In Twilight’s mind, perhaps the advent of the pony apocalypse would have been preferable to this.
The land was barren. From the underground shelter she – and the handful of survivors she had encountered – had built, venturing outside was practically suicide at this point. The world they inhabited was, for all intents and purposes, dead.
Right now, all she had going for her and the resistance was a thread. A simple report, given by a nameless Griffon scout who had succumbed to his wounds once he had been able to reach the safehouse.
Another casualty against their war against... them. Honestly, she doesn't even know what to call them anymore. Aliens? Invaders? Alien invaders? Retribution from the heavens?
She digresses. The report. She skimmed over the papers retrieved from the Storm King's lair, and whistles. For all his atrocities, Twilight had to give his minions some credit. They knew how to make weapons. Could this finally be the big break they were looking for?
But she was going too fast, she told herself. She would have to start from the beginning if she were to regale this story to anyone else. If anyone would be willing to listen to her story, or if she would write a book, this shouldn't be how it starts.
After all, what good is a story if it didn't it's readers hope?
Looking back, the signs were quite obvious. Even in the first year of Twilight’s reign, it was already obvious that something had gone awry. It had begun when the Equestrian Border Guard had reported that the barren and desolate desert was emerging in Southern Equestria.
She remembered the exact wording of the letter. "The sudden appearance of wilted plants, the ground encrusted by dry, red stone. The earth cracks frequently, and sandstorms that look like blood are an everyday occurrence. The weather in the area as well, is unpredictable, with dark clouds always covering the area. Not even the pegasi can manipulate these clouds."
Apparently, entering the area was possible, but ill advised. The environment was too harsh to enter without proper supplies. One could easily spend hours inside and find themselves stranded with not even a single ounce of water. The entire zone reeked of slaughter.
One report suggested that they felt like they were resting next to a corpse at night when camping out there.
It had been a few months since Twilight had ascended the throne. Compared with the matter of the recent coronation, or the matters with Equestria’s weakened international power due to said coronation, the news passed her by as a footnote in the recent events. Surely, climate change was the least of her worries.
The area around the Appleloosa and the badlands was already natural desert anyway, albeit one where plants could possibly grow and thrive under careful watch. Nothing a bit of research and a team of environmentalists couldn’t handle. She only wishes she could turn back the clock and strangle herself for her apathy during that time.
Only when the red sand dune reached Appleloosa did Twilight dare to take a second look.
Appleloosa’s desert was a sustainable one. Nothing akin to the new environment, where not even clean water could be accessible. Where cacti and the occasional oasis once stood, it was now a haven of sand and stone. When the sun was out, temperatures soared past it’s normal. Not even the most resilient of insect life could survive under such an environment. No weeds would grow. No matter how much fertilizer, how effective the irrigation, the soil was dead.
The entire town had to be relocated as the resident's health was slowly declining just from being there, not to mention the fact that the food and water supply of a desert village was essentially cut off. Thoughts of Braeburn and the rest of the Apple Family quickly flashed through her mind.
It didn't even take a kindergartener to know what had caused this.
It didn't take her another moment to establish a fund to research, and hopefully, put a stop to it's spread immediately.
As if Equus was bleeding, the shiny, brown sand of the desert soon turned into a blood red stone and sand dune. But there was nothing she could do about it. As much as the curious side of her would love to step in and take over the research, she was the sole princess now.
She had actual responsibilities. And though she had her friends as a council to consult and rule by her side, they had their own lives outside being Elements of Harmony. Plus, she couldn’t rely on most of them for academic matters now, could she?
But, she couldn't simply shake this sinking feeling. Something was wrong. Twilight wasn't usually a pony who relied on her instincts. She desired facts above all else. She prioritized hypotheses and experiments before coming to a conclusion. Yet, this feeling in her gut.
Like the world was slowly suffocating and drowning, and her along with it. That the inevitable was about to occur. That she fell into the ocean, with nothing to tow her back to safe shores, her only choice to slowly sink deeper and deeper -
She felt her insides burning. Bile seeped in her throat and she retched - she had to do something before -------....
Months passed. The annual meeting between world leaders had arrived.
King Khanoum of Zebrica had only mentioned it in passing, but it was enough to get her rapt, undivided attention. She swallowed slowly, contemplating the words in her mind. "Bloody... sand?"
The zebra nodded, looking out from one of the many stone windows in the Griffonstone Palace. "Indeed. Both our shamans and scientists alike are dumbfounded to what they are. All we know is life quickly deteriorates wherever these red splotches emerge. It doesn't matter where it appeared, nor the land's previous fertility. No crops will grow. Waters will stagnate and eventually become poisonous."
