well, from tha sound of it." Rarity blinked. "Earth pony thing?" "Eeeyup, pretty much." She pushed off the vines. "And they're real thick, too. Not likely to be any hollow chambers or anything." "Sounds like we'll need a blowtorch," Spike commented. "Thank you ever so much for volunteering, darling." Rarity fluttered her eyelashes at him. "I'd..." Twilight sighed. "I don't want to destroy the door. Emotional connection, you know. But... it's probably rotted anyway..." Spike put a claw on her back. "I know, Twi. I don't... I don't like it either." "Well, should be easy to check." Rainbow took a tight grip of her crowbar and zipped between the two earth ponies, slamming the bent metal into thick vine. "Hrrrrrrg!" Applejack quirked a brow. "Need some help there, sugarcube?" "Nope! I, hnnf, I got it!" With a final grunt, the pegasus tore the vine away from its mount. "Hah! Yeah, beat that! Ha!" "There are still a bunch o' vines, Dash." "Yeah, but now we can see the wood of the door!" Pinkie nodded, peeking through the gap. "That's true! And--oh. Oh my gosh. Ohmygosh, girls! IT'S NOT ROTTED AT ALL!" "What?!" Twilight galloped over, almost tripping on the vines, and looked. "Oh. Oh wow. I... wow... Spike! Spike you've got to see this!" "Give me room," Spike reminded her as he sidled up. "I'm a big dragon now. Well, bigger. I take up a lot of space." Twilight stepped aside, nudging Pinkie out of the way. "Look, see? The boards are still there!" Spike stared at the faded red wood for a long moment. Then, suddenly, he surged forward, claws gripping the vines and tearing them off rapidly. "Whoa." Rainbow glanced from the scene to her crowbar. "Why'd I even bring this?" Pinkie shrugged. "We can't have Spike do everything." The vines were torn away in record time, leaving the door visible to everyone. It sagged on its hinges a bit, and the handle had been crumpled to a barely present streak of black iron, but it was still clearly that very same door that Twilight Sparkle had opened so long ago, when she first arrived in Ponyville. "...Can you open it?" Fluttershy's words were all but whispered, yet in the silence they reverberated without opposition. Twilight nodded. "Yeah. I think I can." Her horn lit up, magic wrapping around the mangled handle; with a quiet grunt of effort, she slowly swung the door into the room, hinges protesting every minute. The vines on the ground were slowly shoved back, their crinkling forms giving way to show the scarred, ashen wood that had once been the library's floor. "...Well Ah'll be." Applejack took off her hat and held it to her chest. "Tha candle's still there." The ponies all stared at the faded, just barely recognizable image on the front of the door. After a moment, Rarity cleared her throat. "Well. This is... all very emotional. And nostalgic. But... as much as I do want to indulge in a memoryfest, and I really truly do, we should see about getting out of here, yes?" Twilight shook her head, breaking out of her stunned silence. "Right." She turned to look out the door, took in the black vines that all but filled the passageway, and sighed. "Spike?" "On it. Half-right angle upward, right?" "Thirty degrees, actually. Less slope." "Right." Spike tapped the vines. "Living wood, or near enough... don't want anything else getting burned..." He nodded at the ponies. "No peeking. Don't want to hurt your eyes." "Got it. The kitchen door should be somewhere over... there. I don't know if the vines made that a chamber, but if it's anything like this room--" "Let me check." Applejack walked over to the indicated wall, tapped it twice, nodded, and spun around. With a powerful kick, the black wood shattered inward. "Kitchen's open." "Ooo! I wonder if the stove still works!" Pinkie bounded in. "I can bake us some flatbread while we wait!" Rainbow Dash hovered over, landing when she realized there wasn't enough room to fly in. "Flatbread?" "It's been a thousand years, Dash. I don't think there's enough sugar for cookies." "Right. Hey, could one of you unicorns come in and light this place up?" Twilight rolled her eyes. "Everypony in the kitchen! Spike, you'll be okay out here, won't you?" "I'm a big strong dragon, Twi. I'll be able to handle the dark." "You know we're just... right over there. If you need us." "Twilight." Rarity put a hoof on her shoulder. "It will be fine." "I... I'm just worried, I guess." Twilight bit her lip, looking around. "I thought there would be ponies around, or at least some ruins. I didn't expect... this. Any of this." Fluttershy sighed. "I don't think any of us expected this. But... well... it is what it is." "Seriously guys, dark room here. Not that I'm afraid of the dark or anything," Rainbow assured them, "but you know, I'd really like to not bump into vines." