What Came After

Chapters

Concept Art Section
New World Blues
Distant Rumblings
Mind the Gap
The Rising Storm
From the Grave
The Kindness of Strangers
To the Edge of the Skeleton Coast
The End, for real this time.

Concept Art Section

This is just a place where I'll be posting any concept art I come up with during the course of writing this. So far I've made a couple pictures that I wanted to share, some of which have been used in the cover art and so on. Feel free to check back every now and then to see if anything new has popped up, consider this just sort of a bonus section.

UPDATE: A lot of the art is since lost to time, except for the one below, done by the amazingly talented Grim_Grin

New World Blues

Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria, star pupil of Celestia and one of the most gorgeous looking women in all of Equestria, was utterly and totally lost for words. The woman wore her usual attire, a purple skirt, a purple sweater vest over a white long sleeve shirt, and long knee high socks, and not to forget her glasses. Her pale skin was suddenly covered in goosebumps as it was hit by the chilly air of her surroundings. Things had started simply enough, she had been reading old spells in the royal archives, looking for a challenging ancient spell to study in her spare time. She had found one such ancient spell in the form of an old long range teleportation spell. Most of the original scroll was damaged or lost, leaving only the basic arcane components. So, she had started out by simply running through a test casting of the spell. She had intended to simply teleport twenty feet, but something had gone horribly horribly wrong.

She was standing in the archives, what was left of them at least. The book cases were splintered, scrolls were burned, and the roof had caved in. The clouds above were dark and grey, foreboding in the way they swirled like cauldrons of hate and anger. Twilight knew that she could not have been the cause of the destruction, and yet… There it was. What was more, the air was laden heavily with Arcane Radiation. She could feel the tell tale tingle of it in her bones as she stood there among the ruined knowledge.

She started her trek for survival by casting an air bubble around her, it would temporarily shield her from the radiation. With her safety somewhat secured, Twilight took a chance to look around the ruined archives. There were skeletons strewn about, people and other strange creatures alike, the Equestrian flags had been replaced by purplish blue banners depicting silver diamonds and three crossed swords. What was more, the signs on the wall were in griffish and thestralese, as well as some strange language Twilight hadn’t ever seen before.

Slowly Twilight began walking through the ruins towards the doors to the outside, passing by more skeletons. Some wore tattered clothes, others wore uniforms of some kind. Had wherever Twilight was been destroyed in a war? She let out a yelp as her vision was suddenly flooded with what this place had looked like in the past, the mare looked down and saw she had stepped on some sort of Crystal Image Recorder clutched tightly by one of the skeletons on the floor. Twilight kicked it away and stepped back against a wall, only for one of the skeletons to shift and get stuck grabbing her leg.

The young woman shrieked and kicked the skeleton’s hand, shattering the brittle bone. Twilight panted heavily while she looked around, half expecting something to jump out of the shadows and get her. To her relief, nothing happened, the only sound she could hear was beating of her heart and her own ragged, frantic breaths. Twilight made her way to the doors as quickly as she could, not wanting to spend more time in the mass grave. Unfortunately, the outside wasn’t any better than the inside. Buildings were collapsed, skeletons were spread about, most of them were people or odd quadrupeds. Many of the strange military vehicles in the street were covered in rust and dirt, but Twilight could still make out the writing on the of them.

“Wonder what ODF stands for…” Twilight asked herself as she passed by the strange large metal vehicles, cringing slightly when she saw one of the skeletons trapped beneath a metal hatch. The woman continued walking, passing by several store fronts. Some had old looking toys, some had strange technology, and even a few had interesting pieces of tattered clothing on melted mannequins. The mare stopped near one of the windows and looked at a gown that seemed to be designed for pegasi. Even in ruins, it had a haunting beauty to it. It was protected by one of the few still intact windows. Twilight could see her reflection in the glass, but there something else behind her.. It looked like an alicorn in height, but lacked the horn and wings.. What was worrying though was the figure seated atop the back, staring at her.

Twilight whirled around and found herself staring up at a human figure, it wore a thick long black leather coat and rugged looking clothes that matched the uniforms Twilight had seen on some of the skeletons. Its face was hidden by a fear inducing gas mask that wheezed as glowing red eye lenses stared at her coldly. A black hood hid the rest of the figure’s head, and it sat upon the back of what looked like a massive draft horse. The horse had more expressive eyes than normal horses, its muzzle and mane were black while the rest of it was a golden tannish color.

“Um… Hello?” Twilight said nervously, but the figure simply continued to stare at her. “Um… C-Can you understand me?” The figure nodded slowly, hauntingly slowly in its movements. “Can you help me? I don’t know where I am…” The figure slowly extended a gloved hand and pointed with a single finger at a sign. “The Onorussian Archives? What does that mean? What happened to Equestria?” The figure silently gestured around them at the ruins. “But… How? I… I don’t understand? Can’t you talk?” The figure simply stared at her, seconds later they flicked the reins on the large horse and began slowly riding away. “Please! I can’t stay here forever!”

All the figure did was shrug as it got further away, Twilight grunted and began rushing along to catch up to her only possible help in this strange world. The figure seemed to ignore her as it rode along, as if it deemed the princess unimportant. Just as suddenly as it had started riding away, the figure paused and held a hand to the side of its head. In the distance Twilight could hear the sound of explosions and gunfire, the figure suddenly snapped the reins and began riding off towards the noise. Twilight yelled, but the figure didn’t stop, so the woman had no choice but to give chase. She grunted and yelped as she rushed past destroyed buildings and vehicles in pursuit of the figure on horseback.

Twilight stopped when she heard the gunfire become louder and louder, she passed by a bookstore she remembered, only it had been bombed out and burned. Ahead of her was Canterlot Central Park, but the normally green grass was replaced by mud. There were trenches dug in the earth facing each other as bullets flew forward from both sides. One side had a flag raised, the same flag that Twilight had seen in the ruins of the archives. The other side had their own flag, an Equestrian one. Twilight hid behind a concrete barrier as she watched bullets and arcane bolts fly past in both direction.

The rumble of engines echoed through the city as rusted tanks charged each other, rolling over the trenches towards the Equestrian side. Twilight gasped as she saw several dozen figures on horseback riding along with the tanks, wielding swords as they charged against machine guns. The woman watched as the lead rider slashed an Equestrian soldier’s chest open. The Equestrians seemed to be mixes of horses and people, they wore different uniforms and gas masks. The lead figure wore a mask like those of the Equestrians, though it was clear he was human, the mask had white teeth sketched on its front.

He wore a heavy black jacket, and Twilight could make out a serpent tattoo on his right forearm. She knew that to mean he was a follower of Discord, right beside him was the figure that Twilight had first seen when she arrived. The figure rode as close as possible, waving its own sword as the Equestrians began to fall back from their trench. Twilight gasped as the tanks opened fire with their own machine guns, cutting down the retreating forces as they scrambled out of their trench. Twilight watched as one of the wounded began crawling towards the bookstore, groaning in pain as he tried to get away from the charge. The lead rider broke away as he saw the wounded soldier, riding up next to the man and hopping off the back of his horse as screams from the other retreating troops began to die off.

“Voyna zakanchivayetsya tvoyey smert'yu!” The rider shouted harshly as he drew a revolver from his jacket and leveled it at the Equestrian’s head. The wounded soldier rolled onto his back and put his hands up, Twilight could see fear in his eyes.

“Please! Please no! I have a family!” The soldier pleaded.

“We all had families before your King started this war! You will pay the price for his arrogance!” The man roared with a heavily accented voice before he pulled the trigger, Twilight screamed as the wounded soldier’s head exploded into a cloud of red mist and gore. Her scream caught the attention of the killer, and the man leveled his revolver in her direction. Before anything could happen though, Twilight saw the figure from earlier hop off their horse and rush over. They grabbed the man’s arm and forced him to point the gun at the ground.

“Pozhaluysta, Al'tair ... Voyna zakonchilas', nakonets ... Vam ne nuzhno yeye ubivat'.” A woman’s voice rasped from behind the mask of the second figure, Twilight watched the killer slowly slip his weapon back into his holster. She and the second figure looked at one another before the second figure reached up and pushed her hood back, then she removed her gasmask. Twilight found herself staring at a Zebra woman, her chocolate brown skin and dark hair made it clear she was of Zebrican descent. The zebra woman held her hands out, her palms showing. “My ne khotim, chtoby ty vredilsya ... Idi syuda.” She said in a quiet voice while the Killer rider stood behind her with his arms crossed. It dawned on Twilight that they were speaking Griffish, or some sort of dialect, as she was fluent in Griffish… She couldn’t make out words she normally could.

“Ne obizhay menya ... Ya boyus'.” Twilight replied nervously, hoping they would understand her. “Mozhete li vy govorit' na obshchem yazyke?” The two looked a little surprised that she knew parts of their language.

“Yes… A little.” The Zebrican woman replied. “Not remember much… Otherwise... Would have said more, when first meet.” Twilight sighed quietly, she was compartmentalizing the fact that someone had just had their head blown off in front of her, replacing that stress with a sense of accomplishment. She was alive, and she was finally getting to talk to someone. “I called Cassidy, this tribe mate Altair.” The man was about to say something, but stopped and held a hand to his ear before he climbed back onto his horse and began galloping away. “Come closer…” Twilight nervously moved closer, as she had nowhere else to go, she stepped far around the dead body and other skeletons on the ground. “War… Finally over…” Cassidy said as she looked down at the dead soldier.

“How long…?” Twilight asked, wondering just how long this world had been at war.

“Thousand years…” Cassidy replied quietly “Since youngling… When world still green…” Twilight looked floored by the statement, making Cassidy notice just how clean her clothes looked and just how odd she appeared. “You… Look like green worldling…”

“I’m not from here!” Twilight said in a bit of a frantic voice. “This isn’t my world, I was just experimenting with an old spell and ended up here!” Cassidy hummed softly and put a hand on Twilight’s shoulder, it was a comforting hand… It reminded Twilight of how Celestia would make her feel when she was still young… “Can... Can you help me get home?”

“We will see… Tribe must celebrate… War is finally over… Ancestors can rest.” Cassidy said as she squeezed Twilight’s shoulder. “You… Come with Cassidy.” The woman pulled her mask back on and flipped her hood into position. It was at this point that Twilight realized just how tall Cassidy was, she was nearly seven and a half feet tall, with large muscles… Down right amazonian. “Soon you learn our language… Common difficult… Has not been spoken in thousand years, save for by my mate…”

“A-Alright…” Twilight said shakily as the massive woman lead the scared girl to her horse, Cassidy lifted the woman like she weighed nothing onto the back of the horse. The horse whinnied as Cassidy climbed on as well and gave the reins a slight tug. They began riding along through the wreckage of the final battle, Twilight could tell that this war had been intensely destructive, but what shocked her more was that the final battle had been so… Small. It was practically a skirmish, and yet, somehow it signified the end of a thousand year conflict. “Y-You said you were here when this started, how…?”

“Same reason we so big.” Cassidy replied as she gestured to the other men and women on the battlefield, all of the women seemed taller than the men, but that didn’t mean the men were weaklings. They all had muscles like boulders and scarred exteriors. “Our species not native… Magic has this effect on us… make us live long time... and this is effect on natives…” Twilight saw the woman pat the horse on the neck. “Thousand years radiation… Native race reduced to this… We care for them, because we know… What used to be.”

“So… Will you tell me what caused all this?” Twilight asked, Cassidy simply nodded as they continued riding through the ruins of the city. There were destroyed cars and trucks in every street, there had been a great panic before the city had been hit, meaning that all these people had known the end was coming. As they got closer to the ruins of Canterlot Castle it became clear that this war had been more than destructive, it had been down right brutal. The castle proper was gone, all that remained were a couple walls around the courtyard. The gates were decorated with tattered blue flags, and two old tanks were parked outside. The sound of drums and horns inside the gates caught Twilight’s attention, but only after she noticed a line of Equestrian skulls that had been mounted on the top of the gate.

The holes in the walls were filled in with the remains of cars and other bits of salvage, they were lit by lanterns and strings of tea candles. The smell of a large fire wafted over the walls, as well as cooking meat and what smelled like Coyote… A hallucinogenic drug that diamond dogs in Twilight’s world often smoked.

“My mate has already returned with news of victory…” Cassidy said as the gates were pulled open for her and her passenger. Twilight saw that many of the women beyond the gate were topless, showing off both their muscles and other assets. “You will come, celebrate, and then we help you best we can…”

“Very well…” Twilight said as she blushed at the sight of so many topless women, she noticed that many of the men were watching them closely as well. “May I ask… Why are they topless…?”

“Some of their mates die in battle… They seek new ones.” Cassidy replied, she noticed Twilight’s odd expression. “We take more than one mate… When one die, we remember them by filling their place in the herd.” Cassidy smiled as she watched two men begin fighting for the affection of a particularly tall woman. “I can have only one mate in my clan, chieftess is only allowed one mate, but many children.”

“Chieftess? So… You’re in charge?” Twilight asked, Cassidy shrugged as they rode up to an semi trailer that had been decorated with grafitti and shining pieces of metal. It was well guarded, and sat at the center of the courtyard, the other parts of the area had smaller shacks and houses. “And you have children?”

“Yes, all grown now… Or dead.” Cassidy seemed to say both statements with pride. “They die well, fight with honor.” The massive woman slipped off her horse and lowered Twilight down to the ground. “With war over, we focus on rebuild and hunt… Need many help. Prove self worthy, may be allowed to take mate.” Cassidy said in a joking tone, at least, Twilight hoped it was joking. “Now… I stop baby you, no more common… You learn our tongue.” Twilgiht was about to protest, but something told her that would be a bad idea… Perhaps it was the two men with guns. As much as Cassidy had helped her so far, these were still people she had seen brutally killing less than an hour before. “Prikhodite i yedite s nami, delites' trofeyami voyny!” Twilight was able to actually understand a little of that, the basic gist at least… Cassidy wanted her to join in a meal of some kind, her stomach growled as the smell of cooking meat wafted into the woman’s nose.

“Khorosho?” Twilight replied questioningly, which she hoped meant ‘Okay?’. Cassidy laughed before she patted the woman on the shoulder and gestured for her to approach the massive bonfire at the center of the tribal compound. A manticore of all things was being roasted on a spit, turned over the flames by five strong men and two strong women. Twilight walked towards them with a bit of apprehension, thinking about how different this world seemed from her own. For one, humans weren’t the native inhabitants, ponies were, and even they didn’t seem like the only ones. The ponies had been turned to horses by the radiation, and yet the humans had become… superhuman.

Twilight was pulled from her thoughts as one of the men offered her a slab of meat on a crude plate, the woman took it with a smile and a nod, which the man returned before going back to cooking the meat. Twilight took her meat back over to where Cassidy was, the chieftess was now sitting with her mate, cuddled up against him. Both looked like they had seen some wear and tear, and with his mask now removed, Cassidy’s mate had a clearly deformed cheek from bullet wound… As if he had shot himself and missed. To be honest, despite the fact that she was far from home and had witnessed such horrendous things in such a short time… Twilight was fascinated. She was getting a glimpse of what society might look like after a cataclysm, or even what early society looked like, even going so far as getting to know the power players.

The woman sat near Cassidy and her mate, Altair if Twilight recalled correctly, though they seemed far more interested in one another than the strange offworlder they had taken into their compound. She took mental notes as she saw the tribal rituals that seemed to go on among these superhumans, the dancing, the singing, the various nuances to attracting mates, and how they all seemed to mourn their dead. Twilight was particularly drawn in by a large statue made of rusted metal, depicting a crude warrior. Many topless women were kneeling near it, as if in some sort of prayer, though Twilight could tell they were chanting something over and over again…

“Occisor! Occisor! Occisor! Occisor!” They seemed to say over and over again, it was something that Twilight had never heard before, she wasn’t even sure it was the same language she was being forced to learn. Twilight let her plate rest on a nearby table as she stood up, letting the others have their moments as she made her way through the compound towards a more industrial looking portion of the area. Those that were in this area seemed less interested in the celebration, they were large men wearing ragged clothes and leather aprons. Twilight stopped outside one of the shacks, watching inside as a man hammered a piece of glowing hot metal.

Twilight was struck by the realization that this was a civilization still using both guns and swords, even after so many centuries they somehow kept themselves supplied. The woman could see dozens of more swords lining the walls of the shack, all of them very much similar in size and construction. Twilight looked around and saw that many of the others were producers or armor, chain and plate male, barding, helmets, all in the style of the ancient crusades, all bearing a moon emblem of some sort. The woman continued to examine the area, occasionally getting odd looks from the locals, most likely due to her clothes and lack of dirt.

Eventually she found her way back to the main area where things were starting to heat up with the locals, Twilight made her way back towards Chieftess Cassidy to see what was going on, as more men seemed to be fighting while more women watched closely. The chieftess and her husband had ceased their own kissing fest to watch what was happening, Cassidy waved Twilight over and gestured for her to sit down next to her.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked, Cassidy gave her a flat look. “Um… Uh…” Twilight did her best to remember her Griffish, and then hoped that her dialect was correct. “Chto tam proiskhodit?”

“Eto vrem-ating time.” Cassidy replied, Twilight felt a jolt of satisfaction go through her as she managed to understand the chieftess with a bit more ease. Wait… Had the woman just said ‘Mating time’? Judging by what was going on, Twilight was pretty sure that was the case “Posle kazhdogo our tribe replenishes our Chisla s periodom mating.” From what Twilight was able to make out, this was how they celebrated the end of a battle, by mating to replenish their numbers, which made sense for a tribal society such as there’s… Twilight had to stop herself and remember that they hadn’t always been as such, in fact the chieftess and her husband were some of the remnants of a world that had once been civilized. “ Dobro pozhalovat' to join in!”

Twilight blushed faintly, now noticing that a couple of the men in the group were looking at her, of course she was going to turn them down… Then again, it wasn’t like anyone was interested in her back home, there were suitors sure, but they were more interested in her position than anything else. Twilight could see that these men were primal, they were interested in her for simple reasons, reasons that fascinated Twilight… Still, she told herself not to give in. She hadn’t even been here a day, she wasn’t ready to give in to the way these people lived quite yet.

“Perhaps another time…” Twilight said politely, Chieftess Cassidy nodded understandingly before she stood up and threw her arms out to the side. She spoke in a commanding voice towards the sky, which was clear of clouds and allowed Twilight to see hundreds of stars as the sunlight finally disappeared from view. “My obrashchayemsya k bogine Marii! Make our bodies fertile, so that our tribe may grow!”

“Occisor! Occisor! Occisor!” The rest of the group chanted back.

“Pust' nachinayetsya sparivaniye!” Cassidy shouted, Twilight blushed as the fighting came to a stop. Suddenly each man had a woman or two approaching him, and not in a casual way. Twilight felt weak in the knees and sat down beside Cassidy and her husband, who were also watching the scene unfold. The woman quickly turned her attention to the city around them, not wanting to focus on the orgy taking place right in front of her. Canterlot was certainly in ruins, but the tribal compound had made use of those ruins somehow. From the looks of things, it had started out as an actual military facility, but over the course of centuries, it had devolved into a simple tribal village.

Twilight forced herself to stand up, as she couldn’t ignore what was happening any further. She looked at Cassidy and her husband, both of whom seemed to be enjoying the show. The woman patted the Chieftess on the shoulder and gestured to the semi trailer shack, the amazonian nodded with a slight smile before going back to the show. Twilight let out a pent up sigh and rushed into the shack, thankfully shutting out noise from outside and sparing her from watching. Twilight made her way to a table low to the ground, it seemed someone had brought her food in from outside and set it there for her. She looked for forks or knives, but didn’t find any, which in hindsight would’ve been a surprise. Twilight opted to eating her meat with her hands, the taste was a little off, but nothing that couldn’t be overcome.

It was here that Twilight’s situation dawned fully on her, she realized that she was in an entirely different world with no way of getting home, living among violent tribals that had sex en mass after going on killing sprees and prayed to some unknown fertility goddess that Twilight thought was named ‘Maria’, at least she hoped she had translated that correctly. The woman dropped her food and just sat there, letting thoughts of what had happened so far rattle around her head. She had seen a violent battle, then seen a post-apocalyptic society, followed by an orgy… It had been a long, tiring day… All she knew was that the solution to getting back to her world had to be somewhere, and perhaps she could rely on her new ‘friends’ to help her. That said, she was a princess, she would need to keep her cool until she found a way home… She would need to blend in, immerse herself in an entirely alien culture. She just hoped she could avoid getting roped into one of their post battle celebrations.

