Chapters 101 AG, Capital City, Fire Nation, Royal Palace
The moon hung high in the skies above the Capital city, bathing it in a mix of rich moonlight and shadow as the silvery light was blocked by the rocky spires rising up above the great city. Here and there a few lanterns and candles lit up the darkness, but many had already drifted off to sleep. Only a few were able to enjoy the beauty and peace of this serene evening.
Two of those people sat in the garden of the Royal Palace, seated upon a bench, leaning into each other and holding hands as they gazed at the stars twinkling above them.
Fire Lord Zuko gently kissed his lover’s forehead as he stroked her fingers, sighing as he said “I wish we had more moments like this.”
Mai hummed, nuzzling into the crook of his neck as she said “You are the Fire Lord you know… you could always delegate some of the work.”
Zuko smirked. “I’ve thought about that… but we both know I get more done when I’m the one handling it.”
“Your not wrong.” She said with a soft smile of her own as she gave his hand a squeeze. “Maybe this weekend… we can take a short little retreat. I’m sure everything won’t fall apart that quickly.”
Zuko returned the gesture and rested his head atop hers as he mulled it over. He had been working a great deal lately… both of them had. There was so much work to do still, so much to keep in mind and many balancing acts to be made…
He’d known taking his Father’s place and becoming Fire Lord, bringing an era of peace and restoring the honor of the Fire Nation, wasn’t going to be easy… but after numerous grinding days going through records, talking with delegates and ministers, sifting out and purging his father’s loyalists and a few assassination attempts…
“You know, a short vacation does sound rather nice… how about we-” Zuko began… but before he could finish his sentence… it happened.
There was a brief flash of light from the moon, then the sky filled with silver hued light in all directions, waves and ripples of energy flowing and twisting this way and that way about the sky.
Zuko and Mai both leapt to their feet, still holding the other for a moment more as they stood, transfixed. The sight was beautiful and terrifying to behold, and fear struck them both. What was happening? What was this light, what was this field of energy that was filling the sky? Was it everywhere?
So many questions bounced across both their minds as they, like many others across the Fire Nation who had yet to lay their heads down for rest, bore witness to an event that would simply come to be known… as the Displacement.
But neither Zuko nor Mai knew this yet… they simply remained standing, entranced by the light show playing across the sky as it grew brighter and brighter. As they both raised their hands to try and shield their eyes, only one other question could form in his mind…
Does the Avatar know what is happening?
Mo Ce Sea
Aang had been playing with and chatting with some of the children from one of the Fire Nation colonies they’d just helped evacuate when it happened. He felt a sudden surge in spiritual energy, and looking up, he saw it before everyone else began to.
“Aang!” Katara cried out from the front of the ship even as he raced over, Sokka joining them at the front. Everyone was now looking ahead at a great, giant sphere of white energy further ahead on the horizon.
“Appa, yip yip!” Aang called out as he shot into the air, the Flying Bison quickly racing forward to catch Aang. Together, they surged ahead and soon were nothing more than a pinprick to the two friends.
“What’s going on?” The Fire Nation Commander of the boat asked as he came up to them, though his eyes were on the strange dome of light ahead. Katara and Sokka just shrug and turn their gaze back to the horizon.
Aang flew and flew, the feeling that something was very, very wrong filling him, especially as the dome of light only seemed to get bigger and bigger. When he finally reached it, it took up the sky and made it impossible to see the horizon…
He also knew where he was now- at the very edge of the waters of the Fire Nation.
He tried to pass through the barrier, but was repulsed, nearly falling off Appa. He reached out to try and touch the barrier, but even that repelled him. Getting even more concerned, he shifted into a meditative stance, trying to seek the advice of the Avatars… but this was nothing like any of them had encountered. They could feel a great deal of spiritual energy, but had no idea what was happening.
Then, the dome of light began to pulse. Whatever was happening, it was about to either get worse, or finish. Aang quickly turned Appa away from it and shielded his eyes moments before the dome flashed in a brilliant explosion of light that was enough to turn night to day for a large portion of the western ocean.
When the light finally faded, and Aang and Appa could see again, they turned… and saw nothing but endless ocean. No islands… no ships bearing the flag of the Fire Nation...
Just water… water as far as the eye could see.
