Aftermath Dawnby ScotishbroChaptersPrologue - Two Unexpected VisitorsChapter 1 - A New CallingChapter 2 - A Slight DetourChapter 3 - Luster's 3 [INCOMPLETE]Prologue - Two Unexpected VisitorsLuster Dawn galloped down the long, winding corridors of the mostly empty Friendship Castle in a panic. She had to find Princess Twilight ASAP. "Over there!" A royal guard yelled in her direction. Luster squeaked a bit and picked up her pace. She couldn't let Twilight die. She refused to let her die. Tears started falling as she thought of all the important things she where taught over the years by Twilight, and how that all came crashing down when Gorgon attacked. It was so sudden. One minute, she was sitting with her friends under a tree talking of their latest exploits in Appleloosa. The next they had vanished, the only thing left of them was a black imprint of their bodies on the ground where they were sitting. Luster ducked into a closet to hide from the guards after turning a corner. If she was quick enough, maybe she could stop her Princess from casting the spell that would ultimately lead to her fate. She peeked her head out to check if the guards were still in hot pursuit. After making sure the area was clear, she hopped out and retraced her steps until she was back on track. The guards had tried to detain her earlier, probably in an effort to prevent her from stopping the Princess. Luster had tried numerous times to focus on her objective, but every time her thoughts creeped back to haunt her. She just couldn't stop thinking of the events that led to this disaster. She tried to remember why everything had gone to shit in-between labored breaths. Princess Twilight had decreed that all creatures return to their homelands in an effort to focus work on the rising tensions occurring between the Three Tribes of ponies. However, the decree backfired. Many ponies further separated themselves in the following months leading to entire towns forming overnight that only allowed a single type of pony to live in them. Luster's friends had been allowed to stay in Equestria as ambassadors of friendship so that they could go around and try to quell the uprisings forming. It was a real shitshow, and Luster was caught right in the middle of it. Luster knew that the other Princesses had vanished, but she wasn't allowed access to the files that documented the scenes. Luster thought that their sudden loss was similar to her friends. Although she had little doubt that Gorgon had something to do with their disappearances. Gorgon was a mysterious enemy. Nopony had ever seen him. The only reason ponies even called him Gorgon was because a newspaper editor thought it sounded cool. It made Luster furious that she had no way of fighting back, no way to retaliate and avenge her friends. Luster was nearing the throne room at this point, shaking her from her thoughts. There were two guards on both sides of the door, no doubt in response to their detainee escaping. Luster let a smirk grace her face as she pulled the regal rug out from underneath their hooves and knocking them out with their own weapons. The rug was a Rarity Original, probably worth thousands of Bits, but donated to the castle after Rarity visited and saw that the place needed a makeover. She was gone now, but her influence still showed to this dark day. Luster knew she couldn't just barge in all willy nilly, so she creaked the door and saw Twilight with several royal assistants saying their goodbyes. If Luster succeeded, then their words would be for naught. Luster sneaked in to the dimly lit room, only illuminated by the fiery blue blaze that emanated from the center of the room. After making sure all the assistants had said their goodbyes and left, Luster made her presence known. "Princess! I have come to talk some sense into you!" Luster yelled at the top of her lungs, for the blaze was nearly deafening. Twilight jumped a little. She had thought herself to be alone, so the appearance of what she had hoped to be her successor startled her. "What are you doing here, Luster?! I ordered you to be detained!" Even her Royal Canterlot Voice was heard through the flame, clear as a crystal. "I heard what you were doing, Princess. I couldn't let you leave when we need you so badly!" Luster Dawn yelled. Twilights face softened as she lowered the flames intensity to be able to talk to her pupil. "I understand your apprehension, Luster, but I must do this. Everypony in Equestria is at each others throats. With all of my friends gone, I need to change the Elements so they can help a newer generation." "But you will die!" Luster screeched through teary eyes. "How are we supposed to run a whole country when there are no rulers to control it?!" "Luster, Equestria is gone. Dust in the wind. I tried to rule, but without my friends, the place fell to ruin. Just look outside. The streets are empty. The magic gone. With everypony in those segregated communities, my rule is naught. I am no princess. I am a failure." Luster, muted by the words of her princess, looked down in sorrow. She was a failure too. She and her friends attempted to ease relations between the Three Factions, but her efforts were met with cold stares and thrown rocks. Nopony wanted to be 'friends' anymore. "The wendigos are coming, and with this 'Gorgon' character is seemingly hunting down every princess in Equestria and abroad, I have to do this. It's our last hope. My last action as ruler of this tattered state." Twilight looked at her pupil and began tearing up herself. In a bid to raise both of their spirits, Twilight added "But hey, maybe in a couple of years you can stop this madness. Maybe you can bring everypony back together. Can you try that, for me, Luster?" Twilight raised her pupils chin and wiped away her tears. "I-I-" Luster collapsed in anguish, full on bawling at this point. She knew everything the princess was saying was true, but without her friends, how could she possibly save Equestria? It would be an exercise in futility, if anything. Twilight then embraced her pupil, comforting her with affection. She knew this was the last time she would see another who cared for her, for this was her final play in a war she didn't even know she was fighting up until a week ago. These were her final moments, her swan song to a life that had done her well. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this. Goodbye Luster, do me proud." And with that, Luster felt a magical wind whisk her away behind a closed door which was promptly locked. Luster's last view of Twilight was of her turning away, walking towards the flame that had been rekindled. She screamed as she heard Twilight chant the words to the spell. She rammed the large, gate-like doors, hoping they would open so she could stop Twilight. She tried and tried, but the door barely budged. She tried to teleport, but the room had been sealed magically. Then as Luster was about to go again, the room fell silent. Luster rammed the door one final time, this time flying open because the seals owner had left. Twilight was gone. Luster cried as she ran towards the three large gemstones now laying in the center of the now empty firepit, where she curled into a ball, crying for her only hope that had just magically disappeared. The servants entered the room then, surprised to find Luster there. "The gemstones were then removed and taken to a vault to be studied, if I remember correctly" Luster Dawn had taken to talking to herself in the years of isolation since that day. She had tried to integrate communities, but instead of making friends, she just made more enemies. After her failure, she ran as far as she could. To the point where she passed out in a small forest grove tens of miles away from any civilization. She made her home here, as there was nopony brave enough to venture outside of their little communities that arose from the ashes of Equestria. "And I went to 'Save all of Equestria', but I was to weak" Luster said with a sad look. She closed the storybook she had written and levitated it to a nearby shelf. She knew that Gorgon was too powerful, but still had no way of fighting him, whatever 'him' was. But she didn't care. She had her garden, her little cottage, and nopony could possibly take that away. Luster got up from her lounging chair and headed outside. No use in dwelling on the past when she had a garden to attend to, after all! Luster had decided to grow carrots and beets this season. A lot of the time she found herself bored of her normal beet and dandelion soup, so she wanted to mix things up. She began to till the rough soil that had only recently been relieved of winters grasp, and planting the seeds with an eager vigor. She loved her little garden, It was the only thing she really had control over after- *CRACK-RUSTLE* Luster heard the noise. She identified it as the rustling of bushes, but it was too loud to just be the wind. In the twenty years of being alone, she had never encountered a large enough animal to make that noise. It was a pony, and she had been compromised. Luster summoned a magical blade and yelled "Who goes there?! I don't want any trouble!" She then noticed two pairs of ears poke up from some nearby bushes. They seemed to be moving away. Luster called out to the two ponies "STOP!", an order in which the two pairs of ears promptly followed. "Um, we, uh, we...", a