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright, we're coming. Spike, you think you'll be done in ten minutes?" "Ten. Hm..." Spike pushed against the vines. "Hard to tell. I'll check in with you then, or if I see light before then." "That's... that's a good idea." Twilight paused in the kitchen doorway. "If you hear anything--voices, or creatures moving around, you come right back and tell us, okay? We should face anything we find together--" "Twilight." Spike smiled. "I'll be fine. I can brush my own teeth and everything." The purple unicorn chuckled awkwardly. "I know, I know, I just... you know. Be careful, alright?" "I will. I promise." "He's only going to be burning through a few vines of suspicious coloration that have enveloped the entire building and blocked out all outside light sources and whose inner substances smell worse than a rotting skunk," Pinkie pointed out casually. Twilight snorted. "Yes. He's only going to be doing that." She stepped into the kitchen, put a semi-translucent forcefield over the doorway, and nodded to the dragon as he turned to start at his task. "And now, we wait." For a moment or two, the only sound was the roar of fire and the crackling of burning vines. "...Soooooo." Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head. "Now that we're here and all... I mean... what do you think is out there?" Applejack snorted. "Nothin' we'd recognize, Ah reckon." "No no no, yeah, I got that, but is it like... roving bands of ponies worshiping ancient technology, or some grim kingdom ruled by an insane Celestia, or maybe it's after the end and everyone's a mutant, or... what?" "Idle speculation won't help us," Twilight pointed out. "But it'll pass the time," Pinkie pointed out. "Ooo! What if we've become figures of legend?" Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't think I would like that. I'm not really all that... legendary. They'd probably expect me to be some sort of monster-fighting lady of war...."
The DesolationAt long last, the group stepped out into the rotting morass that covered what had once been Ponyville. The twisted black vines gave slightly under their hooves as they stepped around carefully... not enough to hinder them, but enough to notice. The stars above shimmered heartlessly, their light illuminating not one thatched roof, not one broken girder, not one ruined statue. The seven of them served as the only splash of color against the darkness beneath them. Applejack took her hat off slowly and held it to her chest. "Ah knew things would be different, but... Ah never thought Ah'd see mah home wiped off tha map completely." "What happened here?" Rarity murmured. "If the library is in the same place it was... there are enough of these vines to bury the town. I'm not sure that's not what happened--" Pinkie Pie gasped. "Wait, are you saying Sugarcube Corner might still be here, underneath all this?!" Twilight bit her lip. "It's... not impossible, Pinkie, but if it's like the library--" The group fell silent again, across the plain of dark vines. "...Besides which," Twilight finally pointed out, "our priority is to find civilization. Once we make contact, we can... figure out what to do from there. And it doesn't look like there's much civilization here, unfortunately." She turned. "Maybe we should head... to..." Her voice trailed off. "Twi?" Applejack followed her gaze. "What's... oh... oh wow." Rainbow managed a low whistle. "I could see Canterlot maybe being destroyed, but the whole mountain? What happened there?" Spike said nothing, only sidling over to Twilight and gently wrapping a claw around her shoulders. She didn't even react, still staring dumbfounded at the shattered rubble visible from miles away. A chill wind whispered around the group, as their preconceptions slowly decayed away, leaving only empty confusion. "...What do we do now?" Fluttershy murmured. "Do we... can we go back? To the other world?" "...it would... take... time." Twilight sighed. "It would take time, and maybe