Aang felt… sick as he slowly turned Appa and headed back, his mind and body feeling like both had just been suckerpunched. No.. no it wasn’t that… he felt… numb. A numbness he’d never felt before… even the spirits of the past Avatars was in shock.
When he returned to the fleet of ships… his friends and the Fire Nation commander rushed up to them, a flurry of questions for him… but he only had one answer.
“The Fire Nation… is gone.”
Canterlot, Equestria
Celestia could still hear some of the music, laughing, singing and other sounds of merriment from the palace as the Wedding Reception continued on through the night. Pinkie Pie and DJ-Pon 3 were doing quite a good job at making sure everyone was entertained and in good spirits.
Which was good, as it allowed her, Luna, the Royal Guard and the Night Watch to begin cleaning up the damage from the Changeling attack on the city. Some of the strange green ichor was all over the place, and the love enhanced shield spell hadn’t freed everypony. They’d also begun doing sweeps of the city, finding several other Changelings still hiding or lurking about.
Oh, and a few corpses for the unlucky Changelings that had been smashed into walls, the mountain, or buildings.
“My Captain reports we are nearly done Sister.” Luna said as she flew down to her, Celesia’s horn glowing briefly as she used her magic to clean away some more ichor.
“Good. We’re lucky the damage is as minimal as it is. If Cadence hadn’t been there…”
“Yes, it is good that Twilight was able to see through the deceptions of Chrysalis… though I must admit, I am surprised you were unable. She is your niece is she not?”
Celestia blushes a bit but says “I was distracted with my duties and trying to figure out the source of the threat made against Canterlot.”
“No need to be offended dear Sister, I was not seeking to tease you about it.” Luna said as she came over and gave her a nuzzle. Then added mischievously “I’ll save that for later.”
Celestia rolls her eyes, then asks “Why do you think the Chrysalis tried something like this? Such a blatant attack…”
“I only have the reports I read this morning, the ones you provided me, but if I had to guess, I’d say she has gotten greedy.” Luna replied as she looked up to the palace for a moment. “I know that you’ve fought her in the past, and the reports suggest she and her Hive have been limited in how much Love they can gather in an effort to keep a low profile…”
Celestia nodded. “It struck me as being more of desperation… but then, surely she could have gathered enough love for her Hive from her time with Shining Armor…”
“She does not strike me as the sort to share a great deal of love, even with her swarm. So it was doubtless for her to grow more powerful.”
Celestia nods, sighing as she says “I hope she’s learned her lesson this time. I do not wish to go to war and invade the Badlands and depose her.”
Luna draped a wing over her sister’s back at this and gave her a soft smile. “So do I Sister… though something tells me we haven’t seen the last of her.” Seeing that didn’t do much to make her sister feel better, Luna nuzzled Celestia again and said “Go on Celly, head back up. I’ll wrap things up down here.”
Nodding, Celestia gives Luna a thankful smile, kisses her cheek, then flies on up. Just as she’s departing, one of her Night Guards land and she says “When we’re done here, gather your best scouts. If Chrysalis did have more planned… I don’t want to be caught unaware…”
“Yes Your Majesty!” He says, saluting and flying off as Luna heads back to the throne room. Night Court might be cancelled due to the festivities, but there were still dreams to watch and tend to…
Across Equestria
Even as she was being blasted across Equestria and back towards the Badlands… Chrysalis was not ready to declare this a failure. So the takeover of Canterlot had failed… the rest of her vast swarm was still ready and in position…
She would not be denied. She would have Equestria… one way or the other.
Picking herself up from where she landed, she closed her eyes and sent forth a simple message.
Now.
With that single word, thousands of Changelings hidden across Equestria awoke, and prepared for the next phase of the plan.
Royal Palace, Throne Room, One Hour Later
As soon as the brilliant light show had finished and the sky was filled with only the moon and stars again, Zuko had wondered if anything had actually happened. Then he noticed that the placement of the moon in the sky was different… and he didn’t recognize any of the constellations in the black canvas of night above them.
When Mai noticed the latter and pointed it out as well, Zuko turned and called out to one of the guards on duty, ordering him to gather the fastest couriers and ready some messenger birds. He also shouted at another to wake the generals and the Fire Sages and to have them brought to his Throne Room at once.