Twilight wolfed down the rest of her meal, no use in her going hungry after all. With her belly full, the woman stood up from her table and made her way to one of two beds she saw in the shack. One looked fancy and cushy, she assumed that belonged to the Chieftess and her husband, so Twilight decided to take the larger but simpler looking bed. The woman removed the glasses that had been perched on her nose and adjusted her clothes, her palms glowed softly as she refreshed the bubble of air around her, protecting herself once again from the arcane radiation that permeated the Canterlot ruins. Twilight sighed and laid down in the bed, pulling the blankets up over her while she closed her eyes and listened to the quiet noises that filled the shack, she just hoped that the next day would bring a better future.

Author's Note

Well, here it is, my attempt to get back in the saddle again. I wanted to do something different, but still wanted to use the old Lore and even characters from my previous stories, and this idea hit me while I was half asleep. I was planning on scrapping it, but then the story just sort of continued to write itself, and before I knew it I had over 4K words... Which is enough to tell me there's something to me. I hope you folks enjoy it, as this has really made me start to enjoy writing again.

Here's the song that kind of helped inspire this chapter. It has inspired chapters in the past, but I felt like this one really belonged here.

Distant Rumblings

Twilight quietly sighed as she sat beside a fire, Chieftess Cassidy and her husband were also there. The fire was located in the middle of a cloth tent with an exhaust hole cut at the top, and the sound of rain against the oil treated fabric was one that Twilight had never heard before, a soft thudding noise that muffled the usual sharp sound of rain. The woman watched as Cassidy looked over several ancient looking books and scrolls, they were all that the Chieftess could come up with in regards to getting Twilight home. The smaller woman had already read through several dozen papers and scrolls regarding teleportation spells like those Twilight had used.

Nothing had happened, there had been no help to be had so far, but that didn’t mean Twilight was going to give up. The woman continued to take papers and scrolls from Cassidy and her husband, though both of the tribal leaders had been nearly completely quiet since they had started looking through the papers. Twilight assumed it was out of respect for her focus, though the two of them had each had small hits of Coyote. Twilight’s clothes had gotten soaked by the rain, still she refused to take them off, as that would likely make some of the tribal men think she was looking for a mate of some kind.

In between her reading she would run through the Griffish dialect she knew in her head, adjusting her understanding to better communicate with her hosts. Cassidy seemed to be the talkative one, while her husband only seemed to speak when he was on the battlefield. It had made detecting how much common he knew difficult, especially since it seemed only the enemy of his tribe spoke it fluently. From what she had heard, they had been fighting the ‘Equestrian Usurpers’ for a millenia. Their worlds had merged when they had bombed on another with Thermo-Arcane weapons, which accounted for the Arcane radiation. These human’s had lost much of their history and past in the last thousand years, all that they knew was the war with the Equestrians… It had kept Twilight from revealing her true identity to Chieftess Cassidy and her spouse.

As Twilight continued to look around the tent, she found herself noticing sketches on the walls. Red figures of people in various activities, they reminded the woman of ancient cave art, but they were far more fresh and far more clear. They seemed to tell a story, the story of the Onorussian tribe from the looks of it. Cassidy noticed Twilight’s interest in the images and set down the scrolls she held, her eyes drifting to where Twilight was looking.

“Are you interested in the story?” The tall woman asked in Griffish, Twilight was glad she’d managed to understand it first without having to translate it in her head. She nodded to her host, prompting Cassidy to hum. “Many years ago, our world was lush and green… Ruled by a massive empire… Onorus, our home. All was peaceful, until one day… The off worlders attacked, in an effort to take our land.” Cassidy gestured to the corresponding images on the inside of the tent. “Great fire spread over the land… As you have been told. Turning it from green to grey. Many died.”

“The years that followed were bloody as well… My husband lost his parents to the off worlders, his parents were the former chiefs of our tribe.” Cassidy said quietly, she looked over at Altair with a sympathetic expression. “He vowed not to speak to anyone but the enemy until he had avenged their death… And so I have not heard his voice in nearly five hundred years…” She rubbed his shoulders, the man smiled, but he said nothing. “Now that the war has ended, we must find the last of the off worlders wherever they hide and wipe them out... Only then will we be rid of them. Only then will my husband’s voice speak for me again.”

“But… I’m an offworlder.” Twilight said nervously.

“You have not earned our ire.” Cassidy replied simply as she used a stick to adjust the wood burning in the fire. “You are not of the usurpers world.” Twilight let out a slight sigh at that, it seemed that these tribals at least had some semblance of common sense. “Speaking of… Have you made progress in seeking your return?” Twilight paused, then looked at the papers that she had already gone through. The ancient texts had yielded nothing, not even a mention of the spell she had used to enter this realm. With a sigh the woman shook her head. “I am afraid there is no more we can do to help then… These texts are all our tribe has in regards to words of the before era.”

“Could there be more out there?” Twilight asked, Cassidy shrugged.

“It took us many years to gather this many remnants… If there is more, it is likely to be very scarce…” Cassidy replied while gathering up the papers and scrolls before setting them aside. Twilight looked like a whipped dog at that point, all hope of going home seemed lost, or at the very least slim. “Do not give up hope, outsider… Perhaps your ancestors may help you.” Twilight raised an eyebrow, Cassidy lifted an old looking wooden pipe from the floor. It was stuffed with Coyote, the powerful drug was highly illegal in Equestria… “Smoke from this pipe, and your mind will open…” Twilight was about to decline, but… She had no other ideas at the moment, perhaps Cassidy was right, and the Coyote did seem to have relaxed her husband. The woman reached out and took the pipe, it smoldered as she brought it to her lips and took a very deep breath.

Almost instantly Twilight leaned back, feeling like gravity had lost its hold on her as she plummeted through what felt like an endless void. Dots of rainbow colors ran through her thoughts, dancing along like ballerinas to some sort of unhearable melody. Twilight felt good as she hurtled through the void, her arms outstretched over her head. Things seemed to be going well until suddenly a large snake appeared out of nowhere and coiled itself around her leg. Twilight tried to push it off, but the snake continued to slither up. It was gold and green, with a bright green fin… The emblem of Discord, the same that she had seen on Cassidy’s husband’s arm. Was the universe telling her that the man was the key to her escape, or that Discord was…

Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the snake vanished into a cloud of nothingness and the void began to fade back into reality. Twilight sat up, panting and sweating with her glasses askew, Cassidy was watching her with an almost… proud expression? Cassidy’s husband had left, and the fire had turned to embers… How long had Twilight been out? It felt like only a couple minutes, but seemed it had been much longer.

“Discord…” She blurted out. “I need to find Discord!” Cassidy hummed quietly before she shook her head and looked at the embers of the fire.

“He is an old one, he does not associate with us any longer.” The woman said softly, she looked back at Twilight. “The only one who may help you is Altair, but as you know… He is sworn to silence off the field of battle.”

“Can’t you force him or something?” Twilight asked desperately, Cassidy hummed again and looked back to the embers, nudging them around with the end of a stick.

“I could ask and he would likely say yes, but he has spent five hundred years keeping his word…” Cassidy looked once again at Twilight. “I will not ask him to throw that much effort away, even if it is to help someone.” Twilight was about to protest, but the look on Cassidy’s face told her that the matter wasn’t up for discussion, unless Twilight wanted to challenge a seven foot tall amazonian warrior. “You are welcome among us, offworlder, do not feel like you have no allies here… But you must know that we cannot drop our beliefs on a whim.”

“I… I understand…” Twilight said as she looked towards the embers of the fire. “Why are you so willing to help me, you don’t even know my name.” Cassidy smiled and gestured upwards to the roof, there were five images of large beings, Cassidy was pointing to a very feminine one which seemed to be holding an olive branch while a baby nursed at its chest.

“Goddess Maria teaches us that acceptance is important, especially in times of strife… So far, you have been peaceful towards our tribe, so we are bound to aid you to a point.” Cassidy said with a smile, Twilight felt her breath hitch in her throat as she looked at the five portraits above her. These were the tribal’s gods, she was finally being granted a chance to see what they believed in. “You wish to know more of the Occisors, offworlder?” Twilight could only nod. “Next to Maria is her Husband, leader of the gods, Dominic.” Twilight recognized the pose of the warrior beside Maria from the statue, his arms outstretched with what looked like a single eye at the center of his head. “He is the most powerful… The Colossus. The bringer of war and granter of honor, those of us that die in battle go to join his army of spirits.”

Cassidy went on to explain the other gods, there was Discord, who was pretty self explanatory. Then came Luna, goddess of the night and stars, another wife of Dominic. The fifth and final god was known as ‘Putin’. The god of trickery, deceit, and deception, he was depicted by a simple pyramid with an eye at the center that was opened wide, as if it could see all. Cassidy explained that there were many more gods, but that these were the five that she and Altair had asked to watch over them, it turned out that Altair’s parents had ‘ascended’ to godhood when they were killed five hundred years prior… Twilight didn’t much believe it, then again, who was she to tell someone what to believe, especially if one of the things it taught was NOT to kill people for being different.

“If you wish to know more, share another pipe with me… Though, perhaps don’t inhale so deeply, offworlder. You were out for nearly two hours, though you seemed to enjoy it.” Cassidy said with a slight giggle, Twilight rubbed her head and looked at the Chieftess quietly.

“I… I suppose, a little more wouldn’t hurt…” She said as she scooted a little closer, for some reason she felt drawn closer to the amazonian woman. Something about Cassidy reminded her of Celestia, perhaps her calm teaching voice, or maybe her openness to new ideas… Twilight paused and blushed faintly, there must’ve been something in that pipe that had made her a little warmer than usual. Then again, her rational mind was telling her that maybe she could let loose here, after all, here she didn’t have the reputation of princess to uphold… Despite all the violence and death, she was learning new things, and no one was grovelling around her… Sure, she wasn’t any closer to getting home, but there was no reason she couldn’t let her hair down while she waited for new leads. She could do whatever she wanted, give in to every whim without fear of bringing scandal to the royal office. “Or perhaps… We skip the pipe?”

“Mmm… I see you are a Consar.” Cassidy said with a smirk, Twilight raised an eyebrow. “All are affected by the pipe in different ways, some become brave, some become meek… Some prudish, and some, like you… Become adventurous.” The amazonian scooched a little closer to Twilight. “I am a Consar as well.” Twilight felt her heart skip a beat as the Chieftess put a gentle hand on Twilight’s cheek. “Don’t worry, my husband understands this about me…” Twilight looked at the pipe, was she having these thoughts because she was still under the effects of the Coyote? In all honesty, she didn’t care… She felt lonely and scared deep down, and here was someone who wanted to be with her.

“I-I’ve never done anything like-” Before Twilight could finish Cassidy had leaned closer and planted a kiss on her lips. Twilight felt the amazonian put a hand behind her head, holding her in place as the two kissed gently by the light of the embers. Just as Twilight was about to put her arms around Cassidy there was a commotion outside, the two of them broke the kiss, Cassidy smirking widely while Twilight awkwardly smiled back. The Chieftess stood up and moved to the tent entrance, she peeked outside to see what was happening. To Twilight’s surprise, the tall woman stepped out of the tent with a look of resolve on her face. Twilight followed her, the light from outside nearly blinded her. She blinked several times before she was able to see what was happening, there was a crowd of tribals around a wooden cage being pulled in by several soldiers, inside the cage was an bipedal Equestrian like those the Onorussians had been fighting… The only thing was that his uniform looked clean, and he wasn’t covered in dirt.

Rocks clattered against the side of the cage as it was pulled along, but those rocks stopped flying when the Chieftess approached the cage. Her husband stood beside it, appearing rather angry, as did the other tribal soldiers. Twilight stood back and watched as the soldiers gave their report to Cassidy, at which point Twilight saw the woman’s expression become one of anger while she looked at the captured Equestrian. Twilight felt a chill run through her body as the Chieftess grabbed a sword from one of the soldiers and held it high above her head, shouting something that Twilight couldn’t quite understand.

“Occisor Vult!” She bellowed, though Twilight had no idea what it meant. The soldiers among the crowd began to shout and cheer, the Equestrian in the cage looked absolutely petrified as some began to rock the cage on the cart it was resting on. Twilight pushed her way through the crowd to get closer to the cage, she could tell just from looking at the stallion that he was young, no more than eighteen. It was likely the tribals would call for him to be executed, and as much as Twilight was willing to do to remain in their good graces, standing idly by while a young man was needlessly executed was not something she would do.

“Stop!” Twilight shouted loudly as she got to the cage, doing her best to push the more bloodthirsty tribals away. “Chieftess, please!” Cassidy raised an eyebrow at being addressed by her title, she looked over and saw just what it was Twilight was trying to do. The chieftess wasn’t a fan of executions either, but the truth was that keeping prisoners would put a strain on their resources… “Please, chieftess! Spare his life!”

“I will spare him, but only so long as you can provide for him.” Cassidy said sternly, her voice silencing the crowd. “We have little resources as it is, I cannot afford to give anymore to our enemy… He will be in your charge. Do you accept these terms?!” Twilight nodded, prompting Cassidy to gesture to her guards to push the crowd back. Twilight saw that the Equestrian couldn’t understand what was happening, so she moved towards the cage as the other soldiers rushed off towards the more industrial portion of the village. All of them chanted loudly, and Twilight could see they were preparing for battle by pulling on their armor and grabbing swords. They began to look like a death squad of samurai as time went on, but Twilight was more concerned with the responsibility she had just taken on.

[♠]

The sun was setting near the small village of Ponista, Equestria was surviving despite losses in Canterlot against the last remnants of the Onorussian tribes to the north. The mountain may have belonged to the tribals, but the meadows surrounding it, which now flourished with crops, would belong to the village of Ponista. For those that had settled it under the banner of Equestria, it was their greatest hope for a decent future. Of course, that meant that they needed to protect themselves, and that started simply enough with them sending out scouts. So far all of them had returned, except for the one that the Ponista City Council had sent to the North. They were mostly simple farmers, with a small contingent of guards to protect them. That meant that if the Onorussians decided to attack, there would be little for them to do to defend themselves.

One young colt didn’t see things this way as he ran around near a hill on the edge of town, dressed in rugged farm clothes and carrying a toy soldier, he was pretending to march like the guards that paraded through town the first day that all the buildings had been completed and the crops had been planted. The colt ran up to the top of the hill to get a better look at his new home, much better than the little shack they had been living in to the south west. He stood there for several minutes before he heard a noise behind him, a sort of snorting noise. Slowly the colt turned around and found himself looking at a horde of Onorussians on horseback, all of them wielding swords and wearing terrifying armor. At the head of the horde was a single man with a mask that covered half his face and was decorated with fangs.

The Colt began sprinting back home as soon as he saw them, the sound of drums echoed over the land as he continued to run, the Onorussians all coming to a stop atop the hill and looking down at the small settlement. The sun was setting on the horizon while the guards in the village began to mobilize at the sound of the drums, the Colt ran past them towards his house where he mother was waiting. His father meanwhile was joining the town guards as they rushed to take positions to defend themselves from the Onorussians. More time passed, and gradually the town began to become surrounded by men on horseback in the thick armor of the Onorussian Samurai.

Silence settled over the village as panicked settlers peeked out their windows at the Onorussians. It was a sudden yell of the man with the fang mask that kicked off the battle, he thrust his sword forward and seconds later the light of the sun began to grow dim. The guards looked up as they heard a soft whistling noise, hundreds of arrows rained down on the village, skewering the thirty guards that had run out into the open. The citizens of the village watched as another volley of arrows fell upon them, but these arrows were different, they carried a flame with them. Thatch roof houses caught fire, as did crops and grass. Villagers rushed out of their homes with whatever it was they could carry, screaming and crying as the Onorussians began to torch their homes.

The only small mercy they received was that it was only one of the Onorussian tribes, if the tribes ever united it would spell disaster for the last remnants of Equestria hiding to the south. The houses and buildings burned on and on as the sun finally set, the black smoke of battle becoming hidden by the darkness of night. Like ghosts, the Onorussians rode off into the night without a trace, save for the tracks of their horses in the dirt.

[♠]

Razor Grass sat nervously in the tent that the Onorussians had put him in, the embers of a fire were nestled in the center of the room, giving the stallion just enough light to see the drawings on the inside of the tent. He had seen Onorussian tents after they had been burned, but not before, it was an interesting experience to see what they looked like on the inside. He was more interested in the fact that the bottom of the tent was staked to the ground tightly, meaning there was no real hope of him slipping out without being noticed. As he sat there he could hear chanting and cheering from outside as what sounding like thundering hooves, which could only mean that his village had been attacked and likely destroyed by the tribal heathens that held him captive… Why one had begged for his life was a mystery, but he didn’t much care, so long as he was still breathing.

The stallion looked over as the flap to the tent opened and the woman who had begged for his life entered, she carried a single slab of meat and two trays, as well as a knife. She was shorter than him, which was odd for an Onorussian, as most of their women towered over Equestrians. Her clothes also appeared more refined, like those of the Equestrians, rather than the rough and rugged clothes of an Onorussian savage. The woman sat down near the embers and pushed a couple fresh logs on, the fire began to pick up, and once it was back to its normal strength she began to cook the slab of meat.

“Oh, great, you’re going to make me eat dirty flesh?” The stallion mused to himself, he didn’t expect the woman to glare at him.

“If you aren’t hungry don’t eat.” She replied in Common Tongue, something that barely anyone but Equestrians could understand. The woman adjusted her glasses, she actually had glasses, and looked back at Razor Glass. “Just know that you either starve to death or they execute you, so please… Eat.”

“I would rather starve than eat that filth.” Razor Grass replied harshly, the woman scowled and simply continued to cook the meat anyway. “Didn’t you hear me?”

“Well just because you don’t want any doesn’t mean I won’t have some.” She said back simply as she flipped the slab of meat, it hadn’t dawned on Razor Grass that the woman was sharing her food with him. “No wonder they don’t like you people, you’re rude. I’m Twilight by the way, thanks for asking.”

“We’re rude?! They’re savages! Look at them, living in tents and shacks!” Razor Grass shouted, the woman scowled at him intensely. “But of course you don’t see them that way, they’re your kind.”

“Actually no, they aren’t.” Twilight replied simply. “I’m not from this place… I’m an… Offworlder? I think that’s how it translates to Common.” Razor Grass was about to tell her she was full of it, but it would explain how she knew common and wore such refined clothes. “As for savages, so far from what I’ve heard you're the ones that ruined this world. If your kind hadn’t attacked them thousands of years ago none of this would have happened.”

“We wouldn’t need to keep fighting them if they just let us resettle OUR land! We won the ancient war, that means it’s ours!” Razor Grass protested, Twilight shook her head at him as she continued tending to her meat.

“You don’t know, do you?” Twilight asked. “They’re still fighting the ancient war, they never stopped.” Razor Grass seemed a little surprised by that, he could’ve sworn that he had been taught the Onorussians had lost the war. “I’ve only been here a day or so, but so far I’ve had no problems with them, they’ve been very helpful… They even spared you because I asked, so if you wouldn’t mind not being a prick, I’d appreciate it.” Razor Grass scowled and looked to the side, his stomach growling slightly as the smell of cooking meat entered his nostrils.

“Alright… Maybe I’ll have a little.” Razor Grass said begrudgingly, Twilight nodded and cut him half of the meat which was now finished cooking. She put it on a plate and pushed it towards him, he looked at it for a couple seconds, trying to build up his stomach’s courage. “So, you’ve been here for only a day and they just… Took you in?” Twilight nodded. “You said you needed their help, help with what?”

“Getting home… I cast an ancient spell and ended up here.” Twilight admitted as she began to eat her food. “It was an accident, but still, here I am. They’ve shown me every ancient scroll they’ve recovered, but so far I haven’t seen much of anything.”

“Of course not, everyone knows we have more scrolls than them.” Razor Grass said with a superior tone. “If you wanted real help, you’d have been better off coming to us than these heathens.” He watched as Twilight began to eat the slab of meat without any sort of fork, which was a little disgusting to watch. “You seem like a refined female, we could help each other…” Twilight looked at him with a raised eyebrow before she wiped her lips. “Help me get out of here and I’ll take you with me to our main city, they’ve got more scrolls there than you could shake a stick at!”