stallions voice called out. Luster heard the two ponies start to bicker at each other again, as if they were planning how to get out of this situation. Luster called out to the two ponies again, "Where are you from?! Maretime Bay!? Scarletsville!? Answer me!" Luster had lost her cool. She hadn't really been practicing her social skills, so she lost her ability to communicate well. "I am from Gainston!" The stallion called out. Luster heard the two bicker for a bit when she heard a mares voice call out "And I am from Yūjō!" This revelation had surprised Luster. Had the scattered villages started to commune again? Was Equestria coming back? Luster called the pair over to her side of the bushes, lowering her magical dagger. The two ponies begrudgingly obliged, eventually making their way into her view. The stallion was a pegasus, standing at average height. He had a white coat and a grey mane with a strip of hair that seemed to be fluctuating in color at the sight of Luster. The mare, an earth pony, bore a dim grey coat and a brilliant blue mane tied up in a bun. She had a sword on her side and a spear on her back, even though she was a bit small for them. The two stared at Luster, and Luster stared at them. They were all dumbfounded at the sight of each other. After a few seconds of staring the pair of ponies smiled and said "We need your help, Mare of the Everfree Forest" Author's Note Thank you for reading! Chapter 1 - A New CallingLuster Dawn ushered the two ponies to a nearby bench she had made. She nervously laughed as she realized the other ponies would have to sit on the ground. "Sorry, I don't have another bench, but I do have more questions. What are your names?" Luster asked out of curiosity as she climbed onto the small bench and snuggled underneath a blanket. The pegasus of the pair proudly stood up, putting his hoof on his heart and proclaiming "I, Mare of the Everfree Forest, am Lyron of Gainston!" Lyron looked down "Or, was of Gainston. Now... I have been banished." Lyron's face pointing towards a now outstretched wing and his mane going from a golden stripe to one of dark blue. "Well you just can't leave it off on that!" Luster blurted out, not reading the obvious sorrow on Lyrons face. After realizing her mistake, Luster apologized. Lyron glanced over at his companion sitting on the ground next to him. She was shifting constantly out of annoyance and impatience. "I think she doesn't want to tell her name to me, Lyron" Luster added. Lyron nudged the smaller-than-average mare into action "Fine! I am Iato, formally of Yūjō." Iato then looked up and away from Luster with closed eyes, as if the sight of her was insulting. Luster was becoming uncomfortable at her guests aggression, but she knew they wouldn't just let her walk off. They needed help, and she was damned if she was just going to leave anyway. "Soooo, what's all this 'Mare of the Everfree Forest' stuff about anyway? I thought I was in a different forest, and in a secret spot at that." "Well, um, we were tipped off by a village elder that some unicorn ran off into the forest before we were born. When me and Iato met, we decided to try and find you. We kinda just assumed this was the infamous Everfree, because a lot of ponies don't like talking about Old Equestria" Lyron explained in a more subdued tone. "It must have taken you ages to find me if the only thing you had was that I lived in the forest!" Luster Dawn looked down a bit and added, "Oh, my name is really Luster Dawn, nice to meet you, Lyron and Iato" Iato could only let out a "Hmph!" at Luster's attempt at hospitality Lyron, however was a bit more more enthusiastic to the warm greetings, his hair lighting up to a golden stripe once again. "Luster Dawn!? You mean THE Luster Dawn!? My mom would always tell me stories about you and the Elements of Harmony! That's so cool! That means you could definitely help us then, right?" Luster was caught a bit off-guard, not only because of the sudden enthusiasm, but also because somepony used her name in a positive light, something that had not happened in over 30 years. "A-About that, um, what exactly did you need help with?" Lyron came back down to earth, literally, so he could say "Oh, we need your help defeating this guy named Gorgon" "Then you've come to the wrong place." Luster frowned and got up from her bench and started walking towards her cottage's door. She didn't want anything to do with these ponies if they were just here to recruit her for some doomed crusade against a faceless enemy. Lyron flew in front of Luster, stopping her. "But we came all this way, you can't just blow us off like that!" "Yes, I can" Luster stated matter-of-factly as she teleported behind Lyron to continue the short walk. Lyron was a bit disoriented at first, as this was the first magic he had ever seen being cast. He shortly came to. "Woah, so cool! Wait!" Lyron maneuvered to fly beside Luster this time. "My mom always told me stories about how you and your friends would always save the day because of your friendship, couldn't you just ask them to help us?" "No, I couldn't, because they're gone, Lyron! Gorgon took them! Vanished into thin air, like all the princesses!" Luster began to tear up, "You need to leave. Now" "But.." "But nothing! I tried to defeat Gorgon once, Lyron, and I got dragged through the mud and beaten for my efforts! just give up. Like I did. You will be better off that way" Luster slammed her cottages small wooden door behind her, leaving Lyron and Iato alone outside. She couldn't believe the nerve of those two, thinking she would just drop everything so she could go off on a pointless endeavor. The gall! Luster picked up a bucket and started drawing water to make some soothing tea. Age had not been kind to her joints, so she couldn't pace around frantically anymore. A good green tea was all she needed to unwind. Luster heard a knock at the door. A muffled voice called out "Look, I'm sorry I brought them up. I didn't know they were all gone. It's just that... what would they think if they were to see you just so easily give up? I, um, yeah. Nevermind" Luster heard Lyron walking away. "Come on, Iato, lets try and find somepony else." Luster put the bucket of water down to lay down on her lounge chair. She cried for her long lost friends for the first time in a long time, thinking of the things she lost, and how her cowardice prevented her from helping the newer generation. "I'm sorry, Princess. I have failed you." Lyron was carrying Iato over the forest due to the fact that there wasn't a path through. They had found who they were looking for, but they didn't really think she would just refuse them so easily. Lyron, who was hit the hardest by the rejection, said "I just can't believe she would say no like that, She is an Equestrian legend, why would she just give up like that?" Iato spoke up over the wind battering her face. "What did you expect? She is a unicorn. Those schmucks are too selfish to care about anypony else." "Didn't you say the exact same thing when you met me?" Lyron said with a weak grin, his stripe going to a lighter blue. "Well, your different. Your a pegasus, not somepony with a phallus-shaped protrusion on they're head." The two giggled at the observation. "Yeah, maybe so." Lyron said with a sad tone. The interaction only let the two a temporary reprieve from their gloomy situation. "So, where do we go now?" Luster Dawn had been crying in her lounge chair for the better part of an hour when she finally got up and made the tea she had already drew the water for. She couldn't blame the pair for what they did. They were desperate for help. "Oh, what would you do, Princess?" Luster said as she snuggled back into her chair. She took a sip of her tea as she dwelled on the words of Lyron. "What would they think if they were to see you just so easily give up?" "Well, they would probably slap me in the face and tell me to come to my senses." Luster said as if Lyron was sitting right in front of her. She really needed to stop talking to herself. Luster Dawn remembered the day she met her friends. It was a sunny day in Equestria when she had gone to the throne room of the Friendship Castle to request that the curriculum of the school be more focused on subjects other than friendship. She smiled at the memories. Twilight and all her friends sang a beautiful song about friendship and why it was important. She met up with a few classmates and they hit it off near instantly. The only regret she had was that she didn't spend more time with them, cherishing every moment before they went. Could she really just make new friends like that? She would have to leave the safety and seclusion of her little cottage in the woods if she tried. Luster frowned at the thought of leaving her little cottage, leaving the only place she could call home. She knew what Lyron said made sense, but she didn't want to leave. The thoughts kept rallying in her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about it, no matter how much tea she drank. After her mental fortitude fell, Luster yelled in annoyance, "FINE! I will help them, Damnit!" Lyron had landed to rest his wings and lungs. He wasn't so used to flying long distances, let alone carry another pony with him. It was getting dark, after all, why not set up camp here? Iato gathered firewood while Lyron set up a small shelter for them to sleep in. when they were done, they started a fire using Lyron's wings to push air in while Iato rubbed the sticks together to start some dry grass. The flame sputtered to life as the night fell dark. They prepared some dandelion soup from Iato's saddlebag and sat back in their small shelter as the stars rose above. "You know, I never thought I would be friends with a pegasus" Iato said before she pulled another swig of her warm soup. "I never thought I would ever meet anypony outside my own town. I guess fate works in mysterious ways." Lyron said with a smile. Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of galloping. Iato quickly set down her soup and picked up her spear that was laying nearby. Lyron stood at the ready, not being very good with weapons, he preferred to just use his hooves in a scrap. As the sound neared closer, the pair got a better view of who was galloping. It was Luster Dawn, carrying a lantern and rushing straight towards them. Lyron motioned for Iato to put down her weapon, which she did apprehensively. When Luster Dawn finally came to a stop, she tried to speak, but she just fell over, exhausted from running for so long. Lyron and Iato picked up Luster and lay her down near the fire so she could rest. "We'll talk to her in the morning, I think she needs to rest those old bones." Lyron said as he lowered her to the ground. "Are you serious?! What if she's just faking? What if she just wants to zap our brains?!" Iato said in a panic. Lyron giggled a bit "It will be fine, just go to sleep. We will pick this up in the morning, Iato." "If she zaps us, I am blaming you!" "Well, if she zaps our brains, then we wouldn't have much time for blaming, now would we? Iato stuck her tongue out and made a silly face "I am trusting you, Lyron" Iato then backed away a bit and cautiously curled into a ball so she could eat the rest of her soup. Lyron joined her, and they all gently dozed off to sleep, hopeful for the morning ahead of them. Author's Note Thank you for reading! Chapter 2 - A Slight DetourIato had barely gotten any sleep the night before. Instead of sleeping, she waited until Lyron had fallen asleep so she could make sure that Luster Dawn didn't suddenly wake up and melt their brains out. As her father once said, "Unicorns are unforgiving, conniving creatures who just want to enslave our people". Although, to be fair, he had said similarly bad things about the Pegasi, and Lyron wasn't any of those things, in the acception that he was a bit of a brute. Maybe Lyron wasn't crazy in trusting Luster Dawn after all? Having dozed off near daybreak, Iato awoke to see Lyron and Luster talking about what they knew of Gorgon. Iato didn't agree with giving the unicorn any more information, but she had to trust Lyron in his efforts. She and him were both outcasts, so neither of them could survive for very long without the other. Iato got up and groggily walked over to where the other two ponies were sitting. She decided to sit next to Lyron, not wanting to be to close to Luster Dawn. Lyron smiled and welcomed Iato to the area around the now dead fire. "Iato! Welcome to the land of the living! Me and Luster were just talking about Gorgon and what we plan to do." Iato spoke up angrily "And what exactly were we planning? Last I checked finding this unicorn was our plan." "Oh, yeah, hehe" Lyron chuckled, embarrassed, his mane going white. Luster tried to clear the air and get back to the situation at hoof. "Well, we need to find somepony, anypony really, who works at the castle in Canterlot" "Canterlot?" Both Iato and Lyron said in unison. "Oh, I guess Canterlot stopped existing after a while. Well, why don't we just go there ourselves instead?" Luster Dawn was nervous to see the big city she once called home. She didn't know what she would find, but she knew it wasn't going to be pretty. She just needed to see if she could find any information on what has gone down in the past 20 years, and if Gorgon had made any moves since her self exile. From what Lyron had told her, Gorgons minions, twisted pitch-black caricatures of ponies, came to villages all across Equestria and razed them to the ground. Lyron and Iato were both survivors of these attacks, but Lyron had been ostracized from Gainston for suggesting that they reunite with nearby villages to help stave off the raids, while Iato had been the sole survivor of the attack on Yūjō. Luster felt sorry for the two lonesome ponies, as they were so young. They didn't deserve this kind of harsh world. But that was ultimately why she was here, walking through the forest she called home on her way to a very possibly abandoned city atop a steep mountain. She was here to make sure that this travesty would never happen again. Her joints were going to kill her. "So Lyron, tell me about Gainston." Luster asked to break up the monotony of walking through a forest. "It is a small little earth pony town near a river. Most beautiful place in all Old Equestria." Lyron said with pride. Luster stumbled a bit after hearing this and looking back to make sure Lyron was still a pegasus. "Wait, if your a pegasus, how were you living in an earth pony village?" "Well, when I was a baby, my real mother put me in a basket and threw me into the river. I floated down to Gainston and by pure luck my adoptive mother was sitting by the riverbank reading a book when she heard little old me crying. She was baren, so she never got to take care of a foal herself, and she saw this as a sign that she was meant to take care of me. Thankfully, her father was also the village leader, so he allowed me stay." Turning to Iato he teased "After all, it's not like like I could 'zap their brains out' *spew spew*" Iato just rolled her eyes at Lyron's comment. Luster giggled a bit though. "What about you Iato?" Iato stared daggers at Luster. "What about me?" Luster was a bit flustered, but not deterred in her quest for knowledge of the two ponies she was likely to be traveling with for a couple of weeks. "What is Yūjō like?" "It was a village" Iato said curtly. With a bit of nudging from Lyron, she added "It was very pretty.". "I'm sure." Luster said with unease. The trio of ponies kept on trekking through the thick vegetation. Progress was slow at first, mostly due to Lusters old joints, but eventually they got the hang of it. Soon they were near the edge of the forest. "Oh look, I think we're nearly out!" Luster called out to the other two, who were busy moving the thick foliage out of her way. Lyron and Iato, who had better ears, told Luster to pipe down. They heard ponies, and they weren't sounding so friendly. "That rat bastard. What was his name again? Lyre or something?" Is what one of the ponies called out. "No, I think it was Lyron. But it doesn't really matter. That elder wants his fuckin head, and were gonna take it." said another pony. Luster Dawn felt her heart skip a beat. She had fought other ponies before, but never once did anypony involved ever want to kill the other. It just wasn't in their nature. Had Equestria really gotten this bad since she left? Lyron slowly crept back to Luster as Iato drew her spear. Lyron whispered "We need you to knock them dudes out," Lyron glanced back at Iato, "preferably before we have to take drastic measures." Luster was glad that Lyron wasn't as bloodthirsty as his hunters. She took some nearby rocks and levitated them behind the two earth ponies. They barely noticed the glow from Lusters horn before they felt a sharp pain running down their spines and fell to the floor, unconscious. "Would you mind telling me what that was all about?! I didn't think many ponies were capable of such things!" Luster was furious, for she didn't think it would be this bad out here, and they hadn't even left the forest. "Well, uh, I might have left out the part were I had to escape that village elder's village after I told him what I needed you for. I guess he didn't want me to find a unicorn, or..." Lyron noticeably shuddered. Luster pushed the point "Or what?" "...or maybe he just wants the raids to continue. I don't know, that sounds crazy." Luster Dawn considered the grim possibility. "Probably not so crazy. Maybe he is using it as a scapegoat so the villagers continue to listen to him. I wouldn't put it past them. If they are willing to commit murder, I don't see why they wouldn't do something any less despicable." Iato alerted them again to their situation, "Hey, numnuts, put a pin in it. Those bounty hunters aren't going to stay asleep forever!" Both Lyron and Luster were jerked from thought and moved quickly to the edge of the forest. Luster, still contemplating what Lyron had said, needed to find out why those ponies were so uncouth. "We need to go to that village" "What, why?", Lyron looked at Luster in disbelief at her crazy sounding words as he lifted another branch out of Lusters way. "Because I didn't come out of a comfortable life so that I could see ponies suffering. It ain't natural for a pony to want to kill, there must be something wrong, I just have to find out what it is." "I know what's wrong, it's your damn head! You think we are going back there?!" Iato couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Yes, I do. I can handle myself. Besides, I'll just scare off anypony who thinks they can take us on with my magic." Luster reassured. "You have