An hour had passed, with Zuko doing his best to keep from being angry at the wait. Soon the guards arrived with scribes and couriers, ready to take whatever message he wished.
“Something strange has happened… I want messages sent out to every corner of the Fire Nation. Commanders, Mayors, Village elders, I need reports in on the state of everything. Anything odd, anything or one missing or out of place, I need to know about it as soon as possible. Now get to it!”
The scribes and couriers nodded, bowing or saluting before rushing on out just as the Fire Sages were brought in, followed by his generals.
“Forgive me your highness, but what could possibly warrant being woken up in the middle of night?” one of the Generals grumbled, earning a bit of a glare for a moment before one of the Sages spoke up.
“It’s about that strange white light that filled the sky isn’t it?”
“Yes. To any of you who didn’t hear or witness it, a strange white light filled the skies over the city an hour ago. When they were gone, the Moon was on the opposite end of the sky, and the stars had changed position.” He looked to the Fire Sages and said,
“I want all of you to make sure that Mai and I weren’t seeing things. Study the stars, look for the constellations that are supposed to be in the night sky at this time of year. And I want you to report on anything you can feel or discover from the spirits.”
“It will be hard to do the latter Fire Lord…” One of the older sages replies. “In fact, communing with the spirits could prove rather difficult.”
“Why?” Zuko nearly shouted, to which the sage simply said,
“An hour ago, I was mediating in the temple… for a brief moment, it felt like everything, physical and spiritual, was going dark for a moment… it reminded me of the sensation before a sneeze.” Zuko’s eye twitched a bit at this, but the next words pushed his annoyance away and replaced it with worry yet again.
“Then… there was a long moment of… detachment… before things felt like they had snapped back… but when I broke my meditation, everything felt… off. Different.”
Zuko’s brow furrowed for a moment as he considered the implications of this. “Did anyone else feel something like this?”
Two more of the ten sages who had arrived raised their hands, and Zuko closed his eyes before saying “Go, quickly. Study the stars, meditate, just… get me some answers!” The sages nodded and quickly hurried out as well as Zuko moved back to the throne, kneeling down and scowling a bit as he rubbed at his head. He did not like the ideas that were forming in his mind just from hearing that…
“Your Orders your Majesty?” one of his Generals inquired, pulling Zuko back to the now.
“Put the city on lockdown… only essential supplies and people to get through… I want ships and balloons sent out to check the waters and skies surrounding the Fire Nation. I need to know if… whatever that light was has affected us.. Or the whole world.”
“Do you think these strange lights were an attack?” His head General Zhuan Xun inquired, and Zuko scowls a bit again. Mai rests a hand on his shoulder and he takes a deep breath. His expression is stern as he replies,
“I don’t know… but I want all of our forces at the ready. If it was an attack, we won’t be caught sleeping.”
The Generals all nod, bow, and turn to leave, murmuring amongst themselves. Only once they had left did Zuko slump a bit and place his head in his hands.
“Hey.” Mai says as she squeezes his shoulder. “You’ve done what you can for now. There’s nothing else to do until we learn what’s happened.”
“I know… but I don’t like this… and I don’t like having to sit here and wait to find out what’s happened.”
Mai nodded. Patience had never been easy for Zuko, even if he had gotten better at it over the last year.
“Let’s head to bed… we should have some news in the morning.”
Reluctantly, Zuko nodded. Mai was right… for now, he had to wait for his messengers and soldiers to bring news to him. His mind nagged at him though, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something strange and troubling had struck the Fire Nation…
Sleep however did not prove all that helpful. Dreams of his past flashed before his mind, moments of success, moments of failure. Of despair and hope… visions like this in his mind hadn’t happened since before he found his destiny and left to aid the Avatar…
Then the dreams seemed to settle… he was in the garden again, as a young boy… his mother was there with him, the pair gazing up at the stars. Even though he knew it was a dream, he nestled into her embrace, smiling as she smiled down at him before they both turned their gaze to the…
To… the… moon.