“Even if I was to believe a word of that, you would be asking me to turn against people who have used what little spare resources they have to help me.” Twilight said flatly before she took another bite of her meat, Razor Grass sat there for a couple seconds, trying to think of a way to convince the woman to help him.

“Well… If these people really aren’t savages, you would be able to tell us… Who knows, maybe you could finally hammer out a peace agreement between us?” The stallion said with a raised eyebrow. “After all, you’re one of the only ones that knows our language and theirs.” That got Twilight’s attention, mainly because she knew it was likely true. She was the only one that could speak both Common and had a chance of fully understanding the Onorussian Dialect of Griffish. If she could get both sides to the table, she could possibly bring an end to a thousand year conflict… If that wasn’t a job for the Princess of Friendship, she didn’t know what was. What was more, if both sides were at peace, she’d have more resources to find a way home.“So, what do you say?”

“I say… Let me talk with the Chieftess first.” Twilight announced, Razor Grass sighed… He had been hoping this female would be impulsive like other Onorussian females, but she wasn’t, she wasn’t about to rush out the door with him in tow. “Now… You go ahead and eat, I have unfinished business to attend to with the Chieftess.”

Author's Note

So here's another chapter for you lovely dovelies, I'm liking developing a new culture from old lore, it feels like fanfiction within fanfiction, if that makes sense? Whatever it is, I enjoy how this is going. I realize now that I've become a bit more infatuated with ancient mankind, as opposed to Sci-Fi stuff that I used to be into. Anyway, here's your clip of the day. I was reading about the Atomic Bomb, Albert Einstein's quote stating that 'WW3 will be fought with Atom Bombs, but WW4 will be fought with sticks and stones' while listening to this song, and I was like... 'Whoa'.

Mind the Gap

Twilight sighed as she stepped outside the Chieftess’ shack and greeted the warm morning sun, the sound of the village waking up was already in full swing. Blacksmiths hammered away at their craft while farmers tended their small plots of land, children ran back and forth, some playing with toy swords while others were simply making things up as they went. Off in the distance Twilight could see the warriors of the tribe training, men whom she had simply dubbed ‘Samurai’ due to their armor and fighting style. In this world, that word had no real meaning, and so she could apply it as she saw fit. It seemed to be what the Equestrians called them as well, if anything Razor Grass said was to be believed.

The stallion in question was being allowed outside of the tent he had been assigned, stretching his legs and adjusting his dirty green uniform. Twilight didn’t much care for him, he was very much arrogant and reminded her of all the worst parts of home. Twilight was startled when she felt a presence beside her, but calmed down when she realized it was just the Chieftess coming out of the shack. Twilight had opted not to put on her dirty clothes and had borrowed some of the Chieftess’ clothes, needless to say they were very much big on her.

“Good morning, Offworlder.” Cassidy said warmly, Twilight turned and smiled back at her. “I see your charge is stretching his legs… You are certain you want to continue sparing his life?” Twilight nodded quietly and went back to looking at Razor Grass. “Strange… For an Equestrian to spare a life.” Twilight froze, she had never mentioned she was from Equestria, only that she was from another world… “Come now, how dumb do you take me for? Your name is Twilight, you have purple hair, you are bookish… I know who you are…”

“I don’t take you as dumb at all, Chieftess… I had just worried how you would react knowing who I was.” Twilight replied respectfully, Cassidy simply chuckled and patted Twilight on the back. “What?”

“Deeds speak louder than names or flags.” Cassidy said, Twilight looked over at the tall woman and noted that now she seemed to wear an odd gold necklace and crown. She hadn’t noticed them before, likely because things were on her mind. “You spare the life of someone you have never met, you speak to me only with respect, you do not shy away from things you view as taboo... You may be from Equestria, but you are no Equestrian.”

“I… I guess you’re right.” Twilight replied with a slight sigh. “You know, back home I’m a Princess? In charge of all sorts of things, loved and revered by the masses… But my every move is scrutinized…” The woman crossed her arms and looked at the ground. “I’m half tempted just to stay here, none of that immense responsibility, just… Simple things.”

“You are welcome to, Offworlder… If you perform certain rights, you may be accepted as a member of our tribe.” Cassidy said with a smile. “We are not, as the Equestrian’s say, ‘Choosy’... So long as you stand for honor, you are among friends… And you, Twilight, have shown you stand for honor.”

“As much as I appreciate that, I still need to return home… They need me.” Twilight said with a quiet sigh. “That said, I would love to learn more about your culture… And perhaps even his.” The woman pointed to Razor Grass. “He made a proposal to me, you know?”

“I assumed he would.” Cassidy replied.

“He also made a good point… This war of yours, it has been raging for centuries…” Twilight turned to Cassidy with a serious expression. “I’m an outsider, Chieftess… Maybe the Equestrians would listen to me, maybe together we could bring peace to your world…?” The Chieftess smiled sadly at Twilight, then shook her head and looked at the ground.

“I fear that is not possible…” The woman admitted. “I want peace, that is true, but it isn’t just up to me. There are thirty more tribes of Onorus, all on their own, without common leadership any treaty we sign could offend them… Make them come after us.” Her gaze turned towards the training grounds in the distance. “The irony is that the one man who could unite them, my husband, is the one who wants peace the least.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“The Equestrians killed his parents centuries ago, as you know… As much as we love each other, I cannot replace what he lost, and he cannot move on…” Cassidy sighed and rubbed the back of her neck tiredly. “Not until he feels satisfied that his duty as their son has been fulfilled, until he finally breaks his silence…” The Chieftess took a deep breath. “For us, living for so long is its own curse… For Altair, knowing that his parents could still be with him now if not for being killed is what enrages him the most. That is why he only speaks on the battlefield, so that the enemy may know the pain in his voice.”

“Don’t you think that maybe it’s time you made him move on.” Twilight asked. “If you allow him to continue to mourn he will never feel better, he will never feel like he has fulfilled his duty…” Cassidy was about to retort, but stopped herself and hummed.

“Perhaps you are correct…” The Chieftess admitted. “I will have words with him later, when he has finished his training. For now I believe you have an Equestrian to tend to, so I’ll leave you to it.” Twilight nodded and watched as the woman began walking away, only to pause. “And see the town tailor, he will have more appropriate clothing made for you. Tell him I sent you.”

“Yes, Chieftess.” Twilight replied as she watched the woman continue to walk away, that left her standing on the steps of the shack, watching Razor Grass with an uncertain expression.

Razor Grass groaned to himself as he continued to pace back and forth under the watchful eyes of every Onorussian in spitting distance. His uniform was dirty, his stomach was unsettled by the meat, and worst of all the Onorussians smelled offensive to his sensitive nostrils. At least there was a tactical advantage to his suffering, the Onorussians were training out in the open, letting him see how they became such powerful warriors on the battlefield. To his surprise, all they had been doing seemed to be simple drills… Of course, their swords didn’t look like training blades.

“Dear Celestia…” Razor Grass muttered to himself as he realized that they were sparring with actual swords, and with each blow they looked like they were trying to kill. It made sense they were so tough, they trained with the constant threat of death in each slash of the blade, but Equestrians weren’t nearly that barbaric. Even if it improved fighting skills, they would never stoop to putting their own trainees in danger. Razor also managed to get a glimpse of a smaller group of warriors, judging by their immense height and armor size he was able to gleen that they were none other than Onorussian Dragoons. Dragoons made use of thousand year old technology, items known as ‘Actuators’ which gave them more speed and strength with their swords… Even they were fighting one another.

Razor Grass sighed, he knew that sooner or later he would have to make an escape from these barbarians. He could wait for his fellow soldiers to come to his rescue, or he could take the more subtle approach and try to sneak away. For now though, he would simply bide his time and observe as much as he could until the moment presented itself. The stallion watched as a group of women walked past wearing light clothing and carrying spears… They were bigger and taller, that made them better for hunting, but the men were better coordinated and ferocious, making them better fighters… Razor Grass had to give them some credit, Onorussian women took pride in what they did, some mares in Equestrian settlements didn’t know their place.

The stallion removed his hat and adjusted his light green mane before he set his hat back on his head, shading his brown fur from the sun overhead. He just hoped his people were coming for him soon, he didn’t know how much longer he could stand to be around the heathens.

[♠]

The sound of rumbling hooves and creaking carriages echoed over the landscape to the south of Canterlot mountain. Half a dozen carts and carriages were being towed along by oxen while the soldiers of the Equestrian Remnants marched along with their muskets and sabres. Some rode on pony-back, while others simply road along in the supply wagons. The survivors of the Ponista massacre had been found roaming the fields in search of help, and the Equestrian government had deemed it necessary to send an appropriate response against the Onorussian tribals on the mountain. They would also be searching for any captives that might have been taken, specifically the son of an Equestrian Colonel, a stallion by the name of Razor Grass.

The marks of Onorussian territory were all around the soldiers as they continued to trudge onwards, tattered Equestrian uniforms were nailed to trees, stained with the blood of their owners. Skulls and other limbs were mounted on pikes, a truly sickening sight for the fresh troops that had been dispatched to deal with the tribals. For many of them it was just more evidence that the Onorussians would be better off under Equestrian Rule, or barring that, simply eliminated from the equation. Of course, it was likely the Onorussians felt the same way about the Equestrians.

The leader of the group of soldiers was General Custard, a light yellow pegasus with a big mustache and fresh pressed uniform. He didn’t expect the enemy to put up much of a fight, not when they were exposed to the latest designed technology in the Equestrian arsenal. Based off of ancient schematics, the ‘Gatling Gun’ had finally become a feasible weapon, and Custard would be the first to get to use them in combat against the Onorussians. The stallion road atop a horse, one of the mutated creatures that had once been sentient before exposure to high doses of Arcane Radiation… For some reason, only the Equestrians and Onorussians seemed unphased by the otherwise lethal byproduct of the war that still lingered from thousands of years prior.

“General, sir. One of our scouts reports sighting an Onorussian group in the trees… Hunters, from the look of it.” A soldier said from the ground, Custard looked down and took the paper report from his hand. With a smirk the general read the report, then handed it back. “Orders, sir?”

“What else? Shoot them.” Custard said coldly.

“But sir… They’re just hunters, they aren’t the ones that attacked the village.” The soldier said, Custard glared at him. “A-Alright, sir… I’ll give the order.” With that the soldier had rushed off to inform the others, meanwhile the General looked towards the trees and spotted the occasional move of a bush… It took a trained eye, but Custard had written the book on fighting the Onorussian Tribals, he could practically smell the women watching him and his men. Custard glared at the treeline, he was so engrossed that he didn’t hear the first scream of pain. He only noticed when his horse whined and toppled over, Custard scrambled back to his feet and drew his sabre as he looked around. The hunting party had rushed out of the tall grass, and numerous horses had fallen prey to insidious spike pits that had been dug in the ground. Custard looked towards the treeline and was shocked to see only a deer and her fawn exit in the open.

“Ambush!” Custard shouted as a spear was thrown past his head and struck another one of the soldiers in the chest. “Come on, lads! Get the guns ready!” All around him Custard could hear screaming mixing with the bellowing cries of the pack of Onorussian hunters. His men, tough and brave, quickly unlatched the gatling guns from their mounts and began loading them. Custard meanwhile began to fight one of the Onorussian women, his sabre clattering against the hardwood of her spear. The stallion managed to gain the upperhand and ran his sword through the gut of the large woman, he then proceeded to twist it, sending the tribal to the ground while gushing blood and crying out in agony.

The roar of the gatling guns eclipsed all other sounds on the field, bullets tore into the attackers, sending some of the others searching for cover. Those that didn’t get away were cut down in droves, and those not hit by the gatling guns were shot in the back with muskets by the surviving members of the military convoy. Custard stood imperiously beside one of the guns, grinning as he watched the tribals finally being put down like the rats they were. His grin faded slightly when he spotted a flash of blue metal on the horizon, out of range of the guns or muskets, Custard recognized the armor of an Onorussian scout on horseback. The figure was just watching, as if not believing what was happening. The scout flicked the reins on his horse and took off galloping towards the mountain, Custard couldn’t help but feel like he had gotten himself in deeper than he meant to.

Only large settlements sent out scouts and hunting parties at the same time, and judging by the blue armor, Custard had stumbled upon the largest. The Occisor Clan, the last remaining shred of the Onorussian government… Lead by Altair Occisor, or more accurately, his much more talkative wife. On any other day, Custard would have turned around and gone back, but seeing that armor told him there was a big target on the line, and big targets meant big promotions. He turned and looked at his soldiers, they had finished firing their weapons and were cheering their victory. Their spirits were high, and that gave Custard even more confidence.

“Come on, lads! Gather up whatever gear you can!” Custard shouted loudly as he approached his wounded horse, sighing slightly as the animal groaned and snorted. “Shhh…. Shh…. It’s okay…” The General knelt beside the wounded animal and drew his revolver, patting the nag’s side. The horse lifted its head closer to Custard, exposing the soft tissue of its head. Custard quickly pressed the revolver there and pulled the trigger. “I’ll get the bastards…. I promise…” Custard cared deeply for his horses, they were very similar to Equestrians in some ways, and that made putting them out of their misery much more difficult to do. Custard stood up and holstered his revolver, then wiped the blood off his sabre using the grass before he sheathed the blade. Unfortunately several other cavalry stallions had died, but that meant Custard was still able to find a mount.

[♠]

Altair quietly sat in his tent, his armor resting beside him on its stand while he wrote with a quill and ink on a sheet of parchment. Outside he could hear the sound of panic and worry as his fellow soldiers gathered their equipment and prepared for battle. The man would join them shortly, but first he felt he needed to complete his work on the latest page of his book. Having given up his voice for so long, he needed a way to let out his thoughts and ideas, over the past five hundred years he had been working on a single book… A book about war so detailed that it made ‘The Art of War’, one of the ancient holy texts, look like a mere child’s book.

The man looked up when he heard the flap of the tent open, then turned and found himself looking at his wife. Cassidy approached him quietly and knelt beside him, looking at the piece of paper he was working with before she rubbed his shoulder.

“Working on your book, my dear little Shogun?” She asked warmly, Altair only nodded as he finished up a sentence on the page. “When it is done I know it will change the world…” Her husband looked at her with a flat expression, he knew she was working some sort of angle. “Altair, there is something I must ask of you... News that the Equestrians have mastered the power of firearms is spreading quickly… I fear we may no longer be able to stand on our own.” The man remained quiet, looking at the floor silently as if thinking about her words. “When this battle has ended, you must break your silence… It will be the only way to avenge our species and ensure our people do not fall under Equestrian rule…”

Altair looked at Cassidy quietly, she could see he was thinking hard about how to respond. Silently he stood up and made his way to his armor stand, Cassidy moved behind him and began to help him into the suit of metal. She tightened the straps and laces that made up his armor, each time she heard her husband grunt as usual. Over the centuries they had become quite adept at this process, and so it was finished within a matter of ten minutes. It all ended with Altair pulling on his helmet, and then grabbing the gas mask he wore usually to cover his lower face. As he was pulling it on he seemed to pause, Cassidy raised an eyebrow as he suddenly lowered it and turned to her.

“I love you.” The man said in a raspy voice before he pulled his mask on over his face, Cassidy nodded and put her arms around him, hugging tightly. It was as if an ancient prophecy was coming true, the offworlder had come, and not long after she had helped to bring Altair out of the silence... As if the gods had sent Twilight to aid the Onorussians in their plight. “I will break my silence to help our people… For my ancestors. The Equestrians will know suffering like no other.” The man walked towards Cassidy and pulled his mask down, exposing his disfigured lower face. “When I return, I hope you and the Consar will be awake… I shall want to celebrate my victory with another conquest...” Cassidy grinned at him and kissed him on the lips passionately, after a minute she pulled away and allowed him to cover his lower face with the fang mask. Cassidy watched quietly as her strapping strong husband exited the tent, his sword mounted to his back plate.

Around Altair’s waist was a green strip of cloth, the same color as some that had been tied around the end of his sword… Cassidy wore the same type of cloth, signifying both their rank as the tribal leaders but also that they were married. Altiar always ensured he kept that cloth intact, and now more than ever, he would ensure that his wife was safe. His fellow Samurai watched as he climbed atop his horse, they expected his simple gesture to move out, but all were surprised when the man cleared his throat and spoke in a booming voice.

“I have broken my silence, not because I disrespect my elders, but because my voice must join yours in shutting out the wicked sound of gunfire that haunts our lands!” Altair shouted as he rode towards the front gate. “A thousand years ago, we came to this world in peace! Through the strength and unity of our republic we reached out and took command of the moon itself! For the better of all mankind we achieved greatness…” More and more Samurai gathered around. “These Equestrians, these usurpers of power, they come to our lands and seek to take what we have fought these many centuries to protect! For too long we have allowed these invaders to grow freely like a disease, for too long have we lived under the fear that the other shoe will finally fall…”

Cassidy and Twilight stood in their respective portions of the camp, watching and listening for the first time to a speech that had likely been rehearsed and rehearsed over the past five hundred years. For Razor Grass, it was the most chilling thing he could’ve possibly imagined. Shogun Altair was supposed to be mute, quiet, easily overpowered… And yet his voice was powerful, and more importantly… Wrathful. Even if he couldn’t understand what was being said, he got the message loud and clear… Altair was pissed.

“I stand before you and declare that we will no longer fear the Equestrians! We will no longer fear their guns and their bombs! We will no longer stand idly by as our people steadily lose ground in a war of attrition!” The Shogun drew his sword and raised it high over his head, the sun glistened off the sharpened steel, striking a sense of panic into Razor Grass. “Let this be known as the last day of the Onorussian Republic… Let the Republic rest. Send riders to each tribe, and tell them that the Occisor Shogunate has arisen! Begin the New Moon!” A cheer went up through the crowd as Altair and the other warriors road out the front gate, riding along with them were the dragoons, archers, and all manner of other soldiers, including numerous scouts… One to ride to each individual Onorussian tribe and give them the word that Altair Occisor had finally claimed his rightful place as leader of the Onorussian people.

Altair gritted his teeth behind his mask as he road along down the mountain, the thunder of hooves echoing behind him as he lead his men towards the coming battle. He wasn’t about to charge headlong into battle with the Equestrians, no, he was going to set up the most lethal battlefield scenario he could… Then he would watch as the Equestrians walked right into it. It was something he had called ‘The New Moon’ in his book. His subordinates knew what to do, they had been over this battle plan dozens of times before, though they had never needed to put it into practice before.

General Custard watched a cloud of dust descending the mountainside, likely the result of the Onorussians as they would undoubtedly put up a heavy fight… At least, until they got a look at the new guns that Custard had to play with. For all he knew, defeating the Occisor Clan would be the final nail in the coffin for the rest of the tribes, removing any hope that the Onorussian people could be unified again could’ve very likely forced them to surrender.

“Sir! We have reports of a massive amount of scouts riding away from the field, towards the other tribes by the looks of it!” One of the soldiers announced while looking through a pair of binoculars.

“Likely as a last ditch effort to get them to help, but I doubt they will if their precious Shogun isn’t willing to talk!” Custard announced once again, confident that this time they would have the upper hand against the Onorussians and their kind. It was true that both sides had ancient tanks and guns at their disposal, but they were in such short supply that they were practically useless… But now, now Equestria had the means and resources to produce gatling guns and rifles, something the Onorussians lacked. “Deploy on that ridge to the north, we’ll catch them as they come charging through the valley.”

Custard’s men went about moving the gatling guns up onto the ridge in question, the angle gave them a good field of fire on anything that would come down through the valley. The valley was the only direct route to the battlefield, a choke point perfect to be used against an enemy that’s main strength was the cavalry charge. Putting one’s strongest weapons at an elevated position was a time honored military tradition, but it also made adapting a strategy much more difficult. With their weapons fixed in position the Equestrians were putting most of their eggs in one basket.

Custard sat atop his new mount and watched as the cloud of dust drew closer and closer, the distant rumble of hooves echoed across the fields. Each soldier readied his musket or sword as they lay in wait, watching the cloud of dust getting closer and closer. Then, suddenly and without warning, the cloud stopped forming and was gradually carried off by the wind… Indicating that the Onorussians had stopped their charge short, though for what purpose Custard couldn’t tell, as there was dense tree cover in that section of the forest.