no idea if that will work." Iato retorted, stopping in her tracks to confront Luster. "Do you have any idea how hard he had to fight to get out of there?" Lyron got between the two to calm down things, but Luster magically removed him and said "No, Lyron, you both need to hear this. Look, I need you to trust me. I have learned about this kind of manipulation before. You ever hear of Queen Chrysalis?" Lyron was about to open his mouth, but Luster shut it, "That was rhetorical. I think this village elder is using some kind of magic to change the people of the town, not to dissimilar to the magic Chrysalis used to take over The Crystal Empire." Iato, a bit more calm, interjected with "But he is an earth pony, how could he use magic?" "Magic isn't limited to just unicorns. He could just as easily be using an artifact, or alchemy. But whatever it is, we have to stop him." Iato was a bit annoyed that she got upstaged, but she wouldn't let Luster get under her skin. "Well, how do you suppose we are going to get into a hostile village undetected, especially when they are looking for one of us?" Luster smiled mischievously "I know a few tricks" Iato scratched at her newly crafted headress and tunic. Luster had ramshackled 3 matching outfits out of their saddlebags and dried foliage. Even if she didn't want to say it to her face, Iato had to admit that Luster Dawn could do a lot with what little they had. Despite not having a horn or wings, she still had to wear the itchy disguise to complete the appearance they were going for: a royal escort from a faraway land. They had to all look like earth ponies. It also meant that she couldn't take her spear, which didn't please her a bit. She tried to convince Luster that the spear would make the getup more convincing, but she pointed out that Lyron didn't have a spear, something Iato hoped she wouldn't do. Regardless, Iato could still bring her sword, since it was small enough to be hid under the garments. Lyron wasn't faring much better, but he had a problem with the outfit because he couldn't fly with it on. Luster reassured them both that this was the only way to safely get in and out. Luster then came to Iato as she was putting all of their non-essential belongings under a nearby log. "Look Iato, I need you to do all the talking. I can't have anypony getting to close to Lyron, and I am playing a snooty princess, so no talking for me until we get to the mayor. I understand you don't like me, but I need you to trust me on this." Iato was still on-edge about the whole situation, but was soothed Luster's confident words. With her best faux Prench accent, she said, "What should I say, your Royal Highness?" Iato went into a bow with a smile on her face. "Well, I need you to say to every commoner that we are looking for the elder. Tell the guards when they inevitably hear of our arrival that we heard from a passing merchant that 'The Elder could help us take care of a problem'. That, combined with the whole 'Princess from a faraway land' spiel should arouse the Elders curiosity." Luster grinned and added "I also have a suspicion that our elder is a man with an ego that could sink a boat." Iato came up from her bow in a giggle. "Lets hope so, Missus Dawn." "Missus Dawn!? You make me sound like I'm old!" Luster then looked at her fading pink coat "Okay, older than I am." Luster laughed at the awkwardness, and so did Iato. Luster Dawn called Lyron over, who had been looking out for the pair of headhunters. "Okay everypony, our goal is to get to the village Elder, and we don't know where that is, so we need to just parade down the streets while Iato spreads our message. Lyron, I need you to stay behind me, but not to close. I don't want anypony to focus on you, because they know your face. Here, take this." Luster dug some red clay from the ground. "Put that in your mane to hide you color thing. I got to ask you about that later, by the way." "It's complicated" Lyron added. "Okay, everypony ready?" Luster looked at the other two with a stern face, putting her hoof in the middle of the trio. The other two followed suit. "Alright, break!" Chapter 3 - Luster's 3 [INCOMPLETE]Luster couldn't but look in aw at the metropolis that lay before them. Scarletsville. The final stop in Luster's ill-fated attempt to reunite Equestria under a common flag. Just 20 years prior it had been little more than a couple of shacks and several tents out in an open field. Now, it was a town to rival Ponyville in size, but it only had a single kind of inhabitant: Earth Ponies. The outfits that Luster had made were convincing enough from far enough away, but she worried that if anypony got close their cover would be blown at the slightest glance of fashion-forward ponies. So far, Iato's faux-Prench accent and words of generosity had been selling the the whole getup to the ever-growing crowd around them. Sooner or later, guards should show up, whether because they heard from somepony that there was a royal escort in the walls or just by noticing the large crowd did not matter. They just needed to get the Mayors attention. "Hear ye, hear ye. Her Royal Highness, Jaquine of Arc requests an audience with your mayor. Hear ye, hear ye..." Luster Dawn was pleased with Iato's performance. She was a natural! But even so, listening to her say the same lines over and over again got pretty annoying after awhile. She instead focused on the roads, alleys, and exits around the city, just in case they had to escape. It appeared as though the town was recovering from one of the raids she had heard so much about. There were carts overturned while beggars scrounged up what little was left of their ruined homes. It was a sight that made Luster sad, but she had other things to worry about at the moment, like the detachment of heavily armed guard ponies running straight at them. "...Jaquine of-" Iato cut herself of so she could rush back towards Luster to assess the situation without being to far away from somepony she knew. Luster leaned over "Remember, be non-specific." Iato just answered with a nod, turning to meet the detachment head-on. Iato opened with a loud but steady bellow "Her Royal Highness, Jaquine of Arc requests an audience with the mayor of this fine town." The gaurds looked at the three ponies dressed up in their shoddy-at-best costumes and conversed among themselves, peeking their heads out every couple of seconds to make sure the odd looking trio were still there. Luster could only hope Lyron wasn't blowing it. She couldn't look behind her to check, so he really was on his own for the time being. The farther away he was from the guards watchful eyes, the better. Eventually, one of the guards, what Luster assumed to be the head of the small group, trotted up to Iato in a cocky manner. "Heeeey, little lady, what are you doing tonight?" Luster could almost feel the heat coming from Iato's body as she answered, calmly, "We, the Royal Escort for Her Royal Highness, Jaquine of Arc, humbly request a meeting between your mayor and Her Roy-" "Yeah yeah, her royal highness. Hey, look cutie, me and the boys are going to be alone at the barracks tonight, if you want to come, that is." The guard stuck his tongue in his cheek and started to bob his head like a jackass while his 'boys' cheered him on in the background. Luster was surprised Iato didn't take out her sword and make the rude stallion a mute. Instead, she calmly replied "I would sooner spend a night trapped in a cage full of timberwolves without a light than bed with you or any of your..." Iato looked around the guard to peer at the other guards "...'boys'." Luster knew from the get-go that Iato was a well spoken mare of culture, but DAMN did she know how to act well. If she didn't know any better, she'd think Iato really was a servant of royalty. The guards started wailing like a bunch of school children at the insult, while the main guard shrunk back into the blob that was their very unprofessional formation. One of the group called out after them before they ran off "Hey, like, the mayor dude said to come to his castle or whatever." Castle? What did a mayor need a castle for? Luster thought to herself before the trio continued their march towards where the guard ponies went, hoping it would lead to this castle. After some bumbling around, they eventually made it to what looked enough like a castle laying near the northern border of the town. It was what would normally be called a fort, rather than a full-blown castle, but with the way things were, she was surprised by its scale none the less. It had cobblestone bases for it's decorated marble walls emblazoned with a gaudy gold trim. Luster was disgusted by the display of wealth, as just outside of those same walls were half burnt down houses that lay in ruin. As the trio reformed, Lyron on Luster's right with Iato on her left, Luster felt one of her legs being held back. The trio all look behind to see what it was. It was a small little colt, no older than most 2nd graders, kneeling at their hooves. "Please missus Jaquine, do you have any food to spare? My families house got destroyed and I am the only one left." said the little colt with a sad look. Iato was halfway to kicking the small thing away when Luster motioned for her to stop. Alright, now Iato is being too accurate. "What is your name, whelp?" Luster asked in as much a demeaning tone she could muster at such a pitiful sight. "Uh, it's [SERIES PUT ON HIATUS]