Zuko’s eyes narrowed, and he studied the silvery orb in the sky above. The Moon… it’s not the one he and his mother had always gazed at. It wasn’t the one that he had seen every night before bed as a child…
Instincts kicked in as he tensed up, the feeling of being watched… that they weren’t alone here in the garden, washed over him. His eyes scan the garden, looking for anything else out of place…
There! A shadow that didn’t belong, that was moving with a wind that wasn’t there! Zuko stood up and lunged, a ball of fire launching from his fist and flying towards the form. The shadowy being easily avoided his attack, moving faster than he expected into one of the hallways.
He gives chase, but just as he dashes into the hall after it and catches another glimpse of it, the dream ends and he jolts up with a start, body coated in sweat. A glance out the window shows that the sun has begun to rise in the sky…
Grunting in annoyance, he tosses he covers off and stands. He’s not sure if he got enough sleep… but he doesn’t feel inclined to try again right now… and with morning upon them, there is work to be done.
Canterlot, Royal Palace, +3 days since the Displacement
Celestia was not having a good day.
Actually, it’d be more accurate to say she wasn’t having a good week at this point. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since the end of the wedding when her day court was interrupted by an urgent message from Baltimare that a swarm of a hundred Changelings had appeared out of nowhere and raided the suburbs of the city, making off with dozens of ponies before they scattered as local police arrived to drive them off. By sunset she had received two more messages… and now it seemed every few hours reports of another raid was arriving to her throne room.
Day court had now been cancelled for the foreseeable future as the throne room was shifted into a war room, the leaders of Equestria’s military absent for the moment, owing to her giving the order this very morning to mobilize the Army and Wonderbolts.
Equestria’s territory covered the vast majority of the continent of Equs, leaving a great deal of room for many small villages and towns, some of which weren’t even on most maps. So much to cover… so much to protect and safeguard...
“This is what I fear it is, isn’t it Lulu?” Celestia asked as she gazed down at the map, adding another black pin for a town that she had just been informed was raided.
Luna nodded her head sadly. “Yes. I think it’s safe to say that the attack on Canterlot was not a one time thing… Chrysalis hasn’t given up her designs on Equestria.” She looked down at the map, not yet noticing any kind of pattern, shaking her head as she said “I’d like to say this isn’t an invasion, but…”
“Following the attack here at the heart of Equestria… it can only be that.” Celestia said, giving the map a sad look as she shook her head at her own naivety. “Chrysalis seems intent on war.”
“And if that’s what she wants, we’ll give it to her.” Luna says firmly, her gaze hardening as she says “I know you’ve offered treaties and such to Chrysalis before. I know that things were peaceful, well, peaceful enough under her predecessor King Exos… but you’ve given the Swarm a chance Celestia.”
“It’s not that Luna… it’s… even though I’ve made sure our soldiers are always in tip top shape… Equestria hasn’t fought a full scale war in over four hundred years… I’m… I’m worried. For all my subjects.”
Luna gave Celestia a sympathetic look, then draped a wing over her and nuzzled her. Celestia returned to gesture and sighed again. Luna gave her a slight nudge and said,
“If you need it Celly, I can manage the war in your stead… For you it’s been a long while, but my stay on the moon didn’t feel like a millenium. I still remember the border skirmishes and the war with the Diamond Dogs. And I have read everything you gave me on the state of our military now…”
Celestia looked to her sister. A part of her did indeed wish to remove the burden of making the decisions for this coming conflict… of the two, Celestia had always had the greatest distaste for war and combat. She had learned the ways of war out of necessity.
Luna on the other hand… Luna had always been a bit more martially minded. She had a fair bit in common with the old Warrior Nobles of the Ancient Pegasi… strike hard, strike fast, seize the initiative and then force the enemy to meet on your terms. Still…
“I can’t do that to you Luna… I can’t put it all on your shoulders.” Celestia says… but then adds “I won’t force you to remain here in Canterlot. If you wish to take to the field once sufficient forces are gathered, you may do so.”
Luna smiled at that, nodding. “Thank you Celly. And don’t worry… it should take only a week, two tops, to rally all of our forces. And as soon as their ready, we’ll push the Changelings back to the badlands and starve them out. We will have the last laugh.”
Celestia could only nod at that, hoping that her sister was right. She had her doubts now… something felt different this time compared to the last conflict with Chrysalis…
Luna let her own eyes turn to the map, running calculations in her head as she recalled all the information Celestia had shared with her since her return… twenty five thousand strong for the Army, with reserves included that went up to thirty five… the Wonderbolts had five thousand strong themselves but most were worth two or three regular pegasi each…
Her eyes drifted towards the western edge of the map… towards the Lunar Ocean. Her ear twitched as she suddenly remembered something.