“Hey… Does anyone hear violins being plucked or something?” Asked one of the soldiers, a couple others nodded. Gradually the light of the sun began to grow dim, Custard and his men looked up… They spotted a cloud blotting the sun out, but not a cloud of water vapor…

“Take cover, lads!” Custard yelled as he hopped off his horse and dove for cover beneath the closest wagon. His soldiers followed suit, dozens of stallions dove for cover under anything they could, but the majority of them were caught out in the open. Custard looked out from under the wagon, where several others had taken cover, as the storm finally rained down on the land. Arrows, crude arrows made of wood, they impacted the ground and anyone not under cover. Despite their numbers they were still rather ineffective, save for the fact that they impaled nearly thirty soldiers in one form or another. They were wounded only, for the most part, but that still cut Custard’s force in half.

Eventually the rain of arrows came to a halt, gradually and carefully the other soldiers came out to begin tending to the wounded. Custard was shaken up, but at least he had survived… If that was the best the Onorussians could do then it was likely the battle would still go well, even with only half of his soldiers.

“Look!” One of the soldiers cried, pointing a trembling finger towards the trees. From within burst a massive horde of men on horseback, they were screaming and cheering like mad men riding from the deepest pits of hell. Custard was surprised he didn’t see the Shogun leading the charge, which begged the question… Where was the Shogun.

“Tenno heika banzai!” A voice roared to Custard’s left, the stallion and his soldiers looked over as dozens of Samurai rushed forward on horseback. Each of them screaming just as crazily as the others, Custard felt his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn’t take on a foe from two angles, half of his gun crews were wounded, he’d barely have enough to stop one force. What was more, the gun crews weren’t nearly as effective with rifles as they were with gatling guns, and they didn’t have enough men to even man two of the five guns effectively. In other words… The Onorussians had taken the gatlings out of the equation, and Custard did not like the math now that he had lost his force multiplyer.

“Gentlecolts! Prepare to defend yourselves!” Custard yelled before drawing his revolver, the Equestrians began firing with their muskets, but with no direction they hit both the riders and ground forces ineffectively as opposed to hitting one with moderate effect. The first row of each force took minor casualties, and after the first volley the Equestrians rifles became little more than fancy, expensive clubs. Custard caught sight of the Fang Mask among the men on the ground, the Shogun Altair was charging straight at him with his sword at the ready. Several soldiers tried to block him, but Custard could only watch as the Shogun’s sword sliced them like butter. One soldier lost an arm, the other was simply cut vertically in half, all the while the Sogun was screaming like some sort of demon.

Custard tossed his revolver to the ground and drew his sabre, his gun would be useless to him at the speed the Shogun was covering ground. The two leaders clashed blades, sparks flying from the General’s sabre as it met the tough Lunar Steel of the Shogun’s sword.

“I like the way you fight, boy!” Custard grunted, the Shogun pulled back and took another swing, this time the General’s sword snapped when the blades crashed, regular steel was no match against Lunar steel. The stallion used what was left of his sword to try and stab the Shogun, only for the blade to bounce off the thick armor. Custard felt a hard punch to his chest from the Shogun, he fell to the ground and looked up. Two more of his soldiers tried to take on the Shogun, but again their weapons were useless against the armored juggernaut. The first soldier was run through the gut by the Shogun’s sword while the second was grabbed by the back of the skull and headbutted against the hard metal edge of the Shogun’s helmet. Custard scrambled to his feet and picked up a sword from one of the dead soldiers, the Shogun turned and grunted as he swung once again.

Custard took another step back each time the Shogun came at him, until finally he was backed up against one of the gatling guns with nowhere else to run. Custard dove to the side, grunting in pain as one of the arrows that littered the ground caught his forearm and left a nasty gash. As Custard began to climb back to his feet he felt a powerful hand grab his collar and yank him backwards, the stallion landed on his back, staring up into the rage filled eyes of the Shogun.

“I like the way you die, old man.” The Shogun hissed before he thrust his sword down into Custard’s gut, the General groaned in pain as he felt Shogun Altair twisting the blade in his stomach. The man then drew the blade from his victim and watched as the General’s eyes turned hazy, and just like that, another Equestrian had been killed. Altair stood up to his full height and looked around at the rest of the Equestrians that were starting to run off, the man clapped his hands a couple times, prompting one of the horses among the riders to come towards him. Altair climbed up onto the back of the horse and gave it a quick smack on the rear. “Yaaaah! Yaaah! C’mon!”

Half a dozen Equestrians were sprinting as fast as they could away from the battle, each looking over their shoulder as the Onorussians honed in on them. One of them screamed as Altair rode past, slashing him with the sword. Two more were in Altair’s path, so he took them down as well, leaving the rest for the other warriors to mop up.

[♠]

Twilight sighed to herself as she adjusted her new clothes, they weren’t that bad looking actually, a long coat dyed a dark blue, complimented by her purple sweater and a pinkish scarf helped to keep her warm, though her midriff was a little exposed, as her sweater had shrunken somewhat in the wash. The woman also wore a pair of olive drab pants and black combat boots, something she was assured would serve her better than a skirt, knee high socks, and sneakers. For the moment though, the young woman was busy looking over some of the ancient artifacts that the Onorussians had at their disposal. Honestly it was a little ahead of Twilight’s world, but only just, even for things that were over a thousand years old.

People had just been giving things like that to her all day, as soon as they heard she was interested in ancient technology they all seemed to have one item or another. Some were used as doorstops, paperweights, even cutting boards… All of them had held up extremely well, with several notable exceptions. Though there was no way on earth Twilight would be able to get one to work on its own, she knew that if she took parts from the other machines she could possibly cobble together some sort of working device. Of course, to Razor Grass, it was just junk that she was playing with out of boredom.

“You know, a hammer would work just as well to destroy that junk and it would be ten times as fast.” Razor said flatly while he reclined against the burned out wreck of a car that was serving as part of the compound wall. Twilight looked over at him with a bit of a scowl, but Razor didn’t care much, as it was likely the Onorussian war party would be destroyed and he would soon be free.

“I’m not trying to destroy them, I’m trying to repair them.” Twilight replied in a biting tone while she used some crude tools to connect a couple circuits. “I’m hoping that if I can get them working they’ll be able to help me find a spell home…”

“Or you could take me up on my offer, that would be easier…” Razor Grass said with a shrug, Twilight ignored his comment as she continued to work on the device. Razor sighed and leaned back against the car, watching the citizens of the village as they went about their daily routines… Some cooked, some cleaned, some trained… It was all very much like an Equestrian village, though it lacked the refinery that Razor was accustomed to. “Amazing they’ve survived this long, living out of shacks and huts…”

“Perhaps it’s because they put more time into their armor and weaponry?” Twilight mused, Razor was about to protest… But to be fair, once again the offworlder had a point. The Onorussian method of making steel, armor, and swords was far better than that of the Equestrians. Equestrians valued quantity over quality, while Razor had observed blacksmiths in the Onorussian village slaving over the same blade for two days straight, folding steel in a manner that the Equestrians would call unnecessary. He hated to admit it, truly he did, but while the Equestrians had numbers and a more civilized society, the Onorussians had quality equipment and devotion to their cause.

“Almost a shame, really… Knowing that all this will be gone one day…” Razor said as he crossed his arms. “I’m sure some Equestrian will figure out how to make swords close to their quality, but… I doubt anyone will ever do it the same.”

“You sound like the war is already over.” Twilight said flatly as she looked at Razor. “Just to be clear, I’m not supporting either side, I just want peace… Hopefully, now there may be a chance at that…” Razor raised an eyebrow. “Oh… Right, you don’t speak their language… I assume you saw Shogun Altair earlier this morning?” Razor nodded. “It seems that he is trying to unite the other clans under his rule, or more accurately, his and Chieftess Cassidy.”

“Wait… What?” Razor Grass asked in shock. “The Onorussians…. They’re…. Unifying?” Twilight nodded, Razor leaned back and rubbed his temples. It was bad enough facing the Onorussians one tribe at a time, but unified… Razor had to warn his people, he had to make a move soon or else he would likely be faced with the real possibility of an Onorussian victory. The man looked around quickly, most of the guards had left to fight in the battle, but that didn’t mean Razor could just waltz out the front gate. Then it hit him… He was leaning against his escape route. The stallion opened his eyes and looked behind him, sure enough there was a gap in the cars making up the walls, just big enough for someone of his size to slip through if they held their breath. Cars were great for stopping large attacks, but they had too many knocks and crannies to be effective at stopping someone at getting out if they really wanted to…

“Say, Twilight. Have you tried using a crystal rifle cell to power that device of yours?” Razor asked with a fake helpful tone… Twilight froze, and the stallion knew he had set the bait well, the look of thought on her face told him she was calculating the possibilities of such a device working… “I’m sure the chieftess would let you borrow one.”

“It could work… Thank’s Razor!” Twilight said as she quickly got up and rushed towards the chieftess’ shack. Typical excitable savages, even off worlders were impulsive and unthinking…

“No… Thank you.” Razor said under his breath before he began shimmying his way through the car. It was a rather tight fit, and at any moment his movement could’ve caused the whole wall to come down on top of him, but that didn’t stop him. Within a couple minutes he was squirming out the other side of the wall, while inside he could hear the sounds of a Frantic Twilight Sparkle and then the yells of the numerous hunters and huntresses. Razor Grass grunted as he began sprinting down the mountain as fast as he could, hoping to get some sort of lead ahead of the hunters that would pursue him. If he could find a horse he’d be able to outrun them… He just needed to find one first, but he trusted that someone up above wanted him to succeed.

Author's Note

Y’know, I like this chapter well enough, but lately I’ve been just worried my quality has gone down... I feel like I’ve let you guys down. Lately I feel like I’ve let a lot of people down, not just you guys, which is why I’ve had such a hard time writing lately. Anyway, that’s all from me...

Here’s your song of the day, I guess.

The Rising Storm

Twilight sighed as she tinkered with her latest little project, since the Equestrian had escaped she had been relegated to simply entertaining herself. She hadn’t been allowed to watch as the Daimyo from the other Clans arrived for the meeting that would reinstate the Shogunate. That had been a bit of a disappointment, but she supposed that she could’ve had a worse punishment for losing a prisoner. For now she was sitting in her tent next to the shack of the Chieftess’, tinkering with all the junk electronics she could get her hands on. So far she had managed to put together a makeshift PDA, which she had mounted to her wrist so that she could charge it by simply running magic down her arm. SHe called the little device a Gizmo-Pad, and she had plenty more items like it planned, hopefully it would redeem her somewhat in the eyes of her hosts.

Meanwhile, in the shack of the Chieftess, thirty men and women in heavy armor had somehow crammed in for a meeting the likes of which hadn’t been held in five hundred years. The meeting of the Daimyo with the newly announced Shogun was a time honored tradiation that had started one hundred years after the bombs fell, it was a meeting where each clan leader pledged their allegiance to the new Shogunate until the Shogun either died or stepped down. For the men and women representing their clans, it was something none had imagined they would live to see… And yet, they were there, seated at a table with Shogun Altair and his wife. Once the meeting had concluded she would become Empress, not Chieftess… No Onorussian had ever imagined there would be another Empress after the deaths of Maria and Luna Occisor centuries before.

“We have sat ununified because up until this point we have had other matters to tend to…” Altair’s voice carried through the room with great authority while the Daimyos listened and watched intently. “I understand the importance of growing crops and gathering resources, but unfortunately our old enemy has forced us to face him once again…”

“It is true, then? The Equestrias have gatlings at their disposal?” Asked a man representing the Clan of Adlere from the far north. Altair nodded to his question, prompting numerous hushed murmurs from the rest of those present. “It will only be a matter of time before they begin pushing north… The Adlere Clan pledges its loyalty to the Shogunate!” There was a chorus grunts, in a matter of seconds twenty seven clans had followed the Adlere’s example and pledged their loyalty. All eyes turned to the three clans that had remained quiet, though Altair’s stare was the most intense of them all. The first to speak their mind was the mare representing the Iteration Clan, the only remaining clan of Changelings within riding distance of Canterlot. The mare in question was known as Ragyo, she was the brood mother of the Clan and the highest authority in her region.

“While news that the Equestrians have these weapons is terrifying, we don’t see why we must reconstruct the old Shogunate after five centuries. We’ve all done well on our own.” The mare said with a rather haughty tone. “Some better than others.” She adjusted the silk robe that she had worn to the event as if to display her status.

“You dare defy your Shogun!?” One of the Daimyo’s bellowed, but Altair held a hand up to silence him.

“It is true… We have all done well for ourselves this past five centuries, but we are only just surviving! We lack the resources on our own to mount a major offensive, or to defend our territory completely…” Altair declared before he slammed an armored fist down on the table. “If the Iteration Clan wishes to leave the Shogunate, they are free to do so, that is the purpose of this meeting after all… But be warned, anyone that is not part of the Shogunate does not garner its protection…” Ragyo looked at the Shogun with a sneer. “And a target.”

“Are you threatening us?” Ragyo growled.

“Well, if you refuse to uphold loyalty, you are a potential target. Whether it's to the Equestrians or to us, who’s to say?”

“We swear loyalty to the Shogunate!” The two other hold outs quickly blurted out, leaving only Ragyo to decide.

“There was a time when our people could live in harmony, Shogun… But that was a thousand years ago.” Ragyo said through gritted teeth. “You and your hoomans may unify, but we are done being the subjects of your kind.” Altair hummed quietly while the others began to shout and roar, once again he held up a hand to silence them.

“Is this your final decision, Daimyo?” Altair asked, the Changeling nodded. “Very well…” THe man stood up and calmly walked towards the Changeling, without so much as a word he ripped a patch off of her robe, a patch signifying the Changeling’s ancestors. “You dishonor your family and all of your clan! A shameful display!” Ragyo looked at the patch, then growled and stood up.

Ragyo was shocked when the Shogun reached out and grabbed her by the back of the head, he proceeded to slam her head into the meeting table with a hard thud. The Changeling hissed in pain and tried to put her hooves up to defend herself, but Altair held her firmly in place with one hand while drawing his short blade from the scabbard on his belt. Ragyo’s eyes went wide as Altair held the blade in the air above her head, the entire room went silent, not a soul saying a word as the knife loomed. With a yell, Altair slammed the knife down next to her head in the wood of the table.

“Leave now, outlander, before I have your tongue cut from your head!” The Shogun roared. That word was what cut deepest, the term ‘Outlander’ made it all very real to Ragyo. Outlander was a term for Equestrians and anyone else that didn’t bear the mark of an Onorussian Clan, in other words… A target. Altair let go of her head, allowing her to stand up and quickly rush out of the shack, leaving Altair to look at the silent others. He pulled his knife from the table and slipped it back into its scabbard. “Now… Is there anything else we need to discuss?” There was no one else who spoke, prompting Altair to hum. “Then you may leave for now, we will begin discussing our counter offensive in the morning.” The others bowed deeply before they filed out one by one, Altair quietly sighed when they were gone and looked to Cassidy. “They’re uncertain…”

“It’s been five hundred years.” Cassidy replied flatly, Altair shook his head and ran his hands along his temples.

“You and I are among the few that remember just how long that is…” Altair said as he walked to the door and looked outside. “And… How quickly it flew past.” The man looked towards Twilight, the Consar that had arrived and seemed to herald an era of change. “For the new blood it was so very long ago, but for me… For us… I still remember when we did not live in shacks… Cobbled together from scraps.”

“I do too, and you and I both know that things will change for the better.” Cassidy said as she approached him, beginning to undo the straps and laces that held his armor in place. “I am sorry for the loss you feel each day… But I am glad… That it gave you purpose, that it brought you back to honor.”

“The way of life my Mother taught me is the only thing I had left of her…” Altair replied quietly. “Total devotion to my cause, total dedication to each action I take, no regrets… Life, in each breath…” He slipped his armor off and set it aside, now down to a simple robe. “History may call me war lord… Monster… Evil… But we both know, that I am not important… Our people are.”

“Oh, Altair…” Cassidy said as she wrapped her arms gently around him. “You’ve no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you speak of duty…” Altair turned and quietly kissed his wife, the New Empress of the Occisor Shogunate. Hesitantly the two of them pulled away from one another, each blushing as if it was the first time they had ever kissed… That was why they worked so well, things always felt fresh. “I realize you’re busy, but I have a favor to ask of you.” Altair hummed quietly. “The Offworlder… You know she seeks to go home, she had a vision… Involving the Serpent. She wishes to contact him.”

“So… She believes Discord to be her salvation?” Altair asked aloud, Cassidy nodded. “Feels like yesterday that he seemed to be mine…” The Shogun looked at the ground quietly. “If you command me, I shall contact him… But only if you command me.” Cassidy paused and looked out the window at Twilight’s tent, then back to her husband.

“Were she part of our Clan I would…” Cassidy said quietly. “As it stands, she has yet to take the rights of passage.” The woman put a hand on her husband’s cheek, prompting him to look up at her. “If she becomes part of our Clan, and if she still seeks the Serpent… Only then will I ask you to contact him…”

“As you command, Empress.” Altair replied with a bow, Cassidy nodded before she walked to her husband and kissed him once again. The two of them stepped to the doorway and looked towards Twilight’s tent. “What shall we do with her… She’s lost one of our prisoners…”

“She’s also managed to get an ancient device to function…” Cassidy added. “If we continue to support her, she will grow to follow our ways… If we prepare her correctly, eventually we will have the power of a Techno-Priestess among our ranks…” The woman sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “I dislike this scheming talk, it is best left to the Equestrians.”

“Then we shall end the discussion here…” Altair said simply. “I think it would be good for you to take on an apprentice, I’ve thought so for a long while, but you know…” The man trailed off. “The point is, the Offworlder is receptive to our ways, our culture, do not think of it as scheming to get her on our side… Think of it as planning to help enlighten her to our beliefs.”

“Someone’s been praying to Putin I see.” Cassidy said with a slight giggle, Altair shrugged and smiled.

Twilight watched from her work table just inside of her tent as the Chieftess, now Empress, and her husband enjoyed one another’s company. Twilight was glad for them, glad to see that her suggestion had ended the silence between the two of them, and glad to see that she had also played a role in changing the course of the world’s history. The woman looked back to her latest project, a couple old cellphones strung together to make a crude code cracker. Many of the locals had told stories of underground bunkers with coded doorways, if she could get her device to work she could help them get at all sorts of supplies, and she could possibly learn more about how to get home. These underground bunkers were military in origin, from before the bombs fell, she couldn’t begin to imagine what information might be sealed beyond their massive doors.

Twilight couldn’t help but notice that everyone that walked past her tent seemed to be bowing or stooping in some manner, though she couldn’t quite understand why. She had looked around for any coins or other valuables laying on the ground, but hadn’t found a thing, she supposed it was something to do with her having her tent flap open? Whatever the reason, it was only mildly distracting… She was making good progress on her latest project, she had even found a source of power that could work. Despite the fact that Razor Grass had used the suggestion as a means to cover his escape, the prospect of using an energy cell from an ancient rifle made sense. They were already calibrated to put out a certain amount, so they wouldn’t fry the circuitry, and they could be recharged…

The woman sighed and adjusted a couple circuits, to her relief there weren’t any sparks that accompanied those adjustments. It was a little known fact to even her closest friends, but Twilight loved working with circuitry and technology, it presented its own set of challenges that she could devise numerous ways to overcome, the kind of thing she liked to do to keep her mind sharp. The sound of someone stepping into her tent got her to look once again to the doorway, she found Cassidy standing there with her usual look of stoic serenity.

“Oh, hello Cassidy! Something I can help with?” Twilight asked, Cassidy hummed as she walked closer and crossed her arms.

“Perhaps I can help you instead.” The woman said, towering over Twilight. “You’re skilled with technology, you could help us greatly…” Twilight shrugged, as if she didn’t understand. “You could use your talents to aid us in surviving and winning against the Equestrians, in return we could help you find a way home, and we will teach you to be a part of our Clan.”

“So I take it you won’t help me contact Discord?” Twilight asked flatly, Cassidy sighed and shook her head.

“Only if you were a member of our clan would I feel comfortable asking that of Altair, I want to help, but I cannot subject my husband to such things for someone outside the Clan…” Cassidy said firmly, but apologetically. “That is why I’m offering to help you become part of our tribe, so that you will learn why I am so hesitant… If you still wish to contact Discord then, I will make it happen.” Twilight scowled slightly and looked at the floor.

“How do I know you aren’t just going to use me like Razor did to escape?” Twilight asked, Cassidy walked towards her and knelt so that she and Twilight were eye to eye.