Prologue - Two Unexpected VisitorsLuster Dawn galloped down the long, winding corridors of the mostly empty Friendship Castle in a panic. She had to find Princess Twilight ASAP. "Over there!" A royal guard yelled in her direction. Luster squeaked a bit and picked up her pace. She couldn't let Twilight die. She refused to let her die. Tears started falling as she thought of all the important things she where taught over the years by Twilight, and how that all came crashing down when Gorgon attacked. It was so sudden. One minute, she was sitting with her friends under a tree talking of their latest exploits in Appleloosa. The next they had vanished, the only thing left of them was a black imprint of their bodies on the ground where they were sitting. Luster ducked into a closet to hide from the guards after turning a corner. If she was quick enough, maybe she could stop her Princess from casting the spell that would ultimately lead to her fate. She peeked her head out to check if the guards were still in hot pursuit. After making sure the area was clear, she hopped out and retraced her steps until she was back on track. The guards had tried to detain her earlier, probably in an effort to prevent her from stopping the Princess. Luster had tried numerous times to focus on her objective, but every time her thoughts creeped back to haunt her. She just couldn't stop thinking of the events that led to this disaster. She tried to remember why everything had gone to shit in-between labored breaths. Princess Twilight had decreed that all creatures return to their homelands in an effort to focus work on the rising tensions occurring between the Three Tribes of ponies. However, the decree backfired. Many ponies further separated themselves in the following months leading to entire towns forming overnight that only allowed a single type of pony to live in them. Luster's friends had been allowed to stay in Equestria as ambassadors of friendship so that they could go around and try to quell the uprisings forming. It was a real shitshow, and Luster was caught right in the middle of it. Luster knew that the other Princesses had vanished, but she wasn't allowed access to the files that documented the scenes. Luster thought that their sudden loss was similar to her friends. Although she had little doubt that Gorgon had something to do with their disappearances. Gorgon was a mysterious enemy. Nopony had ever seen him. The only reason ponies even called him Gorgon was because a newspaper editor thought it sounded cool. It made Luster furious that she had no way of fighting back, no way to retaliate and avenge her friends. Luster was nearing the throne room at this point, shaking her from her thoughts. There were two guards on both sides of the door, no doubt in response to their detainee escaping. Luster let a smirk grace her face as she pulled the regal rug out from underneath their hooves and knocking them out with their own weapons. The rug was a Rarity Original, probably worth thousands of Bits, but donated to the castle after Rarity visited and saw that the place needed a makeover. She was gone now, but her influence still showed to this dark day. Luster knew she couldn't just barge in all willy nilly, so she creaked the door and saw Twilight with several royal assistants saying their goodbyes. If Luster succeeded, then their words would be for naught. Luster sneaked in to the dimly lit room, only illuminated by the fiery blue blaze that emanated from the center of the room. After making sure all the assistants had said their goodbyes and left, Luster made her presence known. "Princess! I have come to talk some sense into you!" Luster yelled at the top of her lungs, for the blaze was nearly deafening. Twilight jumped a little. She had thought herself to be alone, so the appearance of what she had hoped to be her successor startled her. "What are you doing here, Luster?! I ordered you to be detained!" Even her Royal Canterlot Voice was heard through the flame, clear as a crystal. "I heard what you were doing, Princess. I couldn't let you leave when we need you so badly!" Luster Dawn yelled. Twilights face softened as she lowered the flames intensity to be able to talk to her pupil. "I understand your apprehension, Luster, but I must do this. Everypony in Equestria is at each others throats. With all of my friends gone, I need to change the Elements so they can help a newer generation." "But you will die!" Luster screeched through teary eyes. "How are we supposed to run a whole country when there are no rulers to control it?!" "Luster, Equestria is gone. Dust in the wind. I tried to rule, but without my friends, the place fell to ruin. Just look outside. The streets are empty. The magic gone. With everypony in those segregated communities, my rule is naught. I am no princess. I am a failure." Luster, muted by the words of her princess, looked down in sorrow. She was a failure too. She and her friends attempted to ease relations between the Three Factions, but her efforts were met with cold stares and thrown rocks. Nopony wanted to be 'friends' anymore. "The wendigos are coming, and with this 'Gorgon' character is seemingly hunting down every princess in Equestria and abroad, I have to do this. It's our last hope. My last action as ruler of this tattered state." Twilight looked at her pupil and began tearing up herself. In a bid to raise both of their spirits, Twilight added "But hey, maybe in a couple of years you can stop this madness. Maybe you can bring everypony back together. Can you try that, for me, Luster?" Twilight raised her pupils chin and wiped away her tears. "I-I-" Luster collapsed in anguish, full on bawling at this point. She knew everything the princess was saying was true, but without her friends, how could she possibly save Equestria? It would be an exercise in futility, if anything. Twilight then embraced her pupil, comforting her with affection. She knew this was the last time she would see another who cared for her, for this was her final play in a war she didn't even know she was fighting up until a week ago. These were her final moments, her swan song to a life that had done her well. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this. Goodbye Luster, do me proud." And with that, Luster felt a magical wind whisk her away behind a closed door which was promptly locked. Luster's last view of Twilight was of her turning away, walking towards the flame that had been rekindled. She screamed as she heard Twilight chant the words to the spell. She rammed the large, gate-like doors, hoping they would open so she could stop Twilight. She tried and tried, but the door barely budged. She tried to teleport, but the room had been sealed magically. Then as Luster was about to go again, the room fell silent. Luster rammed the door one final time, this time flying open because the seals owner had left. Twilight was gone. Luster cried as she ran towards the three large gemstones now laying in the center of the now empty firepit, where she curled into a ball, crying for her only hope that had just magically disappeared. The servants entered the room then, surprised to find Luster there. "The gemstones were then removed and taken to a vault to be studied, if I remember correctly" Luster Dawn had taken to talking to herself in the years of isolation since that day. She had tried to integrate communities, but instead of making friends, she just made more enemies. After her failure, she ran as far as she could. To the point where she passed out in a small forest grove tens of miles away from any civilization. She made her home here, as there was nopony brave enough to venture outside of their little communities that arose from the ashes of Equestria. "And I went to 'Save all of Equestria', but I was to weak" Luster said with a sad look. She closed the storybook she had written and levitated it to a nearby shelf. She knew that Gorgon was too powerful, but still had no way of fighting him, whatever 'him' was. But she didn't care. She had her garden, her little cottage, and nopony could possibly take that away. Luster got up from her lounging chair and headed outside. No use in dwelling on the past when she had a garden to attend to, after all! Luster had decided to grow carrots and beets this season. A lot of the time she found herself bored of her normal beet and dandelion soup, so she wanted to mix things up. She began to till the rough soil that had only recently been relieved of winters grasp, and planting the seeds with an eager vigor. She loved her little garden, It was the only thing she really had control over after- *CRACK-RUSTLE* Luster heard the noise. She identified it as the rustling of bushes, but it was too loud to just be the wind. In the twenty years of being alone, she had never encountered a large enough animal to make that noise. It was a pony, and she had been compromised. Luster summoned a magical blade and yelled "Who goes there?! I don't want any trouble!" She then noticed two pairs of ears poke up from some nearby bushes. They seemed to be moving away. Luster called out to the two ponies "STOP!", an order in which the two pairs of ears promptly followed. "Um, we, uh, we...", a stallions voice called out. Luster heard the two ponies start to bicker at each other again, as if they were planning how to get out of this situation. Luster called out to the two ponies again, "Where are you from?! Maretime Bay!? Scarletsville!? Answer me!" Luster had lost her cool. She hadn't really been practicing her social skills, so she lost her ability to communicate well. "I am from Gainston!" The stallion called out. Luster heard the two bicker for a bit when she heard a mares voice call out "And I am from Yūjō!" This revelation had surprised Luster. Had the scattered villages started to commune again? Was Equestria coming back? Luster called the pair over to her side of the bushes, lowering her magical dagger. The two ponies begrudgingly obliged, eventually making their way into her view. The stallion was a pegasus, standing at average height. He had a white coat and a grey mane with a strip of hair that seemed to be fluctuating in color at the sight of Luster. The mare, an earth pony, bore a dim grey coat and a brilliant blue mane tied up in a bun. She had a sword on her side and a spear on her back, even though she was a bit small for them. The two stared at Luster, and Luster stared at them. They were all dumbfounded at the sight of each other. After a few seconds of staring the pair of ponies smiled and said "We need your help, Mare of the Everfree Forest" Author's Note Thank you for reading!