"Plants wilt. Animals flee or die. The earth eventually cries out. " Queen Novo noted, gesturing to one of the Hippogriff scribes to take this all down. "My seaponies and hippogriffs have been seeing the same thing."
"Hah!" The elderly Griffon King Grendel had scoffed. All heads on the table turned to him. "Only you magical savages worry about such trivial matters. We Griffons have already found a way to slow down the decay."
Twilight narrowed her eyes. "This... decay, you called it. It's happening to the griffons as well?"
"Naturally, we have already overcome it! Our inventions have already worked around this natural plague without the help of your so called magic!"
"What's worrying is that we don't even know what's causing it. We don't even know how far it extends to - "
"Twily," Cadence got her attention, cutting her off mid sentence. She had never seen Cadence this quiet, or pale. Her pink fur was starting to lose it's shade, but Twilight made a mental note to ask her about it later. Her voice was quivering, to the point where Twilight could feel the her body chill. "I think it's happening everywhere."
Sure enough - nods from around the table confirmed that this was not an isolated case. From the Queen Novo's Mt. Aris and Seaponies states to Emperor Atticus' Holy Minotaur Empire, they were all reporting a sickness in the land.
The winds were slowing. The oceans were slowly becoming poisonous. The land, infertile and rotting.
The stench of rotting corpses was rising out of the ground, at an unprecedented rate. It wasn't long before the entire Equus would be overrun by this plague to the land. A quick estimate made by the newly appointed Equestrian Ruler granted only two more years before the entire Equus.
That was too soon. If they didn't do anything, they'd be caught unprepared for whatever apocalypse was waiting to occur.
Despite the name being a world conference, there was only one de facto leader among them. One that used to lead all nations due to her wisdom. She had once united the three pony tribes under her banner, and she was able to make peace between the once warring nations of the world.
Throughout history, she was respected and adored, not just by Equestrians, but by all nations. If there was anyone to consult, it was her.
Upon further deliberation, it was decided that they would need to consult her experience to see if anything like this had ever happened in history.
Twilight couldn’t count how many times she had gone to see her mentor for advice. The beautiful, majestic princess. Well, former princess, that is. To Twilight, she is the epitome of all she should be. Kind, yet stern. Wise, yet easygoing. Perhaps not the sweet tooth, but she did have a peeve for coffee.
But, was it immature for her to hope that this would be a regular trip? In spite of all the warning bells that should have been flashing in her head
She set down the piping hot latte on the wooden table. She had never seen this side of Celestia before. Wearing what could be called a granny outfit, along with a frilly apron, cooking up breakfast. Hayburgers and cake wasn't her idea of a healthy breakfast, but this is her residence after all.
The sun had just risen on a Saturday at Silver Shoals, and she knocked on their door first thing in the morning. To be frank, she was a bit embarrassed for her first visit to be princess related matters, especially so soon after she had retired from due to her exasperation to princess business and international diplomacy.
She had been meaning to visit for a while now, of course. Surely, she would have, if not for her princess work boggling her mind every day.
Celestia beamed at her before ushering her in. Luna had apparently gone to Manehattan for a gaming convention, so Celestia was lounging about for the weekend. She had no idea what she would be doing for the weekend until Luna returned.
"But enough about that, Twilight. Is there something wrong? Your face is gonna wrinkle soon if you keep frowning like that." Celestia laughed a bit to herself at her own joke, while Twilight simply breathed a sigh of relief. Some things never change, and Celestia was as astute as ever. Perhaps this was one of the few blessings she had gotten in the past few months.
And so, she spoke. The entire while, Celestia's bright smile soon turned into a pensive stare. She had risen a bit, halfway thorugh her story, and walked over to the bookshelf. She left her eggs half eaten, Twilight idly noticed.
Throughout the story, Celestia had only kept a passive face. She found it weirdly comforting, to be completely honest. She only had that look when she knew exactly what was wrong.
"Do you know what the problem is?" Twilight finally pressed, just wanting the whole situation to be over with.
Twilight will never forget her next words, spoken in a soft, rushed breath, and she will always remember the confusion and despair that followed soon after. "The Planet is dying."
Author's Note
In the middle of playing Mahoyo, at 2 am and suddenly got an idea . Started simping for Type Venus for no reason. But hey, no better time to get inspiration but now.
might edit later when i finally get some sleep
This'll be my Gun God or V/V Catalyst when either one of them comes to FGO hopefully