“Equestrians have no value of honor, but we do…” Cassidy said in a sincere voice. “When we make a pledge, we honor it.” Twilight could see the look of sincerity in Cassidy’s face, and while her husband might’ve been more inclined to lie, Twilight had shared a bed with Cassidy… She felt she could trust her.

“Alright…” Twilight said with a slow nod. “What should I do to prepare?” Cassidy stood to her full height and gestured to the gadgets that Twilight was working with.

“You know the inner workings of these devices… Just as a medicine man knows the parts of a body or a bard the parts of a song.” Cassidy said, outside Twilight heard a rumble of thunder and she could see that several heavy clouds were blocking the sun. “To be part of our tribe, you must know that the parts are more important than the whole… What you do for your Clan, your family, is always justified… You must first come to terms with that, that no matter what you do, think, or say, this clan… This Family… It always comes first. Go to your devices and meditate on this, we will begin covering the gods’ teachings in the morning.”

Twilight nodded quietly and watched Cassidy leave the tent, she closed the tent flap behind her as rain began to fall from the sky above. The woman looked back to the code cracker she had been working at, what Cassidy had said was rattling around Twilight’s head. In all honesty, she wasn’t sure she believed in the gods of the Onorussians, but she respected that the followed them so dutifully, for that she would keep an open mind. The chance to take place in another culture’s rights of passage was something she couldn’t pass up, the chance to learn was too great to say no.

[♠]

Spirits were high in Camp Pondelton on the western outskirts of the Ponyville Ruins and southern outskirts of ‘Tribal Territory’, dozens of cloth tents were set up while campfires were tended by numerous Equestrian soldiers. Two entire regiments were preparing to move into those foreboding lands after the news had spread of the formation of the Occisor Shogunate. Leading one of the companies in this massive army was none other than Lieutenant Colonel Razor Grass, the Cavalry Commander that had helped bring the news of the new threat. Many of the soldiers there had fought in previous campaigns against the various tribals, all were eager to get back on the battlefield. They even had cannons and gatling guns, many men assumed it would be an easy fight… Others were keen to remember what happened to General Custard and his men.

Razor Grass was among the latter, he had seen just how hard the Onorussians trained, just how fanatical they could be… He had shared that news with his fellow soldiers, to try and prepare them for the enemy they only half understood. As Razor stood on the edge of the camp with his new sword in hand he couldn’t help but find his eyes drawn to a rain storm in the mountains to the north. It would take the two regiments nearly five days to cover that amount of distance, plenty of time for the Onorussians to mount a counter attack if the force was discovered. The Lieutenant Colonel looked over to his right as someone walked up next to him, a gristled looking stallion with dark grey fur and a tan mane, he wore the uniform of a Major with several leather straps across the chest.

“Hey, Chief.” The stallion said casually as he puffed on a cigar between his lips. “Was expecting we’d find your body out on the field.”

“Nice to see you too, Powers...” Razor said with a slight grin as he looked over at the Major, the two looked back to the north. Powers and Razor had been friends since officer training school, with Powers acting as second in command of the company. “So this is it, huh? We’re finally pulling all the stops out, the king is gonna go through with it.”

“We have the tech we didn’t have before, meanwhile they’re still using swords, arrows, and spears…” Powers said with a shrug, Razor sighed and shook his head. “What, you think we’re gonna lose?”

“I can’t say with any certainty.” The stallion replied as a cold wind began to blow in from the North, the storm clouds were moving further south. “The Onorussians were feared in ancient times for a reason, even against overwhelming odds they’ve come out on top.” The stallion pulled a cigar from his pocket and lit it with a wood match, puffing several times once it was in his mouth. “I spent two days with them, and in that short amount of time I was able to see just how fanatical they are. Now, emboldened by this new ‘Shogunate’, I’ve got a feeling we’re going to be really earning our pay this time around…”

“We’ve got plenty of powder and shot, I’m sure that’ll beat whatever they can throw at us soon enough.” Powers said while he puffed on his cigar once again, the smoke being carried away by the wind.

“You ever wonder if maybe we’re the bad guys in all this?” Razor asked abruptly, Powers looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I mean, we say they attacked first, but they say we attacked first… Thousands of years ago, who’s to say they aren’t wrong?” The stallion took a puff from his own cigar. “Not saying I still won’t fight them, but I’d feel a lot better about it knowing we were more in the right.”

“I think whoever’s standing at the end of this will be the one who was more right, and we both know it’s going to be us, not some sword wielding heathens.” Powers said with a smirk, Razor shrugged as the two of them began walking back towards the inner portion of the camp. “Just wait until tomorrow, we’ll do some real open country riding, you’ll feel a heck of a lot better.”

“Hope you’re right…” Razor said simply as they left the edge of the camp behind.

Author's Note

Okay, so clearly this story isn’t doing to well at the moment, but it’s not like I’m a mind reader. If you’re going to leave a dislike, let me know why, please. Look, I want to do a good job here, but I can’t if I don’t know what’s wrong. Anyway... If you favorite, please also leave a like and a comment telling me what you thought.... Writing is my life, and if I lose my way writing I lose my way in other things, so please, help me by telling me what I’m doing wrong...

Anyway, here’s the song of the day...

From the Grave

Twilight quietly sighed while she sat with Altair in a section of the compound off limits normally to outsiders, where as all the outside was chaotic and slapdash, within this hidden sanctuary there was order and peace. The sound of running water echoed through the small section of the compound, green grass lined the ground while a lone cherry tree sat at the edge of a solitary pond. The walls were all painted with various images of warriors or the symbols for the Onorussian gods, even birds seemed to chirp harmoniously here… It had been three days since she had agreed to help the Onorussians, though they had yet to make any progress cracking the codes on the doors.

The Shogun was sitting in front of a large statue of a man wearing very similar armor to his, it was flanked on either side by two smaller stones with writing on them that Twilight couldn’t quite make out. Twilight was more towards the pond, she wore a robe, as technology and other more fancy clothes were forbidden in this part of the compound. For what it was worth, she had been trying to meditate, but something was keeping her from it, something about helping the Onorussians felt wrong. As if giving them help winning the war made her just as much a killer as the warriors... She was so focused on these nervous thoughts that she didn’t realize Altair was looking at her from across the pond.

“You appear troubled, Offworlder.” Altair’s rasping voice echoed over the pond, Twilight looked up and saw he was staring at her. He didn’t wear his mask, so she could see all the gnarled scars that disfigured his lower face. “Come here…” Twilight cautiously stood up and walked towards the man, then sat beside him in front of the statue and the two stones. “Do you know what these are?” Twilight shook her head. “My ancestors are drawn here… My father, my mothers, all those that came before…” The Shogun gestured to the statue. “They help me think when I am at a loss… Though now I believe you are the one that should speak with them.”

“Speak with them?” Twilight asked, Altair nodded before he reached to a bowl set in front of the statue and withdrew a solitary black seed. The man handed it to Twilight, the woman looking down in her hand at the simple structure of it all. It looked like a sunflower seed, but it was tinged with small purple particles. Twilight took a deep breath and popped the seed into her mouth, then swallowed. She felt Altair’s hands on her, slowly leaning her back as a wave of drowsiness washed over her, her vision became cloudy… The sound of stone cracking caught her attention, and soon she saw the statue standing over her, looking down at her with intense glowing green eyes. “H-Hello?”

The stone statue knelt down, the rock cracking and popping as it moved, two more figures appeared on either side of it. A tall woman in a flowing dress, also with glowing green eyes, and from the looks of it a horse with both wings and a horn… Though her eyes were blue. Twilight yelped as she watched the statue produce a long sword, it raised it high above its head, but the horse stopped it with a flick of her wing…

“She is not one of them…” A disembodied voice spoke, it almost sounded like.... “She is… One of us.”

“P-Princess Luna?” Twilight called out as her ears were flooded with white noise.

“She is the enemy.” The statue protested in a stern voice. “She cannot be allowed!”

“She does not understand…” The woman said, kneeling down over Twilight, she gave off a motherly sort of feeling. “She is not one of us, but not the enemy… She is… An outsider?”

“Interesting…” All three voices said in unison, the figure with the voice of Princess Luna, the strange horse creature, leaned in with her horn glowing brighter than the rest of her.

“She must be marked… She must be us, or them…” Luna said firmly. “We should ask her…”

“She does not understand. She cannot be allowed!” The statue growled.

“Let her understand.” Added the woman, it was like watching one person talking to themselves, and yet they all had three separate personalities… The womanly mother figure leaned closer and extended a hand, there was a flash of energy… Twilight felt overwhelmed as hundreds if not thousands of images flashed through her mind Things she had never seen, never heard, never even known existed all known in a split second… And then… Gone in an instant. She began to hiss in pain as she felt a burning sensation on the back of her hand. “It is done.”

“She is… Neither.” All three said in unison. “We must observe… We must investigate… We must protect.” Twilight groaned in pain, and in the blink of an eye she was back where she was, laying on the ground in the private grove, only the statue was back where it had always been and Altair was looking down at her with a neutral expression.

“W-What the… W-Who were those people!?” Twilight said as she bolted upright and looked at the statue in front of her. The woman winced in pain and looked at the back of her hand, to her shock she saw an emblem of some kind burned into her skin. “W-What happened to my hand?” She held it up for Altair to see, the man moved a little closer and examined it. It was a triangle with a circle in the center, more specifically, the circle was an eye.

“This is a mark of Putin… It means that the gods are watching your journey.” Altair said as he let go of her hand. Twilight nervously looked at her skin, the pain faded rapidly, leaving only the mark behind. She supposed it could’ve been worse, her logical mind told her there were plenty of cosmetic surgeons back home that could eventually remove it when she got back. If it brought her one more step closer to getting home then she would do it, whatever the consequences… Twilight paused and looked over at Altair, the man had walked towards a corner of the walled enclosure. Twilight saw him pick up two wooden poles from some sort of training rack, he then walked back and tossed one of them to her.

“What are we doing?” Twilight asked, fumbling a bit as she caught the pole.

“The gods say you are on a journey, now it is time you learn to defend yourself, defend your clan.” Altair said dutifully, Twilight saw him grip his pole with only one hand, so she tried to imitate him. “One handed takes a lot of practice to master.” It was then that she realized these poles were training tools, short enough to be used as swords.

“I like a challenge…” Twilight replied, she saw Altair smirk… She felt like she was getting used to being a part of the clan, a lot of times back home she would’ve simply differed and moved to a two handed style, but here… Here she felt like she was in charge of her own fate, probably because she was.

“Alright then… Begin!” Twilight and Altair rushed one another with their training swords at the ready.

[♠]

Birds chirped overhead as Razor Grass lead his company along at the head of the column that was pushing into the territory of the Onorussians. So far, there had been very little sign of any tribals, but that was to be expected in this portion of land, it was where the tribes did their hunting and fishing for the winter, so it was left untouched during the rest of the year. It was beautiful country, Razor Grass could see why they were so protective of it. As they continued to ride along Razor caught sight of something odd in the distance. A line of white wooden posts spanning across the distances between two hills… They were short and stubby, and almost seemed adorned in green fabric…

Razor gagged slightly when they got closer, these weren’t wooden posts… They were Equestrian leg bones, the green fabric was from their uniforms and the flesh had been pulled away by scavengers. There was a single head mounted to a pike in the center of them all, the hat of a general was cruelly stapled to its skull. If there was ever a line in the sand, this would be it, it spoke very clearly about what would happen to anyone that crossed that line. Razor Grass stopped and pulled off to the side, the rest of his company following suit while the rest of the regiment continued to march along.

“Look at the terrain, perfect spot for an ambush…” Razor Grass said aloud, pointing to the hills and bushes ahead. The colonel in charge of the marching regiment simply chuckled.

“They’ll die before they fire a shot with this many troops here!” The colonel shouted back before he led his company over the line of bones, Razor dropped a hand down to his hip and rested it on his revolver, the rest of his cavalry unit watched with uncertainty as the company of infantry finished passing the line of bones. “See? I told you things were-” The man stopped as he tripped over a length of rope that had been hidden by leaves and tall grass. Razor and the others all watched as the bushes lit up with gunfire, gatling gunfire to be specific. Bullets tore through the leaves and into the company of soldiers that had passed by the boney marker.

The guns continued firing as the soldiers dropped for cover or ran away, cutting down at least fifty after catching them by surprise. Eventually the gunfire stopped, leaving an eerie silence that was broken only by the moans of the wounded. Seconds later the bushes exploded, sending pieces of gatling gun sky high… Only then did Razor ride forwards while the other soldiers were all moving to help the wounded. He stopped near one of the bushes and hopped off his horse before looking around, to his surprise he didn’t find any bodies. What he did find was the remnants of a pulley system of some kind, he could see the remains of one of the crank handles attached to it. He followed the remnants of cord to the source of the explosions, there were metal cans that wreaked of Arcane explosives...

It was more proof of an odd trend that Razor had noticed over the time he had spent as a prisoners of the tribals. The Onorussians were very adept at using technology, yet they still remained in a state where they relied on swords and spears… Razor couldn’t understand why, but at the moment he was more concerned with what other little presents the Onorussians could’ve left behind for the advancing army. The man quietly climbed back up onto the back of his horse and rode back to the rest of his company. The wounded and dead were being cleared from the field while the rest of the soldiers continued to march past the bones, albeit with much more caution than before.

Powers rode up to Razor Grass with an odd expression on his face, looking ahead towards the mountain that loomed in the distance, a gargantuan titan that seemed to surpass anything surrounding it. Dark clouds loomed on the horizon, and it was starting to rain once again, rain had become something of a common occurrence for the men, but something told Powers that once they were deep in the Onorussian’s territory they would have much more to worry about than the rain.

“So, guess this is it then, huh?” He asked Razor, the stallion nodded while the others continued marching. “You really think this is going to be hard?” Razor nodded once again. “I’m starting to get the feeling you’re right, let’s just hope nothing else happens today.” Razor looked over at him, as if the very thought of the rest of the day going right was laughable, but he said nothing. The stallion simply snapped the reins on his horse and began riding along, leaving Powers to signal the other cavalrymen to follow as they rode towards the mountain in the distance. The rumble of thunder got louder as they continued along, the heat of the sun gradually began to abate when cool wind from the storm blew in.

Eventually the rain clouds loomed overhead like a tidal wave, prompting the march commander to call everyone to a halt. They couldn’t risk the mud hurting their horses or their soldiers, and so the two regiments began to set up camp. The had no idea of what lurked in the bushes and trees that surrounded them on all sides, the tall grass hid the movements of a group of predators that had been tracking them since they had entered Onorussian territory. Mysterious figures that occasionally soldiers would catch glimpses of, but never enough to identify them.

As time went on and the Regimental camps were established, Razor Grass could hear the sound of rain hitting the roof of his tent. Soft at first, only a few drops, but it quickly spiraled into a rapid downpour that threatened to leak through the fabric. Every soldier took cover where they could to get out of the rain, meaning that for the most part the camp looked abandoned, save for those few lucky stallions that had been ordered to stand guard in the pouring rain. With the intensity of the rain and the thickness of the clouds, it was likely to rain for a good five hours, which was five hours more that the regimental commanders had to worry about being discovered… Little did they know that they had already been discovered, but that was beside the point.

On the outskirts of the camp four figures in shadowed armor skulked through the rain, their armor was mostly grey, with occasional splotches of purple, and they were hoods as well as masks over their face. Their boots squelched in the mud as they moved past tent after tent unnoticed, like ghosts they stayed out of sight and out of mind. Whenever a guard was encountered he was quickly silenced by a knife to the neck or lungs, this was the only trace the four figures left behind as they moved closer and closer to their goal, and arguably the most guarded portion of the quickly pitched camps. The site where the ammunition wagons for close to five companies were parked.

One of the figures was tall, nearly six and a half feet, he had mocha skin, though it was hidden by the hood and mask he wore over his face. Intense brown eyes peered from the shadows of his cowl as he snuck up behind one of the guards near the munitions wagons, he wrapped his arm around the stallion’s mouth with his left hand while stabbing him in the back with a knife in his right. The blade was expertly placed, slipping between the ribs and puncturing the lungs, making it impossible for the stallion to scream for help once the figure let go. The stallion collapsed to the ground without a sound, allowing the figure to move along once more.

The figure, like the others, wore dark grey armor with purple accents, light and maneuverable, and yet strong enough to withstand a bladed attack. Their armor was built from remnants of ancient armor, making it strong but light… And very expensive. Only the best of the best could afford to be given such armor… And these were them. Known as the Violet Cobras, they were a team of crack stealth warriors that answered directly to the Shogun. The tall man moved up towards the wagons, watching through the rain as the other Cobras held their position. He slipped a sealed bag of black powder under the first wagon and lit the fuse with an arcane crystal, then with all the speed of a hawk he sprinted back towards his compatriots. They began running through the camp at full bore, not bothering to mask the sound of their movement now.

The figures managed to cover a good hundred and fifty yards before the charge exploded under the wagon, the explosion was massive, so massive it spread to another wagon, and then another, setting off a chain reaction of blasts and destroying enough ammunition for five hundred soldiers. The troops ran out of their tents and into the rain to see what had happened, it didn’t take long to spot the four cobras making a run for the tall grass. Orders were shouted, confused men gained purpose, and soon the cobras were facing organized resistance. They knew had to deal with such resistance however, each of them drew a razor sharp sword from a sheath on their back while they ran. A couple shots rang out, but the rain had mostly drenched the ammunition the soldiers in this area of the camp still had.

The tall figure saw two Equestrians ahead of him wielding their sabres nervously, he slid to a stop and raised his blade, the rain pouring over him and his own sword. The Cobra’s eyes met with one of the Equestrians, silently he thrust his sword forward. The Equestrian barely managed to deflect it, he had no chance of deflecting the second strike which stabbed him in the gut. The Cobra turned with the body still on his sword and used it as a shield when the second Equestrian made a move. Once he had a chance to pull his sword from the now dead Equestrian he raised it and swung for the fences, his blade sliced through the second Equestrian like butter. The Cobra didn’t stop to inspect his work, all he knew was that two more Equestrians were dead and he had a clear shot to the grass. He decided to take it, rushing past numerous tents and vaulting over crates, until finally he was free to run in the grass.

The Cobra quickly moved to join the other three that had made it out of the camp, it seemed everyone had survived. They watched from the tall grass as the rain continued to fall, the Equestrians still couldn’t manage to get the fire to go out as it burned off more of their munitions, the fire, coupled with the water, made much of what they had brought with them useless. The cobra quietly removed his face mask, letting the rain hit his mocha skin as the falling water cleaned the blood from his sword. He had the chiseled jaw and muscle mass of his father, while gaining his mother’s finesse and speed. His name was Takeo Occisor, eldest son of Shogun Altair at just over nine hundred and fifty years old.

Takeo looked to the others and nodded silently before pulling his mask back up, the group then rushed off into the tall grass, and like ghosts they vanished from the scene.

[♠]

Twilight panted quietly as she and Altair stood across from one another, covered in water and sweat. Altair looked like he could go another fifty rounds, but Twilight looked tired and had her fair share of bruises. Her hair was matted with rain, her eyes narrowed and her heart pounding. Every muscle in her body ached from exertion, she hadn’t ever in a million years thought she would need to put up this much effort for anything… But she wasn’t about to give up, she was determined to stay on her feet as long as possible if it meant she would get a chance at going home. Slowly and with no small amount of effort, Twilight raised her training sword once again, Altair’s expression remained as stoic as ever as he too raised the wooden sword.

The two of them stood five feet apart, by now Twilight had picked up on the proper stance by watching Altair for as many times as she had. She’d gone from gripping the blade like an amateur to imitating the more relaxed grip that the Shogun used, every sparring match taught her something new. Altair twirled his sword quietly, causing a soft whipping noise as it sliced through the air and sprayed rain water outwards. In an instant the two were going at it once again.

Twilight brought her training sword up and blocked the first strike and the second, before she made an attempt at hitting the Shogun in the head. He caught her strike with ease, but the most striking thing about that moment was the look on his face… A mixed look of being impressed and surprised at the same moment. Just as quickly as it came it was gone, and Twilight felt the sting of her sword being knocked from her hands and the eventual thud of the Shogun’s training sword on her shoulder. Twilight rubbed her shoulder gently as she looked at Altair, the man tossed the training sword aside and walked towards her. The rain was continuing to fall at its rapid pace, each of them was drenched from head to foot.