Chapter 1 - A New CallingLuster Dawn ushered the two ponies to a nearby bench she had made. She nervously laughed as she realized the other ponies would have to sit on the ground. "Sorry, I don't have another bench, but I do have more questions. What are your names?" Luster asked out of curiosity as she climbed onto the small bench and snuggled underneath a blanket. The pegasus of the pair proudly stood up, putting his hoof on his heart and proclaiming "I, Mare of the Everfree Forest, am Lyron of Gainston!" Lyron looked down "Or, was of Gainston. Now... I have been banished." Lyron's face pointing towards a now outstretched wing and his mane going from a golden stripe to one of dark blue. "Well you just can't leave it off on that!" Luster blurted out, not reading the obvious sorrow on Lyrons face. After realizing her mistake, Luster apologized. Lyron glanced over at his companion sitting on the ground next to him. She was shifting constantly out of annoyance and impatience. "I think she doesn't want to tell her name to me, Lyron" Luster added. Lyron nudged the smaller-than-average mare into action "Fine! I am Iato, formally of Yūjō." Iato then looked up and away from Luster with closed eyes, as if the sight of her was insulting. Luster was becoming uncomfortable at her guests aggression, but she knew they wouldn't just let her walk off. They needed help, and she was damned if she was just going to leave anyway. "Soooo, what's all this 'Mare of the Everfree Forest' stuff about anyway? I thought I was in a different forest, and in a secret spot at that." "Well, um, we were tipped off by a village elder that some unicorn ran off into the forest before we were born. When me and Iato met, we decided to try and find you. We kinda just assumed this was the infamous Everfree, because a lot of ponies don't like talking about Old Equestria" Lyron explained in a more subdued tone. "It must have taken you ages to find me if the only thing you had was that I lived in the forest!" Luster Dawn looked down a bit and added, "Oh, my name is really Luster Dawn, nice to meet you, Lyron and Iato" Iato could only let out a "Hmph!" at Luster's attempt at hospitality Lyron, however was a bit more more enthusiastic to the warm greetings, his hair lighting up to a golden stripe once again. "Luster Dawn!? You mean THE Luster Dawn!? My mom would always tell me stories about you and the Elements of Harmony! That's so cool! That means you could definitely help us then, right?" Luster was caught a bit off-guard, not only because of the sudden enthusiasm, but also because somepony used her name in a positive light, something that had not happened in over 30 years. "A-About that, um, what exactly did you need help with?" Lyron came back down to earth, literally, so he could say "Oh, we need your help defeating this guy named Gorgon" "Then you've come to the wrong place." Luster frowned and got up from her bench and started walking towards her cottage's door. She didn't want anything to do with these ponies if they were just here to recruit her for some doomed crusade against a faceless enemy. Lyron flew in front of Luster, stopping her. "But we came all this way, you can't just blow us off like that!" "Yes, I can" Luster stated matter-of-factly as she teleported behind Lyron to continue the short walk. Lyron was a bit disoriented at first, as this was the first magic he had ever seen being cast. He shortly came to. "Woah, so cool! Wait!" Lyron maneuvered to fly beside Luster this time. "My mom always told me stories about how you and your friends would always save the day because of your friendship, couldn't you just ask them to help us?" "No, I couldn't, because they're gone, Lyron! Gorgon took them! Vanished into thin air, like all the princesses!" Luster began to tear up, "You need to leave. Now" "But.." "But nothing! I tried to defeat Gorgon once, Lyron, and I got dragged through the mud and beaten for my efforts! just give up. Like I did. You will be better off that way" Luster slammed her cottages small wooden door behind her, leaving Lyron and Iato alone outside. She couldn't believe the nerve of those two, thinking she would just drop everything so she could go off on a pointless endeavor. The gall! Luster picked up a bucket and started drawing water to make some soothing tea. Age had not been kind to her joints, so she couldn't pace around frantically anymore. A good green tea was all she needed to unwind. Luster heard a knock at the door. A muffled voice called out "Look, I'm sorry I brought them up. I didn't know they were all gone. It's just that... what would they think if they were to see you just so easily give up? I, um, yeah. Nevermind" Luster heard Lyron walking away. "Come on, Iato, lets try and find somepony else." Luster put the bucket of water down to lay down on her lounge chair. She cried for her long lost friends for the first time in a long time, thinking of the things she lost, and how her cowardice prevented her from helping the newer generation. "I'm sorry, Princess. I have failed you." Lyron was carrying Iato over the forest due to the fact that there wasn't a path through. They had found who they were looking for, but they didn't really think she would just refuse them so easily. Lyron, who was hit the hardest by the rejection, said "I just can't believe she would say no like that, She is an Equestrian legend, why would she just give up like that?" Iato spoke up over the wind battering her face. "What did you expect? She is a unicorn. Those schmucks are too selfish to care about anypony else." "Didn't you say the exact same thing when you met me?" Lyron said with a weak grin, his stripe going to a lighter blue. "Well, your different. Your a pegasus, not somepony with a phallus-shaped protrusion on they're head." The two giggled at the observation. "Yeah, maybe so." Lyron said with a sad tone. The interaction only let the two a temporary reprieve from their gloomy situation. "So, where do we go now?" Luster Dawn had been crying in her lounge chair for the better part of an hour when she finally got up and made the tea she had already drew the water for. She couldn't blame the pair for what they did. They were desperate for help. "Oh, what would you do, Princess?" Luster said as she snuggled back into her chair. She took a sip of her tea as she dwelled on the words of Lyron. "What would they think if they were to see you just so easily give up?" "Well, they would probably slap me in the face and tell me to come to my senses." Luster said as if Lyron was sitting right in front of her. She really needed to stop talking to herself. Luster Dawn remembered the day she met her friends. It was a sunny day in Equestria when she had gone to the throne room of the Friendship Castle to request that the curriculum of the school be more focused on subjects other than friendship. She smiled at the memories. Twilight and all her friends sang a beautiful song about friendship and why it was important. She met up with a few classmates and they hit it off near instantly. The only regret she had was that she didn't spend more time with them, cherishing every moment before they went. Could she really just make new friends like that? She would have to leave the safety and seclusion of her little cottage in the woods if she tried. Luster frowned at the thought of leaving her little cottage, leaving the only place she could call home. She knew what Lyron said made sense, but she didn't want to leave. The thoughts kept rallying in her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about it, no matter how much tea she drank. After her mental fortitude fell, Luster yelled in annoyance, "FINE! I will help them, Damnit!" Lyron had landed to rest his wings and lungs. He wasn't so used to flying long distances, let alone carry another pony with him. It was getting dark, after all, why not set up camp here? Iato gathered firewood while Lyron set up a small shelter for them to sleep in. when they were done, they started a fire using Lyron's wings to push air in while Iato rubbed the sticks together to start some dry grass. The flame sputtered to life as the night fell dark. They prepared some dandelion soup from Iato's saddlebag and sat back in their small shelter as the stars rose above. "You know, I never thought I would be friends with a pegasus" Iato said before she pulled another swig of her warm soup. "I never thought I would ever meet anypony outside my own town. I guess fate works in mysterious ways." Lyron said with a smile. Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of galloping. Iato quickly set down her soup and picked up her spear that was laying nearby. Lyron stood at the ready, not being very good with weapons, he preferred to just use his hooves in a scrap. As the sound neared closer, the pair got a better view of who was galloping. It was Luster Dawn, carrying a lantern and rushing straight towards them. Lyron motioned for Iato to put down her weapon, which she did apprehensively. When Luster Dawn finally came to a stop, she tried to speak, but she just fell over, exhausted from running for so long. Lyron and Iato picked up Luster and lay her down near the fire so she could rest. "We'll talk to her in the morning, I think she needs to rest those old bones." Lyron said as he lowered her to the ground. "Are you serious?! What if she's just faking? What if she just wants to zap our brains?!" Iato said in a panic. Lyron giggled a bit "It will be fine, just go to sleep. We will pick this up in the morning, Iato." "If she zaps us, I am blaming you!" "Well, if she zaps our brains, then we wouldn't have much time for blaming, now would we? Iato stuck her tongue out and made a silly face "I am trusting you, Lyron" Iato then backed away a bit and cautiously curled into a ball so she could eat the rest of her soup. Lyron joined her, and they all gently dozed off to sleep, hopeful for the morning ahead of them. Author's Note Thank you for reading!
Chapter 2 - A Slight DetourIato had barely gotten any sleep the night before. Instead of sleeping, she waited until Lyron had fallen asleep so she could make sure that Luster Dawn didn't suddenly wake up and melt their brains out. As her father once said, "Unicorns are unforgiving, conniving creatures who just want to enslave our people". Although, to be fair, he had said similarly bad things about the Pegasi, and Lyron wasn't any of those things, in the acception that he was a bit of a brute. Maybe Lyron wasn't crazy in trusting Luster Dawn after all? Having dozed off near daybreak, Iato awoke to see Lyron and Luster talking about what they knew of Gorgon. Iato didn't agree with giving the unicorn any more information, but she had to trust Lyron in his efforts. She and him were both outcasts, so neither of them could survive for very long without the other. Iato got up and groggily walked over to where the other two ponies were sitting. She decided to sit next to Lyron, not wanting to be to close to Luster Dawn. Lyron smiled and welcomed Iato to the area around the now dead fire. "Iato! Welcome to the land of the living! Me and Luster were just talking about Gorgon and what we plan to do." Iato spoke up angrily "And what exactly were we planning? Last I checked finding this unicorn was our plan." "Oh, yeah, hehe" Lyron chuckled, embarrassed, his mane going white. Luster tried to clear the air and get back to the situation at hoof. "Well, we need to find somepony, anypony really, who works at the castle in Canterlot" "Canterlot?" Both Iato and Lyron said in unison. "Oh, I guess Canterlot stopped existing after a while. Well, why don't we just go there ourselves instead?" Luster Dawn was nervous to see the big city she once called home. She didn't know what she would find, but she knew it wasn't going to be pretty. She just needed to see if she could find any information on what has gone down in the past 20 years, and if Gorgon had made any moves since her self exile. From what Lyron had told her, Gorgons minions, twisted pitch-black caricatures of ponies, came to villages all across Equestria and razed them to the ground. Lyron and Iato were both survivors of these attacks, but Lyron had been ostracized from Gainston for suggesting that they reunite with nearby villages to help stave off the raids, while Iato had been the sole survivor of the attack on Yūjō. Luster felt sorry for the two lonesome ponies, as they were so young. They didn't deserve this kind of harsh world. But that was ultimately why she was here, walking through the forest she called home on her way to a very possibly abandoned city atop a steep mountain. She was here to make sure that this travesty would never happen again. Her joints were going to kill her. "So Lyron, tell me about Gainston." Luster asked to break up the monotony of walking through a forest. "It is a small little earth pony town near a river. Most beautiful place in all Old Equestria." Lyron said with pride. Luster stumbled a bit after hearing this and looking back to make sure Lyron was still a pegasus. "Wait, if your a pegasus, how were you living in an earth pony village?" "Well, when I was a baby, my real mother put me in a basket and threw me into the river. I floated down to Gainston and by pure luck my adoptive mother was sitting by the riverbank reading a book when she heard little old me crying. She was baren, so she never got to take care of a foal herself, and she saw this as a sign that she was meant to take care of me. Thankfully, her father was also the village leader, so he allowed me stay." Turning to Iato he teased "After all, it's not like like I could 'zap their brains out' *spew spew*" Iato just rolled her eyes at Lyron's comment. Luster giggled a bit though. "What about you Iato?" Iato stared daggers at Luster. "What about me?" Luster was a bit flustered, but not deterred in her quest for knowledge of the two ponies she was likely to be traveling with for a couple of weeks. "What is Yūjō like?" "It was a village" Iato said curtly. With a bit of nudging from Lyron, she added "It was very pretty.". "I'm sure." Luster said with unease. The trio of ponies kept on trekking through the thick vegetation. Progress was slow at first, mostly due to Lusters old joints, but eventually they got the hang of it. Soon they were near the edge of the forest. "Oh look, I think we're nearly out!" Luster called out to the other two, who were busy moving the thick foliage out of her way. Lyron and Iato, who had better ears, told Luster to pipe down. They heard ponies, and they weren't sounding so friendly. "That rat bastard. What was his name again? Lyre or something?" Is what one of the ponies called out. "No, I think it was Lyron. But it doesn't really matter. That elder wants his fuckin head, and were gonna take it." said another pony. Luster Dawn felt her heart skip a beat. She had fought other ponies before, but never once did anypony involved ever want to kill the other. It just wasn't in their nature. Had Equestria really gotten this bad since she left? Lyron slowly crept back to Luster as Iato drew her spear. Lyron whispered "We need you to knock them dudes out," Lyron glanced back at Iato, "preferably before we have to take drastic measures." Luster was glad that Lyron wasn't as bloodthirsty as his hunters. She took some nearby rocks and levitated them behind the two earth ponies. They barely noticed the glow from Lusters horn before they felt a sharp pain running down their spines and fell to the floor, unconscious. "Would you mind telling me what that was all about?! I didn't think many ponies were capable of such things!" Luster was furious, for she didn't think it would be this bad out here, and they hadn't even left the forest. "Well, uh, I might have left out the part were I had to escape that village elder's village after I told him what I needed you for. I guess he didn't want me to find a unicorn, or..." Lyron noticeably shuddered. Luster pushed the point "Or what?" "...or maybe he just wants the raids to continue. I don't know, that sounds crazy." Luster Dawn considered the grim possibility. "Probably not so crazy. Maybe he is using it as a scapegoat so the villagers continue to listen to him. I wouldn't put it past them. If they are willing to commit murder, I don't see why they wouldn't do something any less despicable." Iato alerted them again to their situation, "Hey, numnuts, put a pin in it. Those bounty hunters aren't going to stay asleep forever!" Both Lyron and Luster were jerked from thought and moved quickly to the edge of the forest. Luster, still contemplating what Lyron had said, needed to find out why those ponies were so uncouth. "We need to go to that village" "What, why?", Lyron looked at Luster in disbelief at her crazy sounding words as he lifted another branch out of Lusters way. "Because I didn't come out of a comfortable life so that I could see ponies suffering. It ain't natural for a pony to want to kill, there must be something wrong, I just have to find out what it is." "I know what's wrong, it's your damn head! You think we are going back there?!" Iato couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Yes, I do. I can handle myself. Besides, I'll just scare off anypony who thinks they can take us on with my magic." Luster reassured. "You have no idea if that will work." Iato retorted, stopping in her tracks to confront