“Celestia, there is one thing that might make things more… complicated.”
Celestia turned at this, her eyes widening in worry, a brief flash of anger visible in her eyes. Luna raised a hoof placatingly as she said “It's not about the Changelings. But well…” Her own gaze grew distant as she moved a hoof to the map and began to lazily drag it about in the area of the Lunar Ocean.
“The last three nights… during my Dreamwalking… I have been finding... new dreamers A great many new dreamers.”
“What do you mean by ‘new’ dreamers?” Celestia asked, her worry slipping away slightly. Luna seemed to go silent for a moment, her expression thoughtful.
“I felt the dreams of people… people who I hadn’t felt before. Stranger still, many of them appeared seemingly out of nowhere within the Realm of Dreams. They were not the dreams of Ponies, but…” She shakes her head a bit and sighs.
“I haven’t been able to figure out much. However these dreamers appeared, their dreams are still hard to visit, I can only visit a few… the rest I must view from afar… And there has been one I’ve been reluctant to visit again.”
Celestia gave her a nod to continue, and Luna explained “The dreams of someone who carrys a great deal of baggage… his past has not entirely left him… His are the clearest and I have been able to enter his dreams… but each time, he seems to sense me. The first night, he tried to attack me…” At Celestia’s horrified look, Luna waved a hoof dismissively.
“I was in no danger… the Realm of Dreams is my domain… but that this person was able to sense me suggests a very strong will. And last night, he was more determined to chase me down… it took more effort than it should have for me to withdraw from his dream.”
Celestia was silent for a moment, considering what Luna had just shared… and quickly picking up on the unvoiced question.
“You want to know if I think you should try to learn more… visit this individual.”
Nodding, Luna said “All I really know is that these are a different people… unlike what we’ve encountered before… and that their dreams seem to be coming from somewhere out here.” She pokes the Lunar ocean again. “I know not whether they are dangerous, or if this is some ploy by Chrysalis…”
Closing her own eyes and weighing it, she soon nods. “I think you should continue… perhaps try some more discrete observation tonight.”
Luna harrumphed, giving her older sister a wry glare. “Are you suggesting I’ve just been barging into these dreams? I’ll have you know I’ve been working very hard to keep from being seen in any of them I venture into.”
Celestia stuck her tongue out at Luna, whose glare quickly melted… then returned as another messenger arrived with word of a village being raided, with three ponies kidnapped. Celestia sighs, makes sure to thank the messenger as she reads the report… then places another pin on the map.
This was going to be a long day.
Equestrian Military mobilized, reserves set on standby. Hurricane Company of the Wonderbolts is dispatched to begin repelling Changeling Raids and seek out their hidden bases.
The Fire Nation Colonial, Kori, puts her plan to assassinate Fire Lord Zuko on hold when Capital City is placed on lockdown and word begins to spread that the military is on high alert.
The FN Air Force deploys a dozen of it’s new Rong Yuan corvettes- larger than a simple air balloon but smaller than their old cruiser style airships, to begin checking the skies and seas of the Fire Nation archipelago. The Navy is also deployed and eight ships are sent off in each of the cardinal directions to determine what, if anything, has happened to their neighbors.
Changeling forces across the lands of Equestria continue making light raids, mostly targeting small towns and villages. Estimated that at minimum nearly six hundred ponies have been captured by he end of the week.
Chrysalis returns to her Palace in the Badlands, begins preparing for the arrival of captives for the next phase of her plan.
Capital City, Fire Nation, +5 Days after Displacement
The city was on edge. Word about the strange lights in the skies several days prior had begun to percolate through to every corner of it, and everyone was talking about the alert and nervousness of the soldiers. Even with the lockdown having been partially rescinded, the populace was simmering a bit as some noticed the lack of any convoys arriving from the colonies in the Earth Kingdom.
Kori was one such citizen as she sat at a small tea shop, drinking her tea and frowning as she gazed at the palace. She’d come here, fully intent on killing the Fire Lord in the hopes doing so would stop the Harmony Restoration movement. Now however there were soldiers everywhere, the city was on edge, and there were rumors of some weird lights in the night sky.