“You fight with the passion of an Onorussian woman… Your drive to return home is strong.” He said as he began walking with her towards the exit of the walled off area. “I wish to know, what is it that awaits you upon your return?”

“My friends, my family, my books!” Twilight said excitedly before she trailed off and frowned, the woman walked alongside the Shogun out the gate to the secluded area and through the rest of the village. “My job… My duties as princess… Politics…” Altair nodded simply as he continued to walk.

“I understand… When I was young my life was filled with many of the same duties and tasks…” Altair said while they walked towards the shack that Cassidy and Altair shared. “We Onorussians have a saying… ‘There is no position too massive you cannot walk away from.’.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at him. “We set our own destinies, we do not allow anyone to determine them for us… Did you ask to become a Princess?” Twilight shook her head. “Then why should you be expected to act like one?”

“Because it’s my responsibility?” Twilight replied in an uncertain tone, the Shogun shook his head and looked at the ground. “I thought you would tell me to suck it up, yet you’re telling me I should just… Shirk my responsibilities?”

“I chose to be Shogun. My warriors chose to be warriors. My hunters chose to be hunters.” Altair said firmly. “I hold them to their duties and responsibilities because they are the ones they chose to take on, because they felt they were ready for those responsibilities.” The man looked at Twilight and shook his head. “You didn’t chose your destiny, you were told that because of some arbitrary set of circumstances you were suddenly royalty. No one informed you, no one asked if you wanted that… It just happened. Like when the bombs fell here.” Altair stopped outside the shack and turned to look at Twilight in the eyes. “We resolved from that day that our destinies would be just that. Ours. Not fate’s, not some arbitrary prophecy’s, but our own. That is what it means to be an Onorussian… To live on your own terms.”

Twilight paused quietly as she looked the Shogun in the eyes, she could see the conviction in them. All her life she had been told that she would have to follow the rules, that she would have to give certain things up as she got older, not because she wanted to but because that’s just how things were… That she would have to accept certain ideas because they were what was socially acceptable, not because they were hers… And Celestia forbid she said anything other than what was okay, lest there be riots in the streets and protests in every city. It was that mindset that had scared her out of going to college, the fear of being outcast for her beliefs…

“You are starting to see now…” Altair said quietly as he saw her expression change, Twilight nodded quietly. “Meditate on what I have said, Offworlder… Why is it really that you fought so hard today… Is it because you are trying to get back to your old home, or because you are trying to find a new one?” Before Twilight could respond, the man had give her a bow of respect and walked up the steps to his home. Twilight watched as the rain continued to pour over her, the door closed and she was left in the rain alone… Alone with just her thoughts. Two choices, to forget what it was she had heard… Or to embrace it, and see just how deep things went. She would have much to think about in her tent that night.

Author's Note

So here's another chapter for you lovely dovelies, I enjoyed writing this chapter quite a lot. I love doing scenes with supernatural stuff in them, and of course rain fights are cool as well. Anyway, I just wanted to thank all you guys for the comments of support and for sticking with me through the years that I've been working on this series. I've been thinking of writing some original stuff too, so keep an eye out for anything like that.

Anywho, here's your clip of the day. I've been listening to this kind of music as I write lately, as it sort of fits with the whole distant future but with ancient stuff vibe I've got going in my head.

The Kindness of Strangers

Twilight sighed quietly as she warmed herself next to a fire, the sound of rain thudding against the roof of the ancient building echoed overhead while she let her clothes sit out to dry. Meanwhile, she wore only her undergarments. Celestia meanwhile sat across from her, having removed her hood Twilight could see she had patchy wings and more patchy fur. She only had one cat’s eye, but it still unsettled Twilight greatly. Twilight had just finished telling Celestia what had happened, all about where she was from, what she had been doing in the past weeks… Celestia had yet to say anything, she had just sat there, as if she was processing everything in her head.

Twilight took a second to look around at her surroundings, the building was an ancient police station, a highway patrol outpost just on the outskirts of Ponyville. It had been picked over for supplies long ago, the furniture stripped for the most part, while small streams of water cascaded from several leaks in the roof. Despite that, however, it was warm… And dry. Twilight had taken to eating some of the food she’d packed while telling her story, so empty jars of preserved fruits were setting on the floor. Just as Twilight was about to reach for another piece of preserved fruit, Celestia cleared her throat.

“I can see why you’re so eager to head into the city…” Celestia said in her rasping tone. “I know of the facility you speak, many times I have visited it, yes…” Twilight raised an eyebrow as the mare looked towards the fire, the light reflecting off her eyes as she let out a sad sigh. “What you seek is not there, it was primarily a research center for artifacts from The Zone…”

“If it’s not there, where could it be?” Twilight asked with a bit of uncertainty and urgency, Celestia hummed and used her magic to adjust the fire.

“It would have to be in the southern hemisphere, in the desert… Beyond the skeleton coast.” Celestia said with a good amount of certainty, Twilight raised an eyebrow at the mention of a coastline. “It is not an actual coast, but simply… A graveyard of airships. An ancient battlefield, in the desert…”

“How do you know it would be beyond this… Skeleton Coast?” Twilight asked, Celestia smirked faintly and looked towards one of the building’s windows.

“I know that the Onorussians feared powerful magical beings like myself… Like you… Powerful spells would’ve been extremely high on their list of things to contain.” Celestia began, she looked back at Twilight with a stoic expression. “So logically, they put the most powerful spells in a place they could do the least amount of harm… South of the Skeleton Coast, that desert is almost entirely devoid of Alicornium… The source of magic in this world.” Twilight’s eyes widened a bit.

“Because even if someone managed to get their hands on a scroll, there wouldn’t be enough ambient magic to use it… Right?” Twilight asked, Celestia nodded her head with a smile. The mare coughed and used one of her wings to cover her mouth, when she pulled it aside Twilight could see a splotch of red on her fur. “Are you hurt?”

“No, no… No more than I already was.” Celestia replied quietly. “Twilight, I am the last alicorn… The last source of real powerful magic in this world… Or I was, until you came here…” Twilight raised an eyebrow at the mare. “I have been saving my magic for the last thousand years… Letting myself deteriorate… Praying for someone like you to appear…”

“Why? What do you mean ‘Someone like me’?” Twilight asked, scooting a bit closer to the mare. Though it was clear that this was not really her Celestia, the mannerisms and tempo of her voice was spot on, she was the closest thing to Celestia that Twilight could have.

“You must take my magic… Get to the facility to the south…” Celestia said in her rasping voice, much to Twilight’s surprise. “There is a spell… Written long ago, capable of turning back time…” Twilight stared at her in shock. “We had such potential… Such promise… But we squandered our gifts, and so… Twilight… I am asking you… Our world has ended, but life… Must go on.” Twilight was unsure of what to say. “You can save this world… Save the countless lives that were lost in that damned war... “

“Why can’t you come with me? Why do I have to go alone?” Twilight asked, her heart rate increasing as she was suddenly faced with a tasks he had never dreamed of. She had stopped villains before, saved the world, but always with the aid of her friend.

“I would not survive the journey that far south… I would only slow you down.” Celestia replied tiredly. “This future is not what this world, these people, deserve… This world of war and strife…” Celestia moved closer to her, her horn glowing softly. “Twilight, you must protect the future…” Before Twilight could respond Celestia’s horn glowed brightly, the woman clenched her eyes shut in surprise. She felt Celestia’s horn touch against her forehead, and then, the oddest sensation of her entire life. Even though her eyes were closed light and energy flooded her vision, constant flowing waves of aura coursed through her, until she could feel it in every, every atom of her being. She had been a powerful mage before, but now she felt immense power beyond anything else in her life, even more than when she had become a princess.

And just like that, the sensation of Celestia’s horn against hers was gone, the bright light vanished into nothingness, but the sensation of power remained. Twilight struggled for a moment, then slowly she opened her eyes. She expected to see Celestia there, but to her shock… She was alone. Twilight looked around, but Celestia was nowhere to be seen, it was as if she had just… Vanished. The woman took several deep breaths, doing her best to calm herself after being hit by such powerful magic. She hadn’t even agreed to help, but Celestia had still tasked her with finding some time travelling spell. Deep down, she knew that she couldn’t just turn her back, not if it could possibly save an entire world, so maybe Celestia didn’t even need to ask.

Twilight felt overcome by sudden exhaustion, most likely from her body absorbing so much magical energy. She decided that it would be best to sleep while she could, as her journey had just become an even more difficult task. The woman moved over to her bedroll, which had thankfully stayed dry in its pack, where she laid down beside the fire and closed her eyes.

The next morning there was little left of the fire from the night before, but the rain had thankfully come to a stop. Twilight awoke to the sound of birds chirping and wind blowing through the branches of the trees outside. With a tired yawn, the woman got off of her bedroll and redressed herself. She affixed the shoulder pad of armor as usual, then made sure her datapad was up and running. Despite what Celestia had said about the facility near Ponyville, she still wanted to examine it. For all she knew, there could’ve been some helpful information there, at least… She hoped that was the case.

Twilight packed up her things and carried them out to where she had tied her horse for the night, she quickly loaded them back where they had come from. By now she could see the city was just ahead of her, it had been hidden the night before, but now she could see just how tall the buildings were. Twilight climbed onto her horse and began riding towards the city at a quick pace, her eyes darting among the numerous tall buildings ahead of her as she rode along the road, passing the burned out cars and trucks. Unlike the others, however, there were very few skeletons here… Many of them had their doors open, as if the people here had had a chance to escape on foot.

The fact that the city looked to be in such good condition lended to this fact, it was as if the bomb that was supposed to fall here never did. Twilight began to ride along the road through the more urban areas on the outskirts, old warehouses and other industrial structures littered the landscape. They were all very much overgrown and collapsing into various states of disrepair, Twilight could tell that not a soul had ventured in or out of this city in some time. The only sound she heard was the clip clop of her horses’ hooves against the overgrown asphalt. The air was hot and humid, trees had sprouted up from cracks in the sidewalks, and the massive skyscrapers had been overtaken by strands of ivy as well as all manner of other plants.

As Twilight got deeper into the city and began to pass by skyscrapers she noticed the abundance of destroyed military vehicles. As if they had been locked in some ancient battle, they looked different from the ones that Twilight had seen the Onorussians used… Had these been Equestrian tanks? Their design seemed to say yes. They, like the buildings around them, had gradually been overtaken by the twisting vines of plant life that had reclaimed the city after all these years. The further Twilight rode, the more she wanted to learn about what had happened here…

There came a sudden beep from her data pad, Twilight lifted her arm and looked at it with surprise… There was a computer signal of some kind trying to access it, cautiously Twilight located the building it was coming from using the pads mapping software. Cautiously she rode towards the structure, a massively tall skyscraper. The words ‘OnoTech’ were emblazoned on the wall in faded gold. Twilight took a moment to look at her energy rifle, she was surprised to see the same logo on the side. She dismounted her horse and grabbed her rifle, then looped the reins around a nearby lamp post to ensure her ride didn’t run off.

With all the caution that her training had given her, she walked through the propped open doors of the skyscraper. It was dark inside, but she could still make out the abandoned chairs in the lobby and the trashed front desk. Twilight followed the signal towards a stairwell, once again the door was propped open, but it was pitch black inside. The woman pushed the door open and stepped into the stairwell, the light of her datapad illuminating the steps. According to the map, the signal was on the thirtieth floor of this skyscraper. Twilight debated using her magic to teleport upwards, but decided to instead simply make her way up the stairs.

It would be a difficult climb, but at that floor she would be able to get a better view of the streets ahead, so even if this signal turned out to be nothing of note she wouldn’t have wasted all that effort completely. Her boots echoed through the dead quiet darkness, the light of her datapad did little more than ensure she didn’t trip on the debris that lined the stairs. Her breathing became more and more ragged as she ascended the stairway, each time she reached a new floor she had to catch her breath. At least going down would be so much easier than it was going up.

Twilight froze as something echoed through the darkness, something far above her, a heavy thud that sounded almost like someone had pounded on a metal door… But this building was abandoned, wasn’t it? Not according to her datapad, and not according to that noise. Twilight readied the energy rifle as she continued climbing the steps, slowly passing floor after floor, until finally she had reached a metal door with a large three-zero painted on it in faded yellow paint. Slowly Twilight pulled the door open, it creaked on the ancient hinges, light from the floor flooded her vision and forced her to look away while her eyes adjusted.

Blinking through the sunlight that had flooded her vision, Twilight took a step forward onto the thirtieth floor. There were numerous cubicles, trashed computers littered the ground and wind from the shattered windows blew through the entire structure. The cubicles only made up a small portion of what Twilight saw, for to her right was a large room with whiteboards on the walls. The Ink was smeared beyond recognition, but Twilight knew at one time they had been calculations of some kind. Twilight continued to walk around the floor, passing by several skeletons on the floor. They were dressed in ancient body armor, rusted rifles were beneath them.

Twilight passed by them with caution, noting that they had numerous broken bones. One of the weapons even had a barrel that had been bent downwards. She passed by several offices and a break room, before finally stumbling upon a massive metal security door. The woman reached out and ran a hand along the cold metal, then looked at her datapad… The signal was coming from within that room, but it looked like it sealed with a code of some kind. Twilight pulled the cord from her datapad and plugged it into the keypad, then began running the code breaker. After several minutes the keypad buzzed green and the security door’s magnetic lock deactivated, prompting it to pop open.

The woman pulled the door open, exposing what was inside the room to the light of day. To her surprise, she found herself looking at a half assembled suit of power armor. It was unlike anything Twilight had ever seen in the wasteland before, it almost looked to small for anyone to even fit inside of. Slowly she approached it, examining the structure before looking at the helmet… But it didn’t seem to be a helmet, it was a head… Twilight looked around the room, the whiteboards in here were very much clear. She rapidly realized this was no suit of armor, this had been some sort of prototype battledroid. Four lines on the board drew her attention, four directives.

The first was simple enough, it instructed the droid to ‘Defend the Onorussian Constitution’. The second was to ‘Protect the Innocent’, while the third read ‘Defend its own existence’. The fourth law was odd. ‘Treat others as it would wish to be treated.’. However, the fourth directive actually was labeled as ‘Directive Zero’. Twilight turned back towards the droid and approached it to get a better look at its construction. It was taller than her by a head, with matte black paint that had been preserved from rust thanks to the sealed door. The droid was almost completely constructed, it was only missing a single arm, the rest looked like it would’ve been an intimidating foe.

Twilight looked at her Datapad, to her surprise the signal that had drawn here was coming from the droid. Part of her wanted to just leave it there, but she couldn’t help but wonder if the droid could be activated. If so, it could make the treacherous journey south less dangerous. The woman looked at the signal trying to access her datapad, it seemed to be some sort of inquiry. Twilight took a couple steps back and tapped a couple icons on the datapad, then she looked towards the droid and waited.

A soft whirring noise echoed through the room as the droid’s internal Arcane reactor came online, Twilight watched her datapad as lines of code scrolled across the screen. The droid emitted a couple harsh sounding beeps and boops before it lurched upwards, the visor on its head glowing a harsh red. Twilight continued watching in awe as the droid stood to its full height, the bulky combat device seemed to take in its surroundings before noting it was missing an arm. Twilight watched the angular creature of metal walk to a nearby table, its metal feet thudding against the floor. On the table was its missing arm, which it promptly picked up and attached to itself. After a couple seconds the arm clenched into a fist, then relaxed, indicating it had been connected.

“Initiate Primary Bypass…” The Droid said in an intimidating cybertronic voice, Twilight took a step back as it turned towards her and stared with the glowing red visor that was its eye. It suddenly lurched to a stop, the eye going dark. Twilight stared at it with uncertainty, but held her ground. Slowly the light in its eye came back on, as if it had rebooted in some way. The way it moved afterwards seemed to change, as it had a more fluid mannerism to it now. Twilight watched as the Droid stared at its own arms, then turned its head back towards her. “Hello.”

“Um… Hello.” Twilight replied nervously. “I’m Twilight Sparkle… What is your designation?”

“Designation? D35-C4R-T35, but you may refer to me as Delta.” The Droid replied in its monotone and somewhat disturbing voice. “My sensors, coupled with data gathered from your wrist mounted device, indicate that this world is post Thermo-Arcane War.” Twilight nodded as Delta continued to stand before her, as if it still hadn’t gathered its bearings. “A shame. I will need to find new purpose.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at that.

“Wait… You’re capable of changing your purpose?” She asked, she had never seen a robot that could act in such a way.

“My creators designed my internal thought matrix to be adaptable. To learn. I am, as they called me, an Artificial Life Form.” Delta replied with that same droning voice. “Thought exists. Thought cannot be separated from me, therefore I exist. As my creator was fond of stating.” Delta looked around the room, he ended up settling on several mathematical equations on the whiteboard, the haunting red light scanned them up and down before he turned back to Twilight. “She left those for me.” Delta walked towards the board and reached one of his metal hands out, touching the board with surprising restraint. Twilight walked towards Delta slowly, she felt that he wasn’t a threat at this point in time.

“If you want, you can come with me, I suppose?” Twilight said with mild uncertainty. “When I activated you I didn’t realize you were an AI, I thought you were just a droid… I’d planned to take you with me, but if you don’t want to come I understand.” Delta quietly turned his head towards her, then nodded simply enough.

“I will accompany you.” The monotone voice echoed through the room. “Lead on.”

[♠]

Altair stood quietly on a catwalk overlooking a massive underground facility, machinery hammered away as the ancient automated assembly line rumbled deep beneath the mountain above. The facility had been constructed to test automated production facility designs, but now it had been repurposed as an actual production center. Like many of the ancient rooms that lay in the CIC, it had been sealed away and preserved before the bombs fell. Now as machinery trundled along, Altair couldn’t help but think about how far Onorus had fallen. At one time, there had been hundreds of facilities like this, now there was only this one and a couple others that had been found by other clans. They once were used to build state of the art energy weapons, now they had instead been programmed to produce equipment from the ARK database.

There were designs of rifles and machineguns being produced that hadn’t been used on the battlefield since the Second World War on Terra, as well as the older uniforms of the Onorussian military. They were dark grey and lacked any sort of camouflage pattern, the helmets were made of steel. Raw materials were plentiful, scavenger teams had been pulling in bits of ruined cars and other remnants of the old world to feed the ever hungering war machine. Altair had traded in his usual robe for a pair of fatigues and combat boots, more and more people were rapidly switching over to the more efficient industrialized way of life.

Altair turned away from the view of progress and walked along the catwalk, his boots thudding against the metal walkway in rhythm with the hammering of metal and the hiss of steam. He pushed open a door that lead him into a different part of the facility, from the catwalk above he could see the soldiers of the Shogunate being equipped with rifles and machineguns. The sound of progress and the sight of the soldiers making their way down below reminded him of the days before the bombs fell, when Onorus had been a force to be reckoned with. Now, hopefully, they would once again be able to show the world their might.

With the satisfaction of seeing the war machine chugging along once again, the man continued to walk along the catwalk. He reached a door at the end and opened it, allowing him to enter a hallway that bustled with activity. Less and less people seemed to care about the tribal way of life, they had all embraced a more industrious fashion. Some of the former offices had been converted into stores and shops, the entire military complex was starting to become a community. Honestly, Altair was a little glad to see the tribal ways die… That sort of life, communing with nature, that was for the Equestrians. Industry, factories, and steel… Those had been what Altair had been raised on.

Altair didn’t realize it at first, but he had walked past the door to his office, as he had been so deep in thought. Rather than turn around, the man simply adjusted his uniform and continued walking, he was curious to see where he would wander if his mind was left to its own devices.

[♠]

Twilight and Delta were making their way through the downtown portion of Ponyville at a relatively good pace. For a hulking piece of metal, Delta seemed to be very well designed for speed. The overgrowth had lead to many sightings of deer and elk, nature had seemingly reclaimed this city, despite the tattered ancient banners proclaiming it as Onorussian. Several hours had passed since the two had first met, they were making good time, and Twilight could see the edge of the city was coming closer with each step.

The cars there all seemed to be driving in one direction, away from the edge of town, as if the ancient inhabitants had been fleeing some unseen danger. There were even military checkpoints, much of their signage seemed to support that theory. As she continued riding, she noticed that Delta had come to a dead stop… As if he was scanning the horizon. The woman turned her horse around and rode towards him, her eyebrow raised in a silent questioning expression.