resources we don't have. I'm not sure. I'd planned to make a request to Celestia, but..." She trailed off. Applejack took a breath. "Alright. Alright, so... list of what we need to do. Survive. Find out who's still livin' and where. Open a path 'tween Equestria and the other world. Probably get lots of therapy, but that ain't likely ta happen soon, so let's just wait on it." Spike nodded. "Right... Twilight? Where do you think ponies would be?" "I... I don't... know. I never memorized census data..." Rarity cleared her throat. "I did look into expanding my business back in the day, demographics was a part of that. Do you have a map? Even an out of date one would be helpful--" Their conversation was interrupted by a dark-winged flurry of forms bursting forth from beneath, assailing them with fang and claw. Spike swept his wings out as they all reared back, trying to fight back the swarm of tiny creatures with powerful flaps. "What are these things?" Rainbow demanded, taking to the air and hovering around them. Applejack hissed as she was scratched up. "Ah dunno, but they're right dangerous! We need ta find shelter!" "The Everfree!" Pinkie suggested, barely dodging a wave. "Large predators!" "Dangerous predators!" Rarity objected. "OH THEY'RE IN MY TAIL!" "Better the devil you know!" Rainbow pointed out. "Between Shy and Spike we can handle them!" Twilight nodded, blasting a few of the creatures off. "Everfree! I'll teleport us!" With a flash of her magic, the seven vanished from the swarm of creatures, reappearing a good distance away. "Uh, problem!" Spike pointed at the ground. "The vines go into the Everfree too! What if those creatures are under all of them?" "We can still hide in the trees!" Rarity insisted. "Come along, I don't want to get caught in another swarm of those beasts!" The group galloped into the forest, the branches of the trees brushing against their coats and scales as they rushed away from the confused screeching of their assailants. Even as they rushed headlong, they were aware of a strange sense of unwitting familiarity to their surroundings, as though the path beneath their hooves had been trod before, though all the landmarks had changed. The starlight glimmering overhead seemed to stream through the battered branches, guiding each step of their journey as it had so long ago. Eventually, as the screeching faded into the distance, the seven of them slowed to a trot, then a walk. "...It's strange," Rarity murmured. "I mean, this whole situation is strange, of course, but it feels a little familiar, doesn't it? Like... like when we tried to stop Nightmare Moon." "Ah know whatcha mean. No idea what to do, on tha run from some dangerous mojo..." Applejack chuckled. "Wanderin' tha Everfree under tha stars." Rainbow huffed. "Back then we knew the Elements could fix things, we just had to find them. Now... I dunno." She rubbed the gem set around her neck. "It'd be awesome if they could, but... they need a target, right?" Fluttershy hummed thoughtfully. "What would happen if we pointed them at Equestria? Would the entire planet be harmonized?" "You know, I like that idea," Pinkie said with a grin. "The orbital friendship cannon! I mean I don't know how we'd get up that high--oh wait! Duh, we have Spike now!" Spike rolled his eyes. "What, you want to hop on my back and have me fly into space so you can zap the rainbow of light down at everything? I'm sure absolutely nothing will go wrong with that plan. Not a single thing." "Okay Spike." Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder, smiling wryly. "We get it. You don't want to be used as a weapons platform. We'll just keep you to ordinary secretary work, okay?" "Sure thing." He gestured at the trees and vines surrounding them. "You want me to file a complaint to the home-owner's association? Somebody here really let their yard get out of control." The ponies laughed and, for a moment, the bleakness of the situation drew away. Eventually, though, Twilight sighed. "...maybe the castle of the two sisters survived. The princesses could have left us something in there... and if not, maybe we'll find magical artifacts or something to get back to the other world." The others shared quiet looks. "...You want to lead the way, Twilight?" "Mmm..." Twilight glanced up. "Southeast of Ponyville... probably this way." Quietly, they started trudging through the forest again.