This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind… She thought dryly to herself, setting her head on the table in annoyance. She fiddled about with a pebble she’d brought with her from home, the first piece of earth she’d ever been able to manipulate. She’d thought of leaving it at home, but decided to bring it along to help remind herself of why she was here and why the Fire Lord needed to die.
Her attention was grabbed as a Fire Nation soldier riding a Komodo Rhino raced by, scattering many citizens as he shouted “Make way! Royal Courier coming through! Make way dammit!” Other soldiers further along the path towards the palace began to push civilians to the side so as to prevent tramplings.
“Wonder what that’s about…” Kori murmured softly to herself, chewing on a biscuit as her eyes drifted back to the palace. She shook her head and got up, placing some coin on the table and heading back to the inn she was staying at. She needed to figure out what the heck was going on, but she didn’t know the first place to start… She’d have to bide her time and wait.
Zuko leaned over a map of the Fire Nation and the areas surrounding it. Little markers had been placed on parts of the Fire Nation, signifying reports that had returned and reported everything was alright. Aside from those who had witnessed the event, and the fears of a few Earth Kingdom merchantmen who had been in Fire Nation waters, everything seemed to be… well, fine.
His instincts however told him that there was no way that was the case. Not after a light show like that… and there had been two ships, one Earth Kingdom and one Fire Nation, that had turned around and returned to port after saying they’d nearly crashed into a dome of white light that had stretched down from the sky and sliced through the water.
It’s going to be a few days before we get word from any of the scouts heading further afield. Zuko thought to himself with a frown as a few of his generals and Admirals conversed. They were talking about one of the convoy’s bringing Fire Nation colonials back home… from the sound of it, it had missed its expected due date.
And with no sighting of Aang and his flying bison or any other Earth Kingdom ships… Zuko was starting to entertain one of the more unlikely possibilities…
I refuse to jump to conclusions! Zuko again told himself as another courier arrived. He looked at the message, nodding and thanking the man for his service and to go rest for the day. He placed another marker on the map. Another province perfectly fine and okay…
This time though, the report included something that gave him more to worry about… a Fire Nation ship headed off to retrieve more colonials had been cut in half by the barrier of light, as witnessed by a merchant ship that had been heading for the Southern Water Tribes. They had moved as close as they dared and rescued some of the crew before turning back.
What was disturbing about the account was that when the barrier had faded, there was no sign of the rest of the ship, nor any sign of the crew. The stern and half of its middle had been all that remained, and it looked like it had been sliced clean through.
“Your Highness?”
Zuko looked up and saw one of the Fire Acolytes. The young man bowed and said “The Fire Sages are ready to see you.”
Zuko nodded, standing up and taking in a deep breath. He strode past the generals, a few giving him worried looks… and they weren’t the only ones. Mai watched from a door nearby, silently wondering if the universe was determined to keep piling work onto her love’s shoulders… and deciding she was going to do something about it tomorrow.
Lunar Ocean
Open Skies stretched as the light of the afternoon sun finally broke through the clouds up above, stepping out of his little cloud cottage and casting his gaze out over the ocean beneath his home.
“Oh ponyfeathers.” He let out a slightly annoyed grunt when he saw that yet again, his home had drifted about a half mile from the tiny little Island where he grew some fruit and tropical flowers to. Anytime even a mild storm rolled through this patch of the Lunar Ocean he’d have to spend half an hour pushing his home back to where he wanted it anchored, and it looked like today wasn’t going to be an exception.
He swept a teal coated hoof through his purple mane, flicking some sweat off as he flew back a bit to check the positioning of his house, make sure it was in just… the right… place…
Instead however, he found his eyes catching sight of something else. A hot air balloon that was steadily approaching his home… the balloon was a red color with a black flame painted on it, and inside the basket was three… well, he didn’t know what to call them.
He at first thought they might be dragons… but then he realized he was seeing armor, not scales, and that the fire powering the balloon was coming from one of their hands, not their scaleless, pink faces with only a little hair on it.
And given the direction they were looking now, they’d spotted him too. He waved at them, and they gave him a wave back, albeit it took a moment. They looked...very confused even as they continued to draw closer.