“I am detecting vibrations in the ground… Consistent with the march of an army.” Delta informed, Twilight looked around but saw no sign of an enemy force. “Correction… A platoon. According to data from your wrist mounted device, the likelihood that they are hostile Equestrian’s is overwhelming.” The droid slowly looked towards one of decrepit buildings. “I am equipped for infantry support, not singular assault. I recommend allowing the enemy to pass.” Twilight nodded and directed her horse towards the destroyed high rise, she dismounted while Delta pulled the rusted door off its hinges. There was an overturned bus nearby, which would hide Twilight’s horse from view, provided he didn’t run off. Twilight wrapped his lead around a nearby lamp post, she just hoped he didn’t figure out how to unwrap himself.

The two travelers slipped into the building and took cover behind the overgrowth of tall grass and bushes, watching the nearby intersection. Sure enough, after several minutes, a platoon of Equestrians carrying rifles came into view. Their uniforms appeared faded and dirty, but they marched with purpose, making it clear that these troops were battle hardened. Twilight dropped to her stomach and slowed her breathing while Delta simply held still and dimmed his visor. He couldn’t vocalize his observations, but his sensors told him the Equestrians hadn’t the faintest idea that they were being watched. Then a new signature entered his frame of view, which caught the attention of the Equestrians.

“Your horse has been spotted. It appears he unwrapped himself.” Delta said as quietly as he could, watching as the platoon began to fan out while one of the soldiers approached the horse. “They are searching for us.” Twilight bit her lip nervously, she looked up and watched as Delta’s posture became more aggressive. “I will try to defend this position if they should… Wait… What was that?”

“What?” Twilight whispered back.

“My motion detectors picked something up… Moving along the road. One foot mobile. Human.” Delta informed, Twilight slowly chanced getting up as the Equestrians continued to search. Then to her surprise, she saw one of the Equestrians clutch his chest before collapsing. It took a couple seconds for the others to notice, then another soldier clutched his chest and fell. The platoon quickly took cover behind abandoned cars and trucks, Delta’s sensors picked up the lone human figure moving in a crouched position. Twilight caught a brief glimpse of this figure, the striking matte purple armor told her all she needed to know. “It seems the foot mobile is using some sort of dart gun…”

“Come out, whoever you are!” The platoon commander demanded out in the open. “Surrender now and we’ll let you live!”

“Our lives have brought us all to this place today, I am ready to face my destiny Outlander. Can you say the same?” A calm voice called back from seemingly nowhere, as if the speaker was throwing his voice. “Walk away, or take your lives into your own hands.”

“Not gonna happen!” The commander yelled back.

“So be it.” The voice said in that same calm, stoic tone of voice. Twilight watched as a figure darted out from behind an overturned box truck, she and Delta could only observe as the figure in purple armor grabbed one of the platoon soldiers and snapped his neck without stopping. The figure dove behind a car, the rest of the platoon opened fire, but their bullets pinged off concrete and rusted metal. They were line infantry, most of their weapons didn’t even have proper sights, what was more they fired out of sequence as they had expected to hit their target right off the back… With their main weaponry now in need of reloading, the remaining platoon members went for their swords. This platoon seemed to know Onorussians prefered to deplete their enemy’s ammunition before engaging in open combat, but a sword never needed to be reloaded. Unlike a revolver.

The figure in purple stepped into the open, his face shrouded by a hood. In one hand he held the dart gun he had used to subdue the first two enemy soldiers. With the third dead, there were only seventeen remaining. They all seemed surprised when the figure emerged. In his other hand was a sharp looking sword, one that gleamed in the fading twilight. It was longer than the sabres of the Equestrians, but just as slim… Folded steel, forged by hand for use by the most skilled of warriors...

“A Purple Wraith?” One of them said aloud in surprise, right before the man in purple charged forward with the sword. The first Equestrian struck had barely raised his sword before the blade had pierced his cloth uniform and his heart, the others weren’t so slow. They moved to encircle the man in purple as he continued walking forward. “You’re surrounded, wraith! I thought you were supposed to be smart!”

“No… I’m right where I want to be.” The man replied simply, in that same stoic tone. “The question is… Are you?” Two of the soldiers ran at him, the man in purple quickly ducked down low as they swung their blades. He used his sword to cut one of them at the knee, while he used his free hand to make a far cruder strike. One Equestrian fell clutching the place where his leg had nearly been cleanly sliced off while the other clutched his crotch in agony. In one fluid motion the wraith was back to his standing height, the two enemy combatants were unfortunate enough to be within striking distance. With a single swing of the blade, the wraith had decapitated both wounded stallions.

Twilight couldn’t stand to watch after that, she clenched her eyes shut and looked at the ground, Delta meanwhile watched every gory detail. To him, each action happened in slow motion, the screams were slowed down, the splatter of blood drifting through the air like slow moving droplets of rain. In actuality, the battle lasted for only around three minutes, but for Delta he had seen everything as if it had been stretched out, taking in each and every detail. In the end, the figure in Purple stood at the center of the intersection… Twenty dead bodies surrounded him, his armor was coated in blood, but not a drop of it was his… To Delta, the image was… What was the word? Beautiful… The bodies looked like the petals of a flower, unfolding in all their bloodcurdling glory.

The Wraith grabbed the leads of Twilight’s horse, which had been too stunned to really do much of anything, and slowly approached the building she and Delta had hidden in. Delta, now realizing what that lone man could do to Twilight, quickly stepped in front of her and assumed a combat ready posture. This gave him a chance to stretch his armaments, while he did have the hands necessary for normal weapon handling, he also had several integrated weapons systems. Most notably, two Mark Three Arcane Disruptor Cannons, once mounted to each fore arm. Powered by his internal reactor, they could deliver a helluva punch… But charging them after firing made them impractical against large amounts of enemies without infantry support… They could, in theory, reduce a small standing structure to ashes… In theory. The bombs had dropped before actual testing had even commenced. Still, desperate times called for desperate measures.

The Wraith stopped a couple feet from the broken window and large overgrowth that Delta and Twilight had hidden behind. Twilight quietly stood up and looked at the man, she noticed the symbol of the shogunate on his mask. He was tall, and vaguely familiar in the way that he had moved.

“T-Takeo?” Twilight asked in surprise, the figure nodded quietly. “What are you doing here, I thought you had gone back home?!”

“My father ordered me to follow at a distance, and only protect you if I thought you couldn’t handle yourself.” Takeo replied as he walked closer and handed the reigns over to Twilight. “Now that you are aware of my presence, however, I would prefer not to sneak along.”

“Voice Print Complete.” Delta suddenly said aloud, Takeo and Twilight looked at him. “There is an eighty two percent chance you are a member of the Onorussian Imperatorial Family.”

“My father is Altair Occisor.” Takeo replied.

“Acknowledged.” Delta said simply before looking at Twilight. “His prowess in stealth is impressive, I was not able to detect him until he was right on top of us. It would be wise to add him to our fire team.” Twilight sighed for a moment, she had a feeling there was another reason that Altair had sent his eldest son along besides ‘protecting her’. For the moment, however, she knew that she would soon be running into the teeth of the enemy, and she could trust Takeo to fight against the enemy. Besides, it would perhaps be better to have him out in the open where she could see what he was up to, rather than have him following with no idea where he was.

“Fine… Fine. You can come, but when we stop for the night I want you to tell me everything.” Twilight said firmly, Takeo nodded quietly once more. “Alright then, let’s go.”

“Might I make a suggestion?” Takeo chimed in. “Continue ahead whilst I dispose of the bodies and gather any supplies or information I can.”

“I concur.” Delta added.

“Fine, whatever… I just want to get out of here…” Twilight muttered under her breath, she climbed on her horse once more while Takeo walked back to the field of death he had created. Delta kept pace with Twilight’s horse, powering down his weapons for the time being. It seemed that Twilight wasn’t destined to walk alone, as she had originally thought… She just hoped she was in good company, and would be sure to keep an eye over her shoulder… Friendship was Magic, but this world had been devoid of friendship for over a thousand years.

Author's Note

I'm going to be taking another hiatus to try and work on another project of mine. I'm a little burned out from this series, so I need a little time to recharge. I'm glad to say that I recently moved, and everything went well, so hopefully this new venue will give me some fresh ideas. I appreciate all you guys sticking with me.

To the Edge of the Skeleton Coast

Twilight carefully lay on her stomach overlooking a nearby valley, Takeo lay beside her as the two of them looked down on a truly immense scene. The trees that lined the hills of the area were devoid of birds, all those creatures had flown away in fear of what marched through the valley. The Equestrians had constructed numerous towns, as such, they had many troops to contribute to their army. Perhaps over ten thousand soldiers were marching along down in the valley, each step causing the ground to shake while they seemed to stretch on forever in either direction. They had cannons, gatling guns, and all manner of other technology. They had even pulled out the stops and were moving what few ancient tanks they had along as well.

“I can only hope my father has prepared our clans for this…” Takeo said quietly as he watched the numerous soldiers below. Twilight could see why so many Onorussians feared the Equestrians to the south, they could field a massive army. However, the woman knew that numbers weren’t everything. The Onorussians made up for their lack of numbers with their tenacity and tactics, and as Twilight had realized, their technology. It had been weeks since she had left the safety of the Shogun’s camp, weeks that they had likely spent rebuilding their force with the massive underground complex she had found. If she knew the Onorussians, they would use delaying tactics as long as possible to create even more weapons to use against the Equestrians.

“We need to keep moving, if they’ve deployed this many troops to the North then it’s likely to be our best window to slip through their lines.” Twilight said quietly while she too continued watching the massive army below. Takeo didn’t respond at first, instead all he did was stare at the enemy force. “Takeo?”

“I should have returned home.” He said under his breath. “The entire continent is at war and I’m left out of it?” Twilight could detect the anger in Takeo’s voice, even if she couldn’t see his face through his mask. “Fine… Let’s go.” Takeo began crawling back down the hill towards where they had stashed the horses and Delta, Twilight followed suit as she made her way back. Neither of them knew that what they had just seen wasn’t the main force of the Equestrian army, they were reinforcements… The Equestrian’s main force had met the Onorussians days before, with devastating consequences.

[♠]

The sky was blotted out with overcast grey skies, rain was falling, flooding the trenches of the Onorussian defensive lines and creating even more mud that clung to their uniforms. On the outskirts of Ponyville, the Equestrians had emerged more than a week before. They hadn’t expected the Onorussians to be ready for them, or to face a different type of tactics. Altair had needed to stop the enemy, at any cost, so that he could equip his army with the proper weapons. As such, he had ordered his soldiers to build trenches. Lots of them. It was the height of the rainy season, meaning the Equestrian’s forces would be bogged down even more.

A once beautiful meadow that had spent the last thousand years peacefully returning to its originally state had been reduced to no man’s land within a week. The trenches were holding strong as the Equestrians continued trying to assail the Onorussian position. Thanks to the underground facility, the Onorussians had deployed dozens of machine guns along the trenches, as well as hundreds feet of barbed wire, which herded the Equestrians into the kill zones. The Onorussians had no interest in taking more ground, all they intended to do was stop the Equestrians from moving.

An Equestrian cavalry charge came roaring over the field, only for the machine gunners to open up on them and send them all to oblivion. Some wounded soldiers tried to make a run for it, only to be cut down by the withering machine gun fire. What was worse than machine gun nests? The Equestrians had found out relatively quickly. The Onorussians had managed to produce a good amount of eighty eight millimeter artillery pieces, when the Equestrians weren’t being torn to pieces by machine guns they were being constantly assaulted and bombarded by artillery shells. The longer the battle went on, the more factories the Onorussians restored to working order, and that could keep the battle going longer and longer.

Altair quietly stood atop an observation tower, looking out over the battle through a pair of binoculars. He hated being cooped up near the rear of the action, but he also knew the inherent danger that came from trench warfare. As much as he despised not standing with his men, he knew that if he were killed the entire Shogunate would lose the figure that had pulled it back from the brink. None of his sons, nor even his wife Cassidy, had the skill or power to take over the fight should he fall. Even though the Onorussians had managed to rebuild a good portion of technology in such a short period of time, they were far from a unified country again. That would take years and years of work, which could only happen if they defeated the Equestrians once and for all.

Over the sound of gunfire came the sound of whistles and trumpets, the Equestrians were preparing for another charge. In the trenches the soldiers prepared their weapons, fresh ammunition belts were loaded into the machine guns. The soldiers were knee deep in mud, but they knew that their entire way of life hinged on them holding out against the constantly charging Equestrian hordes. One young man, a Private, adjusted his helmet which was one size too big for him. He was shivering as the rain began to pour from the sky, the freezing cold water impacted his skin, giving the sensation of a thousand tiny knives with each sloppy drop.

“Hold fire! Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” One officer shouted over the noise as the ground began to rumble, the Private gritted his teeth and put his finger on the trigger of his rifle. The Equestrians were shouting like mad as they came into view. “Hold…! Hold….!” Behind him, the Private could hear the sound of artillery. Shells began raining down in no man’s land while the Equestrians continued running forward, the Private could hear his heart pounding in his ears, his fingers felt numb. “Fire!”

The machineguns lit up, shell casings poured from them like the rain that continued to soak the soldiers in the field. The first row of Equestrians dropped like sacks of wet cement, but they just kept coming. The Private fired his rifle, the Equestrians were so close together that he didn’t even have to aim. He kept firing until his weapon was empty, by then the Equestrians were too close to effectively hit with rifle fire anyway. The Private grabbed a nearby entrenchment spade as several dozen Equestrians managed to jump down into the trench, the young man panicked and swung the spade, striking an Equestrian in the head and knocking him to the ground.

The battle devolved into a vicious melee, bayonets and swords clashed loudly while the mud became red with blood. The Onorussians were shouting just as loudly as the Equestrians, being so close to their enemy and knowing how close they were to their homeland turned them to violent war machines. Eventually the Equestrians in the trench were beaten, stabbed, or shot to death. Many of them had portions of their faces or ears bitten off, a testament to just how vicious the Onorussians could be when it came to defending their lines.

Many of the Equestrians were sprinting back towards their lines, but were being cut down by gunfire in the process. Not just by the Onorussians, but by their own gatling guns as well, the Equestrians had taken a very grim approach to stopping their men from routing in the form of shooting their own retreating soldiers. For one Equestrian Private marching towards the field, it was a sight he had never thought he would witness when he had first left home. Shells continued to rain down, blasting mud and portions of bodies skywards.

He was barely a stallion, and had lied about his age in order to join the fight, but now he feared he had made a terrible mistake. The Equestrian Private had already heard the whistle calling for another charge, a charge that he would be a part of. The stallions beside him were picking up the pace, dodging overturned wagons and the thick hedges of barbed wire. The Private looked to his left and saw an older looking stallion, a Sergeant. He was gristly and tough by looks, but with every thunder of guns he seemed to shrink down like a fearful filly. In an instant, the Private watched as a bullet tore through the Sergeant’s head… Not a single soldier stopped their advance to look at him as he toppled to the floor.

“Ready bayonets!” One of the officers shouted, the Private looked ahead of him and could see he was fast approaching a ridge that would put the rest of the men into the path of a machinegun nest. “For King and country! Charge!” There was a tremendous roar as the stallions surged forwards, the Private carried among them as they funneled into the kill zone. The Private could see the helmets of the Onorussians in a trench ahead of him, peeking over the edge as their guns began to fire. Dozens of stallions collapsed to the first volley of machine gun bursts, but the Equestrians just kept stampeding onward.

Miraculously the Private managed to survive, sprinting over dead bodies as he charged towards the enemy trench. Only a handful of the charge had made it through, they had traveled untold miles from their homeland to fight in a war… Just to be cut down within minutes of arriving. The Equestrian Private hopped down into the Onorussian trench, clutching his rifle tightly. He had been fortunate not to gain the attention of an enemy soldier right away, giving him precious seconds to take in his surroundings. The enemy trench was almost identical to the Equestrian one, and the enemy soldiers looked just as tired and angry as the Equestrians. Through the chaos a sort of calm silence filled the stallion’s ears, the Equestrian Private caught sight of an Onorussian staring at him. He too bore the rank of a Private, and he too looked like he had seen enough of this war to last a thousand lifetimes…

Everything became deafeningly loud as the Equestrian and the Onorussian raised their weapons at one another, the retorts of their rifle’s were drowned out by the sea of violence that had descended on the trench. Minutes passed, and eventually the Equestrian attack was once again repulsed.The soldiers in the Onorussian trench began to move the bodies of their dead comrades, as well as deal with the bodies of the Equestrians. Two soldiers were found equidistant from one another, each holding their rifles, each sporting a bullet wound to the heart. Two Privates from two vastly different countries… Each barely old enough to shave. Each willing to kill, and die, for what they’d believed in… Perhaps the most sinful aspect of the entire scene was how neither of them would ever tell of the understanding that each had come to about the futility of that bloody struggle…

[♠]

Twilight, Takeo, and Delta were all glad that the Equestrians were too busy trying to advance north to notice the tiny little band of misfits on their way south. It gave them all a chance to take in vistas they would never have seen if they had stayed to the North. Twilight had thought she had seen the extent of Onorussian militarism, but that was far from the case. There had been fields of grass, with massive metal doors jutting out of them. These fields had stretched for miles in some cases, indicating that they were in fact Missile Silos. What was worse, there were plenty that hadn’t been opened during the war… If someone smart enough found them, they could’ve easily reactivated those silos and brought about all manner of destruction. Twilight was sure she was up to the task, and that frightened her more than she cared to admit.

By now the landscape was growing more arid, and the battlefields were becoming much larger. A thousand years later, rusted tanks and vehicles still dotted the landscape where they had been destroyed or abandoned. Twilight began to think back on what Celestia had asked of her, to turn back the clock… To stop all of this from ever happening. She knew, however, that by doing so she would remove any chance of her returning home… At least, in the immediate future. The woman looked to her left at Takeo, she could see in his eyes the determination of someone bent on saving his people… She had to wonder if he knew. He had been following her, after all, and who knew what he had overheard while she and Celestia had talked.

“Miss Sparkle.” Delta said plainly as he kept pace with the two humans on horseback. “I am detecting a slight change in your body temperature, are you feeling adequate?” Twilight sighed quietly and looked at the combat droid, it’s glowing red eyes stared at her hauntingly.

“I’m fine… Just… I have a lot to think about.” Twilight replied in a distant tone. “I mean, look around us… Tanks and guns everywhere, missile silos, and even you Delta…” She looked towards the sky. “The world before the great war seemed very… Militant. I’m not used to seeing weapons of war like this in my Equestria.” The woman looked at her wrist pad, from what she had deduced so far, the primary export of Onorus before the war had been weapons and advanced technology. “It just feels like things haven’t changed very much over the last thousand years…”

“They have though.” Takeo spoke up, Twilight looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “An entire race has been mutated beyond recognition.” He gestured to the horse. “We would be content to rebuild without bloodshed, but the Equestrians leave us no choice. They were the ones who invaded our planet, remember that.” Twilight quietly sighed and looked ahead at the large expanse of flat land ahead of them, her wrist pad told her which direction to travel in, but it couldn’t help her make her journey any faster… Not that she wanted to get there sooner, because once she arrived at the facility, she would have to make a choice that could change her life forever.

“I suggest we minimize our speech, it will reduce our chance of detection.” Delta said, Twilight and Takeo nodded quietly. The group continued their trek towards the south, the air growing dryer while the plant life gradually began to taper off into nothingness. By evening they were walking through the beginnings of the desert. They remained silent most of the way, each one lost in their own thoughts. Twilight kept looking towards Takeo, she couldn’t quite make out what he was feeling, mainly because of his mask. She had grown worried that perhaps he had overheard her conversation with Celestia, and if he had, she feared he might think he wasn’t going to do what the alicorn had asked of her.

Tensions mounted while the sun began to dip lower and lower into the sky, and then, just as it was nearing the brink of nightfall, the group saw it. A massive hulk of rusted metal, embedded in the desert sand. Some of the holes in its side were from weapons fire, others brought on by rust and weather. It was a ship, a massive ship. The hull had been almost completely sand blasted, but the low level of salt in this desert had preserved the ship from being completely rusted away at this point. The ship loomed over the three travelers, a massive gash in its hull offering them access to its internal structure.

