The Titan War

Since her ascension, Twilight had grown used to the sometimes strange dreams she had. None of them had ever amounted to anything in the end, and when she had asked Princess Luna, the mare only said that it came with being an alicorn.

Twilight had a feeling that there might be more to it than that, but since none of them had come to something in the real world, she had let it lay for months on end now.

This one though? She had a feeling this one was different.

She found herself before the Tree of Harmony. Outside, the sounds of the Everfree Forest could faintly be heard. All of the Elements of Harmony were all glowing, all seemingly trying to tell Twilight something.

And then the tree spoke, nearly making Twilight jump out of her feathers.

"The sands of time have run out, Princess Twilight. Equus faces a threat not seen since an age long forgotten by all. A terror unlike any you have ever faced."

Before Twilight could ask what that meant, a screen appeared before her, showing what looked the lands to the south of Equestria, and what seemed to be a monstrous storm. But something about the storm felt wrong, alien. Unnatural.

"From the south, the King of Terror flies north, his strength growing by the day."

The view changed. Now it showed a smoking mountain, which could only be a volcano about to erupt, and with great force, if this was any indication.

"The Fire Demon stirs in the False Princess's mountain. His coming will be like a hurricane. His wings bring death to all in his shadow. Yet none know where he stands in what is to come."

Twilight finally found her voice. "What does all of this mean? Why are you telling me?"

The voice was quiet for a moment before it responded. "Equestria faces its darkest hour. You must be the one to lead it in the Long Night to come. Or there is no future for this world."

Twilight frowned. She didn't like the sound of that. "What about Princess Celestia? Princess Luna? I'm not a leader. I've never been a leader. Don't act like they're dead."

There was an unmistakable tone of sadness in the response. "This era is ending. The Sun and Moon will fall in Zero's shadow, going out, so that others may live."

Twilight shook her head. "No! I refuse to believe that. They wouldn't do that. They can't die."

The voice smiled, though Twilight couldn't see it. "Whether you believe me or not is up to you Twilight. My time here is almost up for now. But I leave you with this."

The screen changed once more, changing to a view of the deep waters of Eternities Crossing. And slicing through the waves was a set of huge black fins. It was going fast, judging by the spray thrown up in front of them.

"Look to the east, Twilight Sparkle. For the Uncrowned King returns, and in his shadow, Equestria must choose. Either to die without a fight. Or stand with him. For the Titans have returned."

With that, everything around Twilight went to black. But before she lost it all completely, she heard one last thing. A musical, melodic, chirp, one that gave her new hope.

***

With a start, Twilight awoke in her bed, her brow streaked with sweat. For a moment, she didn't know who or what was going on, and then it slowly came back to her. Looking out the window, she could see the faint gleam on the horizon that meant dawn was not far off. It was a sight that she had never been more glad to see.

But the dream would not leave her alone. Something told her that it was more than just a dream. But what did it mean? And why now? None of it made any sense, and it was driving her crazy.

Twilight sighed as she threw off the covers. She wasn't getting back to sleep at this rate, so she might as well get up and start the day. Looking in her nearby mirror, she giggled at the mass of bed mane she had and started toward the bathroom to make herself presentable.

Passing by the window, she looked toward Canterlot. From this high up, she could just make out the Solar and Lunar Towers where her mentor and her sister lived. The sight made her heart clench as she remembered one thing in particular from her dream.

"The Sun and Moon will fall in Zero's shadow. Going out so that others may live."

Those words would haunt Twilight for a long time to come.

***

Princess Celestia was not a morning pony. Granted, the morning didn't start until she raised the sun, but the fact remained that she was never her usual cheerful self until she had several cups of coffee in her.

This morning, even that was not helping her mood as she looked at the ponies before her and Luna. In all her long life, she had never seen ponies so burned or disfigured. How any of them made it this far was a miracle in itself. She turned to look at Luna. "Are you sure?"

Luna nodded, trying not to look green in the face. It was a losing battle. "Yes. This is all that made it out of the town. They told me as much before they." Luna couldn't finish the sentence, but the flatlines on the heart monitors said all Celestia needed to know. "I do not know how they made it this far."