“Well, no reason to just sit here in the sky.” Open Skies said as he flew on over to them. He took his time doing so; the fact that one of these creatures was shooting fire from his first made him less than eager in charging towards them.
“Hey there! Never seen folks like you around here before. Where ya from?”
The things aboard the balloon blinked a bit, and then one asked “Did that animal just talk?”
Open Skies blinked at this, frowning and tilting his head a bit as he said “Uh, I’m not an animal. I’m a Pegasus. None of you folks ever seen a Pegasus before?” He flew around them a bit to look at them from different angles and added “Come to think of it, I don’t know what you are either.”
The three strange beings shared a glance amongst each other, then after a moment one said “Humans. We’re Humans. From the Fire Nation.”
“Fire Nation? Huh, never heard of that. You from the lands of Cathay?” He asked, neither of them seeming to recognize the name. “I hear there’s lots of weird kinds of folks there besides Ponies, like Deer with magic and some kind of Pony Dragon hybrid.” He landed on the edge of the basket, perching there almost like a bird.
“Course, only heard about them, never seen them.”
The three beings… soldiers he wagered, given they were wearing armor, seemed to look to each other. One mouthed something, while another whisper ‘deer with magic’. Finally, one of them turned and asked “Can you tell us where we are? We’ve never heard of a Pegasus… or any of those things.”
Open Skies blinked a bit at this revelation, then said “You’re over the Lunar Ocean, just a about… a hundred miles away from the Unexplored Lands. It’s a big Peninsula off the coast of Equestria that hasn’t really been explored or settled much, least not by most folks anyways.”
“Equestria?” One of them asks, then another “What about the Earth Kingdom?”
Open Skies blinked at that. “I only know of the Earth Pony Tribe. Part of the three tribes that founded Equestria… uhm… oh give me a sec… oh!” He hovered over the basket edge and said “Two thousand years ago!”
At the blank looks at the mention of the Earth pony tribe, and the others, Unicorn and Pegasus, he said “You folks really ain’t from around here are you?”
They shake their head, and Open Skies frowns at this. Then he smiles and says “Well, I haven’t heard of no Fire Nation, and you’re obviously new and came from the West. How about I tell ya about the Three Tribes and Equestria while you tell me about your home? Best way to get to know your neighbors, as my Dad used to say.”
The three Fire Nation soldiers seemed to consider this, gazing out to the east. From what they’d said, they’d expected to find something else… an Earth Kingdom. But surely such a Kingdom would have Earth Ponies at it’s head, so why would they not know about the other tribes?
With some hesitance, the commander of the group finally nodded. He seemed about to say something, but Open Skies beamed and said “Give me just a sec to leave a note for my cousin Jetstream, she’s supposed to visit sometime this week!”
The three humans watched as Open Skies flew back over to his cloud cottage, eying it in confusion and wonderment, even as they began to turn the balloon around. Moments later, Open Skies came out and stuck his hoof out.
“Open Skies. Nice to meet you!”
The human gave him a strange look at the name, but after a moment shook the hoof. “Xiaochen.”
Open Skies smiled, and began to introduce himself to the others as they turned back around and made their way for their homeland. Open Skies wasn’t too happy about the speed of the balloon… but he didn’t mind. After all, he was clearly the first Pony to meet these people! This was so exciting!
Royal Palace, Canterlot, Equestria +6 Days after Displacement
When Cadance and Shining Armor entered the throne room, they’d expected the air to be tense. They’d been beginning to enjoy their honeymoon, intimately so as it turned out, when the message arrived by Philomena. Who took too much enjoyment in interrupting their fun.
What they weren’t expecting was to see lines of tension on Celestia’s face and the rigid way she was holding herself as other officers talked amongst themselves at the table before them. What they weren’t expecting was the grim and tired look on Celestia’s face.
She looked like she hadn’t slept in a few days, with bags under her eyes and her eyelids looking like they were trying very hard to close so she could go to bed. Even when she saw them, the frown on her face could only shift to a bit of a thin line instead as she took another sip from a large coffee cup.
“Princess Cadance, Captain Armor, I’m sorry that you had to cancel your honeymoon.” She says, most of the Generals looking up and giving the couple a nod but many returning their eyes to the map and continuing their conversations in hushed tones.