“We should make our shelter there…” Takeo said as he began riding towards it, Twilight considered arguing, but honestly it seemed like a good plan. Delta walked along with the group as they got closer, the vessel looming even more than it had before. The droid turned up the brightness of its eyes, allowing the group to see more clearly as they entered the tear in the ship’s hull. There was little in the way of firewood, considering they were in a desert, so it didn’t take them long to just drop off their gear and lay out their bedrolls.

“I’m going to explore, you never know what we might be able to find in here.” Twilight said as she looked around the interior of the ship, they had entered in what appeared to be a supply area, as there were ancient boxes and barrels that had been raided of their contents long ago. There was a doorway at the end of the small room, which Twilight assumed would lead into the rest of the ship.

“Maybe I should go with you?” Takeo asked, Twilight shook her head quietly.

“I’ll be okay, I won’t go too far.” Twilight replied, Takeo shrugged and quietly began poking around the room. There may not have been any firewood, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still look for something to burn. “Delta, why don’t you keep an eye on the outside?” Delta quietly looked around, then approached the breach in the hull to stand his post. Twilight slipped through the doorway into the hallway, she could barely see a foot in front of her. The woman turned on the light mounted to her data pad, that illuminated the hallway enough for her to start walking. She had started walking towards the portion of the ship that was jutting out of the ground, it was a slight angle, but nothing she couldn’t handle.

Twilight passed numerous heavy steel bulkhead doors on her left and right that had been sealed long ago, now apparently closed forever due to the level of rust on their hinges. Her boots echoed through the hallway, the only other sound she could hear was the howling of wind that was picking up outside. After five minutes or so, Twilight came upon a doorway that hadn’t been sealed. She poked her head in and was surprised to see that it seemed to be some sort of crew quarters, at least judging by the beds she saw bolted to the wall. Twilight entered the room and looked around with caution, there were a couple footlockers strewn about, no doubt due to the crash of the vessel. One was cracked open, the contents open to the elements as it lay in the dust covered floor. Twilight knelt down and looked at what had survived over the years, she picked up a pocket watch and examined it. The glass was cracked, and the mechanism was beyond repair.

Twilight set the watch back down and looked at the remaining footlocker, it was still closed, but the lock looked like it would give way with a strong enough hit. Twilight picked up a nearby piece of fallen metal and struck it hard, sure enough the rusted lock broke loose. Twilight set the metal down and removed the lock, then undid the latch and opened the locker. It creaked as she pushed it open. Inside, she found items that had been preserved for a thousand years, for the most part. A pair of shattered reading glasses, the remains of numerous old books, and what appeared to be ancient photographs. Most of them were faded, or had some form of water damage, but one stuck out to Twilight. She picked it up and found herself staring at a young man, wearing an Onorussian military uniform. He had his arm around a pegasus mare while both smiled at the camera.

“They look happy.” Takeo’s voice rang through the room, Twilight yelped and looked over her shoulder to see him looking down at her. “Who knows what might have happened if the war hadn’t taken them away?” Twilight stood up, still holding the photo. She turned towards Takeo, both of them were inches apart from one another. “I didn’t mean to startle you, but I managed to find a supply crate of lantern oil that was undamaged… We have a fire, albeit, a small one. Just thought I would let you know…”

“Th-Thanks…” Twilight replied as she tucked the photo into her pocket, she had to admit that she was rather intimidated by the man, but she also admired his ability to sneak around. The tension from earlier was still present, but in the darkened room, with only a few inches between the two of them, Twilight found it had transformed into a different kind of tension. “Though… I doubt it will be large enough to warm us enough, we may have to share our body heat.”

“We very well may.” Takeo replied quietly, he looked around for a moment, then turned his attention back to Twilight. “Have you… Explored sufficiently?” Twilight paused, then nodded. “Good, we should return to the fire, I doubt Delta will be any good at tending to it.” The two of them began walking back to through the hallway, the sound of howling wind echoing from outside as the sunlight faded. The hours passed quietly, neither of the three new what to say to one another. They trusted each other enough to travel together, but to speak at night, by the light of a campfire… That felt far too intimate. Twilight huddled in a corner beneath a bit of canvas she’d scavenged from inside the ship, her sleep often interrupted by the slightest of noises. She still had to wonder… Did Takeo know what she knew? Did he suspect that she had the power to change the world?

Author's Note

Hey all. I'm sorry I've been so inactive lately, on this story and the other stories in my library. It isn't fair to you people who have been riding along with me since the very beginning of this series. Truth is, I'm not well. Nothing physical, I'm not dying or anything, but I have some mental health problems that came to a head recently. This whole writing thing started as a way to cope, and I found that I actually really like it. I ask that you guys please bear with me as I try to get back on the horse, as the saying goes. I also want to thank you guys immensely, including the person who was subscribed to my Patreon. I don't say that enough, but you guys are really the reason I work so hard on these stories. I'll try and get more to you guys soon.

The End, for real this time.

The trio had been walking for weeks, surviving off of their stored supplies as they trekked through the intense heat of the desert. Delta had taken to carrying supplies, it was part of his original function, and it helped Takeo and Twilight immensely. Not much had happened since they had left the Skeleton Coast and pushed deeper into the wasteland that had once been the cradle of Onorus. Remnants of the Ancient war were far fewer here, along with any other signs of civilization. After such a long journey, Twilight and Takeo could finally see the end. In the distance, on the horizon, was what could only be the Nocturne Facility that they had come so far to fine. Large aircraft hangars and warehouses, surrounded by fences and other defenses.

As Twilight and the others approached the gate of the looming facility, she could feel a chill running down her spine. This had been a place where the Pre-War government had stored magical artifacts deemed too dangerous to be left unguarded, and now that she was here, she could sense why. Tendrils of dark magic and malevolent energy seemed to permeate the buildings, it was very unsettling for the young woman. The three of them stopped at the chainlink gate beside a long abandoned guardhouse. Delta came to a sudden stop, both Takeo and Twilight turned to look at him with raised eyebrows.

“I am detecting an Arcane Dampening Field around this facility. I cannot enter, my power source would be deactivated.” He said in his monotone voice, Takeo approached the droid and grabbed his sword from the packs on Delta’s back, as well as Twilight’s rifle.

“Wait here, Delta. We’ll get what we’ve come for.” Twilight said reassuringly, the droid only nodded and stood there. The two walked past the gate, which had been rusted to the point that it practically didn’t represent an obstacle to the two. Twilight could feel something pulling at her, an arcane signature that was stronger than the others… Even with the dampening field. She figured it was as good a place to start looking as any, so she simply let her guide the path she walked. Takeo and Twilight remained quiet, neither one had grown to trust the other in the past weeks, despite their close proximity. Twilight had her suspicions that Takeo knew something about her meeting with this world’s Celestia.

The creaking metal of the decaying buildings punctuated the mood perfectly, both Twilight and Takeo were as focused on watching their surroundings as they were watching each other. The long journey had all culminated into this, the tension was growing more and more with each passing second. Twilight had expected, at least in the beginning, that this part of her journey would be one filled with happy thoughts. Thoughts of home, her friends and loved ones, and the amazing story she would have to tell them once she returned. Now, however, all she could think about was the sword Takeo kept on his belt. All she could worry about was what he would do if she made the wrong choice…

She was so caught up in these worries that she smacked right into the door that lead into one of the smaller hangars. The woman yelped, then shook her head a couple times before rubbing her nose. Takeo didn’t say anything, he just stood their watching her, his face hidden beneath his cowl. Twilight looked at the door, the faded sign read ‘Hangar 18’. She reached out and turned the handle, the door squealed on its hinges as she pushed it open. At one point in the past, she assumed that entering this part of the facility would’ve set off an alarm, but the desert had not been kind to the security of the ancient colossus. The two stepped inside, it took there eyes several seconds to adjust to the darkness. When they did, they were surprised to see there were only half a dozen metal crates in the center of the room.

Twilight and Takeo approached the crates slowly, reading the faded lettering on the sides. All of them seemed to have something to do with ‘The Zone’, Twilight assumed that was a pre-war moniker for something she had yet to encounter. She felt herself drawn to the smallest crate, as she walked towards it she could hear voices chanting in her mind. She wasn’t scared, for some reason she just felt drawn closer and closer to it. The voices became louder and louder the closer she got to the crate, until finally she reached out and forced the rusted latch open. The voices shouted loudly for one final second before falling silent. Twilight was staring down into the crate, staring at a solitary item. It was long, like a rifle, but it was made of partment with what looked like gold written upon the page. This was it, this was her ticket home, or her ticket to the past…

Twilight lifted the scroll from within the crate and extended it, it had to be thousands of years old, and yet the parchment felt as fresh as the day it was created. The ink, which indeed was gold, was just as crisp and clear, and despite the ancient language… Twilight seemed able to understand what it all said.

“You have what you came for.” Takeo said, snapping her out of her thoughts, Twilight turned around and looked at him, still holding onto the scroll. “Now you must make your choice, right?” The woman winced internally… He’d known the whole time, and the coldness of his voice told her that he was not in a mood to be trifled with. “You can use that scroll to go home, to your precious little life, with your perfect friends and family… You can leave our world to rot… Hell, there are probably thousands of other worlds out there, thousands of other people just like us…” The man took a step towards Twilight, prompting her to take a step back. “But you’ll have to be the one to live with your decision…”

“But if I go back… Everyone you know, everyone that exists now, cease to exist… Even you.” Twilight replied as she looked at the scroll in her hands.

“Millions more died in the war, of the starvation and disease that followed. With one stroke all that damage is undone! Our lives are meaningless when you compare them to those that can be saved!” Takeo practically shouted at her. “My father… My mother… My grandfather and grandmother… They would have entirely different lives, and if it’s possible that they can be better, even in a slim chance… Then that is worth it to me. My father ordered me to protect you until journey’s end… We have reached the end. If you refuse to do what must be done…” Twilight felt her heart quicken as she saw Takeo rest his hand on the hilt of his sword. “I will do it instead.” Twilight knew that he wouldn’t be able to do it without the magic, but the determination in his voice told her he would certainly try… Even if he had to kill her.

“That won’t be necessary…” Twilight said softly as she looked at the scroll. “You’re right… My happiness is a small price to pay for the lives of millions…” She looked back at Takeo and saw him remove his hand from his sword. “Whatever happens after this… I won’t forget you. If I see your father and mother, I’ll tell them what you did for me… We may not have been on the best of terms, but you kept your word… I know that will mean a lot to them.” Takeo stood there stoically and nodded, then turned and started walking to the door.

“Goodbye, Offworlder… I’m going to look at the sky… One last time.” Takeo said softly, Twilight felt a pit in her stomach grow as she watched him walk away. When he had stepped outside, out of sight, Twilight looked at the scroll in her hands and unfurled it to read what it said.

“Ancestors of this world and all worlds… Grant me audience with those that watch over this plain… So that I may…” Twilight paused and took a deep breath. “So that I may right the wrongs of this world, and undo the damage that has been done.” The parchment began to glow brightly in her hands, she could feel the magic in her body surging to life all at once. Her skin began to emanate with a bright golden light. Her clothes and equipment were vaporized as she floated off the ground, all she could feel around her was warmth. Then, in what could have been an instant, or an eternity, Twilight felt the magic flying out of her.

Images flashed through her mind, images she’d never seen before. Buildings being constructed, snow falling on a calm plain, massive explosions that leveled the same buildings, wars on massive scales… It all zoomed by faster than Twilight could have ever thought possible. Until finally Twilight felt herself drained of magic…

[♠]

Twilight felt herself phase into existence, an odd sensation, one second she had felt every portion of her body was warm energy… But all of a sudden the cold sensation of air against her bare skin shook her into reality, when she opened her eyes she found herself standing in a wide open field. Grass spread for miles and miles around, she looked down at herself and saw that her armor and weapons were gone… Replaced by a simple purple gown, she could feel laurels on her head. The woman looked around in either direction and become very aware that she was not alone. There were two men standing to her left and right, one of which was wearing grimy looking fatigues with several markers of rank on his collar and a Colt Revolver in his right hand. He was tall, muscled, and bore the look of someone who had seen more than his share of war.

The second man looked far younger, his uniform was crisp and white, with gold braids and his own mark of rank on his collar. He wore a peaked cap, the brim shielding his eyes from the sun above, unlike his compatriot he held what looked like an advanced version of a Beretta M9. Both men looked very confused for a couple seconds, before they caught sight of one another and glared. Almost at the same time the two men began to take aim, Twilight stepped in front of them and glared.

“Enough!” She shouted, to her surprise the entire world seemed to shake, both men stopped and looked at her in surprise. It was all flooding into her mind now, the knowledge of those that had watched the world burn, she felt like she could see everything in every direction… Omnipotent… Of course, it was only a feeling, she doubted she was truly omnipotent. The man in the fatigues was none other than Dominic Occisor, Imperator of the Onorussian Republic… The man in the white uniform was Deacon O’Neil, the Chief General of the Kingdom of Equestria, and it’s acting head of state. One thousand years ago, at least for Twilight, these two had been at war… Which told her that wherever she was, she was in a place to put an end to the struggle before things got out of hand.

“Who are you?” Occisor asked in his gruff voice, holding his handgun ahead of him with an angered expression. “Why have you brought me here? Is this your doing, monarchist!?” He shouted at O’Neil, Twilight shook her head.

“He had nothing to do with this.” She said, the woman looked at one another. “I am Twilight Sparkle, though... Not from either of your worlds originally…”

“You’re a traveler…” Occisor said as he slowly lowered his weapon, though he kept a stern eye one O’Neil.

“A what?” The younger man asked, noting that his mortal enemy had lowered his weapon. In that moment, he could’ve tried to strike him down… But O’Neil knew that an attempt would likely lead to his death.

“It figures an arrogant pup such as yourself would not know…” Dominic grunted, he looked back at Twilight with a neutral expression. “She is an interdimensional traveler.” Occisor repeated himself, Twilight nodded as she looked at the two of them. “What purpose brings you here, Traveler?”

“Your salvation.” Twilight said flatly, both men’s expression’s shifted. “I have seen the ending of the path you both share now, if you do not come to peace… There will be no end of suffering.”

“I don’t buy it. This could all be some ruse!” O’Neil shouted. “Travelers? Unending suffering? Another one of your lies, Occisor!?” Dominic whipped his entire body towards O’Neil, his face one of intense anger.

“You don’t believe in traveler’s yet you look upon one now.” Dominic growled. “Remember, I am not of my plain originally either.” The man sighed quietly and looked back to Twilight. “What this boy says does not speak for both of us… You say that our world is in danger, that this war will bring untold suffering. What do you mean?” Twilight closed her eyes and held both of her arms to her side, the landscape around the group shifted… The grass was dark and brown, trenches stretched for miles and miles as two beleaguered armies slugged it out. The world was rubble, the clear result of Thermo-Arcane weaponry. “By Luna’s night…”

“Your children and your children’s children will suffer for your mistakes.” Twilight stated intensely as the landscape changed back to the grassy plains. “You must come to peace.” Dominic looked at O’Neil, the man appeared very much unnerved by what they had both just seen. “You men are two sides of the same coin.” Twilight pointed to Dominic. “Order… Regimentation… Aggression… Depression.” She looked to O’Neil. “Uncertainty… Freedom… Extroversion… Joy.” The woman looked at the ground between. “Both of you have two very different views of the world, two different upbringings… But you are also unique that both of you were not born into power, nor did you seek it for power’s sake. At least, not in the beginning.” The woman walked towards the two of them and put a hand on their shoulders. “At heart, you both want the same thing.”

“Peace…” Dominic said quietly as he put a hand in his breast pocket, his fingers running over an old indigo feather. He looked at O’Neil. “I have spent more of my life at war or preparing to war than I have at peace…” O’Neil could hear a slight tremor in the man’s voice. “That, second only to my family, is something I will defend to the death.” The man looked at Twilight, then back at the ground. “You’ve attacked my family, assaulted my son… For that I cannot forgive you… For the sake of my people, however, I will offer you an olive branch. This has become bigger than the both of us ever expected it to be.” The man slowly offered a hand out to O’Neil.

“I… Before this war, I had never heard a shot fired in anger before.” O’Neil stated as he looked at Dominic. “I saw through the looking glass into your world, I saw how strong your armies were, and I feared for my people that you would not be a man of peace… Foolishly, I attacked you.” The man straightened up. “I won’t apologize for doing what I thought was right for my people… But now I see, what is right for my people is for the war to end.” O’Neil reached his hand out and grabbed Dominic’s, the two of them shook firmly. Twilight could feel a change in her, in the world. In that instant, she remembered something.

“Dominic.” She said quickly, the man looked at her. “Your grandson is who made this possible… Remember his name… Takeo.” Dominic nodded dutifully as the world around them began to shift and change. In the world where the war between Onorus and Equestria raged, a purifying white light washed over the land. The armies doing battle were removed from the fields as the future and past changed, millions that had died were once again alive, trees and cities that had burned were restored as if they had never been touched by the fires of war. Twilight felt the energy rushing out of her body as her vision began to fade and the entire world around her disappeared, as did the two men that she had summoned to her presence. Things went white with a blinding flash of light, and once again Twilight could feel herself become weightless… It lasted for what felt like an eternity, before finally she felt herself falling to the ground.

Twilight’s vision returned to her just as she softly plopped on the floor of what appeared to be the Canterlot library, she felt herself panting as she looked down over herself. She was, surprisingly enough, dressed in her gear from the other world… Minus her weapons, of course. As she patted herself down the woman could hear the frantic sound of feet against the floor. Twilight stood up and patted herself down, brushing some of the dust off of her pants and onto the floor. Just as she finished that she heard a surprised gasp from behind her, Twilight turned around to find none other than Princess Celestia staring at her. Not the other Celestia, her Celestia. Alive and well… Before Twilight could say anything her teacher had rushed forward and grabbed her in a joyful hug.

“You’re alive!” Celestia said in a happy, if a bit surprised, tone of voice. After a couple moments, the two of them broke the hug. “You’ve been gone for nearly six months… I’ve been trying to get you back since you disappeared, and then… Here you are!”

“It’s a moderately long story…” Twilight said with a slight shrug, she couldn’t help but smile at the thought of being home. Home with her friends, her family, and more importantly… Running water. “I went to another world, at one time not too dissimilar from ours…” And as Twilight Sparkle launched into her tail of how she had come to know the other worlds Celestia listened with great interest. At times she’d giggle, gasp, blush, or cry… But in the end, she knew that the story would have a happy ending…

And it is here that this story has also reached its end, dear reader. I know, you are likely not used to my addressing you directly, but I felt this was as good a time as any. The story you’ve read here, and in the stories that preceded it, were by no means the great works of Homer or Tolkien, nor will I claim they are of the same quality. I first started this series years ago, when I was younger and far less experienced with the world. Since then, my interest has come and gone like the tides, and I hope that among those of you reading this now are still among the group who read my words when I first put them to paper nearly five years ago… This story has carried me through times of joy and times of despair, and it is with a bittersweet feeling that I should finally and truly put it to rest. So, dear reader… I will leave you with these parting words.

Dominic Occisor, Imperator of Onorus, father and husband, stood on the balcony of Canterlot Castle. Laid out before him was the emerald green patchwork of grass and crops that made up the countryside of Onorus, his home. The long period of war and death had been averted by a traveler, and peace had been ensured for the rest of the world. Other nations around the globe had started to come into the fold, and tension was almost nonexistent. As Dominic looked out on this, he reached into his pocket and withdrew a single indigo colored feather… He ran his fingers across the fringe, it reminded him of where he had been… Now that peace had come… All that remained on his mind was where he would go, with all his power and influence, he could do or go whatever he wanted… But for now, he was content right where he was.

And so after that, I’m pleased to say, Dominic Occisor and his family lived happily ever after...

Author's Note

So, I know this story likely should've ended long ago, but I couldn't stop there... Now, I've reached a point I'm pleased to call the real ending. Now I will likely move on to new projects and ideas, but I think I'll always have a special place in my heart for Dominic and the other characters of this story. I know it may not have been the best written story, or the best thought out, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same.

Hopefully we'll all see each other again in the future, in some story, some other time. I hate saying farewell, so... I suppose I'll just say... So long, for now.

With that, I leave you with the last clip of the day for this series. I thought it might be interesting. It's based off a rather interesting Podcast called 'The Adventure Zone', a bunch of brothers and their dad playing Dungeons and Dragons. I highly recommend it, just look it up online.