The Unknown Daughters Reunion:The Early Days

...f I don't come up with the money in a week, they'r...
...ming video games isn't a real j...
...ish it squish it squish it!! It's gonna...
...ow'm I gonna get to work now!? I'm s...
...aaaaahhHHH!!...
...ays hated you. You we're just usefu...
...ve you so much Carley. Will you b...
...orry, I am. I just can't d...
...ake up and smell the coffee looser!

With a start, the alicorn jumped up in her bed. Looking around, she realized she was in her chambers in her castle.

Taking in lungfuls of air, she realized what had just happened.

Calming down, it took her a couple moments to clear her mind.

'Why are the dreams in such turmoil? Usually they can be managed.. but this? This is insanity.' She thought.

Over the years, she had come to know of the ability she had inherited from the princess of the night, and learned to manage it. Even trying her hoof at dispelling nightmares herself, as ironic as that sounded; concerning her name...

'The realm of nightmares was my domain once. Pray tell, how have things here devolved into chaos so quickly? The final times will not begin for three months still! Is my control slipping?'

Leaving her bed, she walked into her bathing room to get some water. Taking a look at herself in the mirror, nothing seemed out of place.

'Had I not already been aware, I would see this as an warning of dark clouds on the horizon. May chance, this is an omen for myself?'

Her paranoia getting the best of her, she left her chambers and proceeded to her study. Walking in, the lights came on automatically while she walked over and sat at her desk.

Opening six planners up, she laid them on the desk while she pulled the drawer out for her keyboard. Responding to the drawer, a monitor rose from the rear of the desk.

Over the next seven hours, she went over everything that was crossed off as "prepared".

She always began with the foals, and then the time slip spell and it's charged crystals.

Coming up with nothing being overlooked; she went downstairs to check on the incubators personally, making sure they were okay.

Her methodology was that; When nothing on paper seems out of place, check that the paper is correct.

Following that; she cast an invisibility spell upon herself, and flew out to the city perimeter, beyond the orchards.

Like she had done with the foals; she had checked every single charged crystal embedded in concrete where the city's border was. They too, checked out; Ready to aid the spell that would deliver the city from the current times, and pass by the era of entropy she had set up from afar.

By now the morning had passed by, and it was approaching midday.

Flying back onto her balcony, she walked in and dropped the invisibility spell; trading it for her formal disguise.

Walking out into her hallway as a well dressed human, she made for the storage facilities.

Entering the warehouses, the 'human' began going through storage crate and container, after container:

Clay for packing the wells, as well as replacement casings for the dissolved ones: check.

Spare parts, should the defects in components overcome that of the preservation wards placed on them: check.

Casings, pipes, and chemicals for bringing the fracking plant online: check.

That thing nearly made her grind her teeth, and not for the reasons the humans possibly would;

Massaging all of the hoops to have it built was not difficult for her. Subtle suggestion magic made easy work of that with officials.

It was getting the 'trade secrets' out of the contracting companies to complete its operation herself, that nearly had her turning humans into thralls in order to divulge the information. It was either that, or nearly obtain the whole company just for access to a piece of the collected knowledge.

'Information age... Tis no wonder nearly all technological development has stagnated. All information of use has become so restricted that most cannot afford to be not ignorant' She ranted to herself.

In fact, she had performed so much information 'theft', that should the humans come to realize the immensity of it, she would have sentences millennia long by their laws.

Nearly everything in the city; She had all of the fabrication information, factories and tools, to recreate everything in it, on site. And since these were all 'products' made by others, she had to violate every intellectual property law on the books to possess it.

'Likely, a few that have not even thought of yet, as well..' she grinned to herself.

"Joe! Hey Joe, I thought you were off today?" Someone yelled to her.

Turning around, the 'human' asked;

"Pardon?"

"Oh! Sorry sir, I thought you were someone else." he apologized.

"Ah, no trouble at all. Say, how did your fishing trip fare? Catch anything?" the alicorn in disguise asked him.

"Oh I sure did sir! A twenty-six incher!" he exclaimed, holding his hands out to illustrate.

"Splendid! Did the children catch anything?" she asked him.

"Nah. Fishing was never their thing, too impatient. Mostly sat around the boat the whole time. But they still had fun; Heh, kept calling it a mini-cruise" he laughed.

Making a bit of small talk with her grounds guard, the alicorn was happy that the man and his family were enjoying their days.

For she had paid all involved in the city's establishment handsomely. Where; between a rousing speech from 'him', and the considerable compensation, she encouraged their best efforts in building the last that humanity would build.

...Though every so often, she had to hide her discomfort when one of them would boast about showing off the place they helped build... to their grandchildren.

And through that; she had made them all very comfortable in their final days. All of them becoming millionaires over the last few decades, even the landscapers.

That was how she had gotten all of the orchards completely established by this time. Otherwise, she would have been in waiting cues, as well as having to contend with replacing dying trees and such, here and there. As it was, none fell ill and died through mishandling nor a lack of follow-up care.

The original contingency plan; was to complete the orchards herself, in the after-time. However there was no need for that now. In fact most of the humans were now retired early, their task with the city being their last needful employ.

This one for example, had taken a tiny portion of his earnings, and obtained a sizable boat for his pastime. Though, she had to let him know that his retirement was at hoof, er hand. This week in fact, was his last week. She wanted him to have three months uninterrupted with his family before things turned bad.

One of the good things about them all becoming well off, was that they did not feel hurt when she dismissed them. Being still young enough to enjoy themselves, they still had aspirations to occupy themselves and a means to do so.

'Speaking of theft... a thousand lifetime sentences, perhaps more' she thought.

It was funny to think that ninety percent of the funding came from entities that had no idea they contributed, nor missed it. Their operations continued unabated despite the pilfering, such was her design.

Throughout all of her efforts, she did her best to not affect the events that would come to unfold. And from time to time, checked on the timetable to see if she had made any eddies or waves in her efforts.

Saying goodbye to the guard, she continued going through the supply containers.

Spending the rest of that day and the next cataloging what was acquired, put her mind at ease somewhat.

Following that, she began running through the shutdown and the disconnection procedures for the grid and information networks.

Looking to her phone, she almost pitied the thing as it was going to be orphaned from the infrastructure that provided most of its functionality.

Sitting at her desk, she thought about the signals it used speeding through the air; when it occurred to her.

"A Fool I am! Almost, had I made a grievous oversight!" She exclaimed to no one around her.

All of the city's more sensitive infrastructure would be bathed in strong magic whence the time came to leave. Had she overlooked shielding it, the city would have arrived into the future with not but her warded spare parts to restore operations.

"Tis fortunate I had stored supplemental magic for such a last minute emergency..."

Over the last few years, she had poured her surplus unused magical energy into crystals, should she find herself short in the final hours.

However, that available surplus was diminishing due to the need to keep the interests and impatience of the curious and investors alike from coming. Her magic increasingly being spent keeping thoughts of the city from consuming their minds now that it was finished and supplied.

To appease, she had even set a reveal date nine months from now. Complete with fabricated proof of an advertising campaign; Placating them with future promises that would never come to fruition...

And so, over the coming many weeks, she would expend nearly half of her cache in correcting her oversight.

Even after it was finished, it did not ease the turmoil that the dreamscape had become. Nightmares had become the landscape there, with good dreams being the rarity. It was as if humanity knew something was wrong, and subconsciously, telling themselves to stop everything they were doing.

However they did not understand nor heed their subconscious.

And in order to keep her strength up, the alicorn had to resort to dreamless sleep spells to make it through the nights...