“There’s no need to be sorry Celestia… Equestria needs all hooves on deck, and we are happy to help however we can.” Cadance replied with a smile as she moved up to nuzzle her.
“We’re at your service Princess.” Shining Armor added, bowing to Celestia. He quickly stood back up as she waved a hoof away at the protocol.
“I am glad to hear that Shining Armor… because as your wife said, we do need everypony on deck. That is why I am promoting you to General, effective immediately.” She waited for Shining’s salute before continuing.
“I want you to work with the other commanders and generals to begin formulating our defense as our forces mobilize. The Wonderbolts are working to try and find some of their nests and swarms, and have already stopped a few raids closer to larger towns and cities, but the sooner we can hit back at them and rescue our little ponies, the better.”
“At once Princess.” He said with a nod before moving over to the table. Cadance walked on over and gave
Celestia a nuzzle, draping a wing over her as she asked, “Do you need me to do anything? I could keep an eye on things here, or tend to any other duties you have. You look like you could use some rest.”
Celestia tried to shake her head, but then winced a bit as she rubbed a hoof at her head. “Perhaps a short rest couldn’t hurt… though with how worried I am, I’m not sure how if it’ll do any good.”
“You can’t help Equestria if you’re this tired Celestia. Don’t worry, if anything major happens, I’ll come and fetch you.”
She nods, letting out a soft yawn before slowly getting up and letting Cadance take her place. Cadance gave her a nuzzle which her aunt returned before leaving the room. She turned her eyes to her loving husband, meeting them for a moment as she silently wondered just how bad things were.
Shining knew the answer. And that answer was that at the moment, the Changelings had the advantage. He had quickly been brought up to speed, learning that in the last three days only three raids out of a dozen had been repulsed. And it was going to be several more days, maybe a week and a half, before mobilization finished and they could begin to deploy their forces against them.
For now, they were relying on quick thinking of local militia officers and the Wonderbolts, with the latter being the source of two of those three victories…
Shaking his head, he started floating over some quills and scrolls. He had some orders to begin sending out… hopefully, they’d help make the difference for some towns and villages…
Capital City, Royal Palace, Fire Nation +8 days AD
It was not the first of the recon balloons to make its way back to the capital, but it was the first to be making a beeline for the Palace. That in its own right would have been more than enough to catch the eyes of some of the citizens below.
For those who were more eagle eyed amongst them, the sight of a strange, four legged turquoise creature flying around and beside it made it draw quite a bit of attention. As such, it was no surprise that a runner had immediately been sent off to summon the Fire Lord.
A few minutes later, as it began to descend, Zuko, Mai, and several of his advisors strode forth, walking into the center of the main courtyard to watch and wait for it’s landing. They all caught sight of the strange creature even before the balloon touched down and the soldiers quickly clambered out.
The creature landed behind them as they strode forward, its head with those large expressive eyes taking in everything around it with awe and wonder. Its gaze turned back to the soldiers however as they stopped before Zuko and knelt before him.
“Rise, and report.”
The soldier did just that as he stood and said “Commander Xiaochen my Lord. I have brought to you an important guest at the utmost urgency. I present Open Skies, a Pegasus of Equestria.”
Zuko quirked an eye up at this, and asked “And how, may I ask, do you know this?”
“You’ll see, and hear, in a moment my Lord.” Xiaochen then turned and stepped aside, with Zuko’s eyes becoming focused on this ‘Pegasus’ as he stepped forward, bowed by lowering his front briefly, then stood back up and said,
“Good afternoon Fire Lord, it’s a pleasure to meet you!”
Zuko stared at the creature for a long moment, then sighed. This day was going to be more interesting than he had ever imagined it could be.
Fire Lord Zuko and his Council meet with the Pegasus Open Skies over the next few days. Description of Equestria and its world, combined with findings of Fire Sages, confirms that the Fire Nation is no longer on Earth.
Hoofington repels attack by Changeling force of about three hundred, Changelings make off with only a dozen. Hurricane Company chases them off towards Foal Mountain before being repulsed by Changeling reinforcements.
FN Cruiser Dahong Xu spots land, begins to sail along the coast of the Unexplored lands.
Fire Lord Zuko comes closer and closer to catching the spectre in his dreams.
The first captive Equestrians begin to reach the Hive in the Badlands.