Celestia nodded, trying to keep her breakfast where it belonged, but it was easier said than done. "Dragon fire does not do this. I've seen ponies with those burns. Torch would never allow this to happen. Not like this. Our kinds have been on mostly good terms for a long time now." She shook her head. "Did any of them say what did this?"

Luna shook her head. "I couldn't make it all out. But they all said the same thing on one thing. Whatever did this is heading north toward Equestria's heart, destroying all in its path."

Celestia nodded, her expression grim as she trotted out of the hospital room, Luna quick to catch up. "Then we don't have much time." She turned to a Royal Guard at the door's side. "Send a message to Captain Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire. I want him here as soon as possible. His shield may be of great help if this thing does come here."

The guard nodded before running off. Celestia turned to another guard at her side. "Give the order to the Civil Defense. Canterlot and Ponyville are now at Level Two Alert. Have them be ready to go to Level One if needed."

The guard paled at the thought, but he too nodded before running off. Luna looked on in shock at what her sister had just done. She of course knew what it meant. Level Two was that both locations were now on high alert for danger. And Level One?

Level One was the complete and total evacuation of Canterlot and Ponyville. No ifs, and, or buts, allowed. Never before in Equestria's history had it ever gone as high as that. It had never been thought possible it would ever need to.

"Are you sure of this?" Luna asked, as the two of them left the hospital behind and returned to Canterlot Castle. Around them, most of Canterlot was just waking up, unaware as of yet of the news to come.

Celestia nodded, her gaze falling as she looked around the city. The feeling that she would never see the city like this again would not leave her alone. "Yes, Luna. Something tells me that this is not something to take lightly. I made the same mistake with Tirek. No more."

Luna placed a hoof on her sister's shoulder. "Then what is to be done now? Shining Armor will not be here for some time. I doubt Cadance would not allow him to come."

Celestia nodded. She too didn't believe her niece would countermand her command, though it was well within her power to. It was a power she seldom used. A power Twilight Sparkle had as well, though she had never once seemed to even think about using it. "I must inform Twilight and her friends about this. Applejack will want to know. Part of her family was there. They need to know."

***

"And you're sure Princess Celestia didn't say why she wanted to see us like this?" Rainbow asked as the girls made their way through the busy streets to Canterlot Castle. While they had done this before, it felt different this time. Yet no one could say why that was.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "For the twentieth time Rainbow, no. All she said was that we all had to come to Canterlot immediately. She didn't even use my name, or even her special seal she normally uses if it's just regular correspondence. Princess Celestia used my full title. She never does that unless it's an emergency."

"Maybe it's something to do with why all the animals are acting strangely?" Fluttershy asked, looking even more worried than usual. "I hope everything's alright."

"Maybe it has to do with that big storm cloud over there!" Pinkie said excitedly, pointing a hoof to the far south. The girls looked in that direction as well, and their worry only grew.

A mass of black storm clouds had begun to form on the southern horizon just as they were leaving Ponyville that morning. From the train ride to the capital, they had watched them grow larger and larger with each passing hour. Neither Rainbow nor Fluttershy had been able to explain it.

Whatever it was, none of the group liked it, and as they came to the gates of the castle, they hoped Celestia and Luna might have an answer to that as well. The guards at the gate didn't even stop them, as was normal, and let them pass without a word, only adding to the sense of worry.

Making their way through the castle, no one could help but notice that the palace staff and guards seemed to be one more of an edge than usual. Hushed whispers and fleeting conversations followed them as they were directed to the Grand Council Chamber. Inside, they found Celestia and Luna looking over a map of Equestria, their expressions worried.

When Princess Celestia looked up, Twilight was shocked to see the weariness and the weight of years her mentor's eyes carried, ones that were only slightly improved as they fell on the group. "Princess Twilight, Spike, girls. Thank you for coming. Though I wish it had been under better circumstances."

That got their attention, as they all shared a look. "What's wrong?" Spike asked.

"Do ya need us to beat up another bad guy?" Applejack asked, almost looking forward to the thought and idea, as did Rainbow Dash.

Luna shook her head, her own weariness a match for her sister's. "I wish it were that simple Miss. Applejack. But this is something else. Something that we are not sure of yet."

Twilight's ears fell, her own worry skyrocketing. "What is it?"

Princess Celestia collected her thoughts for a moment, tears beginning to gather in her eyes. "Appleloosa has been destroyed. There are no survivors."