Luster. "Do you have any idea how hard he had to fight to get out of there?" Lyron got between the two to calm down things, but Luster magically removed him and said "No, Lyron, you both need to hear this. Look, I need you to trust me. I have learned about this kind of manipulation before. You ever hear of Queen Chrysalis?" Lyron was about to open his mouth, but Luster shut it, "That was rhetorical. I think this village elder is using some kind of magic to change the people of the town, not to dissimilar to the magic Chrysalis used to take over The Crystal Empire." Iato, a bit more calm, interjected with "But he is an earth pony, how could he use magic?" "Magic isn't limited to just unicorns. He could just as easily be using an artifact, or alchemy. But whatever it is, we have to stop him." Iato was a bit annoyed that she got upstaged, but she wouldn't let Luster get under her skin. "Well, how do you suppose we are going to get into a hostile village undetected, especially when they are looking for one of us?" Luster smiled mischievously "I know a few tricks" Iato scratched at her newly crafted headress and tunic. Luster had ramshackled 3 matching outfits out of their saddlebags and dried foliage. Even if she didn't want to say it to her face, Iato had to admit that Luster Dawn could do a lot with what little they had. Despite not having a horn or wings, she still had to wear the itchy disguise to complete the appearance they were going for: a royal escort from a faraway land. They had to all look like earth ponies. It also meant that she couldn't take her spear, which didn't please her a bit. She tried to convince Luster that the spear would make the getup more convincing, but she pointed out that Lyron didn't have a spear, something Iato hoped she wouldn't do. Regardless, Iato could still bring her sword, since it was small enough to be hid under the garments. Lyron wasn't faring much better, but he had a problem with the outfit because he couldn't fly with it on. Luster reassured them both that this was the only way to safely get in and out. Luster then came to Iato as she was putting all of their non-essential belongings under a nearby log. "Look Iato, I need you to do all the talking. I can't have anypony getting to close to Lyron, and I am playing a snooty princess, so no talking for me until we get to the mayor. I understand you don't like me, but I need you to trust me on this." Iato was still on-edge about the whole situation, but was soothed Luster's confident words. With her best faux Prench accent, she said, "What should I say, your Royal Highness?" Iato went into a bow with a smile on her face. "Well, I need you to say to every commoner that we are looking for the elder. Tell the guards when they inevitably hear of our arrival that we heard from a passing merchant that 'The Elder could help us take care of a problem'. That, combined with the whole 'Princess from a faraway land' spiel should arouse the Elders curiosity." Luster grinned and added "I also have a suspicion that our elder is a man with an ego that could sink a boat." Iato came up from her bow in a giggle. "Lets hope so, Missus Dawn." "Missus Dawn!? You make me sound like I'm old!" Luster then looked at her fading pink coat "Okay, older than I am." Luster laughed at the awkwardness, and so did Iato. Luster Dawn called Lyron over, who had been looking out for the pair of headhunters. "Okay everypony, our goal is to get to the village Elder, and we don't know where that is, so we need to just parade down the streets while Iato spreads our message. Lyron, I need you to stay behind me, but not to close. I don't want anypony to focus on you, because they know your face. Here, take this." Luster dug some red clay from the ground. "Put that in your mane to hide you color thing. I got to ask you about that later, by the way." "It's complicated" Lyron added. "Okay, everypony ready?" Luster looked at the other two with a stern face, putting her hoof in the middle of the trio. The other two followed suit. "Alright, break!"
Chapter 3 - Luster's 3 [INCOMPLETE]Luster couldn't but look in aw at the metropolis that lay before them. Scarletsville. The final stop in Luster's ill-fated attempt to reunite Equestria under a common flag. Just 20 years prior it had been little more than a couple of shacks and several tents out in an open field. Now, it was a town to rival Ponyville in size, but it only had a single kind of inhabitant: Earth Ponies. The outfits that Luster had made were convincing enough from far enough away, but she worried that if anypony got close their cover would be blown at the slightest glance of fashion-forward ponies. So far, Iato's faux-Prench accent and words of generosity had been selling the the whole getup to the ever-growing crowd around them. Sooner or later, guards should show up, whether because they heard from somepony that there was a royal escort in the walls or just by noticing the large crowd did not matter. They just needed to get the Mayors attention. "Hear ye, hear ye. Her Royal Highness, Jaquine of Arc requests an audience with your mayor. Hear ye, hear ye..." Luster Dawn was pleased with Iato's performance. She was a natural! But even so, listening to her say the same lines over and over again got pretty annoying after awhile. She instead focused on the roads, alleys, and exits around the city, just in case they had to escape. It appeared as though the town was recovering from one of the raids she had heard so much about. There were carts overturned while beggars scrounged up what little was left of their ruined homes. It was a sight that made Luster sad, but she had other things to worry about at the moment, like the detachment of heavily armed guard ponies running straight at them. "...Jaquine of-" Iato cut herself of so she could rush back towards Luster to assess the situation without being to far away from somepony she knew. Luster leaned over "Remember, be non-specific." Iato just answered with a nod, turning to meet the detachment head-on. Iato opened with a loud but steady bellow "Her Royal Highness, Jaquine of Arc requests an audience with the mayor of this fine town." The gaurds looked at the three ponies dressed up in their shoddy-at-best costumes and conversed among themselves, peeking their heads out every couple of seconds to make sure the odd looking trio were still there. Luster could only hope Lyron wasn't blowing it. She couldn't look behind her to check, so he really was on his own for the time being. The farther away he was from the guards watchful eyes, the better. Eventually, one of the guards, what Luster assumed to be the head of the small group, trotted up to Iato in a cocky manner. "Heeeey, little lady, what are you doing tonight?" Luster could almost feel the heat coming from Iato's body as she answered, calmly, "We, the Royal Escort for Her Royal Highness, Jaquine of Arc, humbly request a meeting between your mayor and Her Roy-" "Yeah yeah, her royal highness. Hey, look cutie, me and the boys are going to be alone at the barracks tonight, if you want to come, that is." The guard stuck his tongue in his cheek and started to bob his head like a jackass while his 'boys' cheered him on in the background. Luster was surprised Iato didn't take out her sword and make the rude stallion a mute. Instead, she calmly replied "I would sooner spend a night trapped in a cage full of timberwolves without a light than bed with you or any of your..." Iato looked around the guard to peer at the other guards "...'boys'." Luster knew from the get-go that Iato was a well spoken mare of culture, but DAMN did she know how to act well. If she didn't know any better, she'd think Iato really was a servant of royalty. The guards started wailing like a bunch of school children at the insult, while the main guard shrunk back into the blob that was their very unprofessional formation. One of the group called out after them before they ran off "Hey, like, the mayor dude said to come to his castle or whatever." Castle? What did a mayor need a castle for? Luster thought to herself before the trio continued their march towards where the guard ponies went, hoping it would lead to this castle. After some bumbling around, they eventually made it to what looked enough like a castle laying near the northern border of the town. It was what would normally be called a fort, rather than a full-blown castle, but with the way things were, she was surprised by its scale none the less. It had cobblestone bases for it's decorated marble walls emblazoned with a gaudy gold trim. Luster was disgusted by the display of wealth, as just outside of those same walls were half burnt down houses that lay in ruin. As the trio reformed, Lyron on Luster's right with Iato on her left, Luster felt one of her legs being held back. The trio all look behind to see what it was. It was a small little colt, no older than most 2nd graders, kneeling at their hooves. "Please missus Jaquine, do you have any food to spare? My families house got destroyed and I am the only one left." said the little colt with a sad look. Iato was halfway to kicking the small thing away when Luster motioned for her to stop. Alright, now Iato is being too accurate. "What is your name, whelp?" Luster asked in as much a demeaning tone she could muster at such a pitiful sight. "Uh, it's [SERIES PUT ON HIATUS]
