EVERFREE: A Post-Skaian Story

Sunrise.
Your prediction came faster than you thought. As foretold, you stayed awake until the dawn, and you're not even sure why. Your heart rate hasn't slowed down, despite the fact that the moment has long since passed. Probably because this is one of those out of the frying pan, into the fire sorta situations. You've been pacing under a random tree out in the fields for hours. Not even a set of fresh clothes is helping. The crowns were at least tolerant enough to have their field medics tend to your wounds, which now ache underneath gauze, disinfectant, and suture. Right now, you're surrounded by guards on all sides, but they seem to be leaving you alone. Perhaps they're only here to act as canon fodder if you freak out and try to attack somepony. You wonder if any of them would be made into your assistant.

You're not even sure who you're gonna be working with, you just feel like they're gonna hate your guts immediately.
"That's just the anxiety talking, C-Side." Delta thumbs through your captchalogue deck, trying to find something.
"Delta, whatcha looking for?" You ask.
"Oh, you know."
"... No, I don't."
The deep purple cards flicker above you, shuffling through a menagerie of random junk and bullshit. You find that some of your cards still hold the alchemy machinery that you packed with you - you honestly forgot about those!
But they're so heavy and cumbersome on your modus, each machine takes a whole song to summon. You'd be better off pulling those out when-
*If*. If you get a place to call home. Delta's eye twitches.

"There you are." Fluttershy interrupts your reverie. She nods a greeting at the guards, who at least seem to know her by reputation, seeing as they let her through without protest. You look over to her and nod your head in a casual greeting.

"Howdy."
Fluttershy stares up at your modus, concerned.
"...Hi.. I uhm...I wanted to ask-"
"How we know your name, right?" You dismiss the deck and it pops away back into whatever hammerspace you keep that fetch modus in. She blinks, and then returns to the ask at hand.
"Yes. And how you knew to get Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity on your good side."
"Hm.. I've got a few answers. All technically true. But a lot of them are existential doozies."
"Well.. I'll take the least doozy one, please."

You tap your chin thoughtfully.
"As a Seer.. we.. see." You slap your palm on your forehead, and that particular gash stings, threatening to reopen.
"I mean, duh, that's obvious." Delta interrupts you. Fluttershy is a little taken aback by your headmate's remarks. It's probably more the fact that, from an outside perspective, you're talking to yourself.
"Delta, lemme finish. Like I was saying, we have visions. Really deep and involving ones. And when we were a kid... we saw this world, a lot."
"Saw it..?" Fluttershy says in a barely audible whisper.
"Yeah. Almost like little stories. We'd sit down, kick back, and relax as we had the sights and sounds of Equestria blasted into our brain. So .. creepy as it is to say, we've seen a lot of Ponyville. That includes the events that involve the Elements of Harmony."

=> Delta: Get bored and wander off.

Your most prized item, Disco II, flashes against the morning sunlight. The light seems to almost bounce in patterns and formations, and through these little flashes, you emerge.
And wander off. You think you hear C-Side call out to you, but you don't really pay attention. She stops, and you assume she's giving you the space you need.

You don't really mind the fact that C-Side is hyperfixated on ponies - hell, you're not above admitting you find some of the dragons cute - but man, you never thought that you'd have to play the game by their namby pamby rules.
At least Skaia had your work cut out for you. You shuffle through the cards on your fetch modus, and finally find your quarry.
Booze. You were happy that you didn't have to summon the alchemy shit to make any new alcohol, or worse, ask where the nearest liquor store is.
Until all this mess was over, the cans you had in your inventory would last you.
Hopefully.

=> C-Side: Chastise your alter.

"Seriously, Delta?? We have a job to do and you're drinking?"
She ignores you, mutters the lyrics to the song on your modus, and glugs down a swig of some bitter brew. You taste it - which is honestly the worst part of your weird clone item. You cough and spit, trying to get the taste out of your mouth. Fluttershy steps back a bit, confused by everything.
You shake yourself back into focus and hope you can explain to Fluttershy before you get wasted.
"Sorry, about that," you clear your throat, "where were we? Your name?"
"Uhm, yes."
"Yeah, it's like I said- we witnessed a lot of you and your friends work."
Her face blanches a bit.
"Nothing personal, mind. It was more.. unique moments of.. greatness in regards to your aspects." You give a sheepish grin, and you know by her disturbed expression that she's not believing you. Her eyes flick to Dorothy having more drink, and you choke back the cough. Your heart rate is speeding up again.
"Like uhm...the time you and Tree Hugger went to the Gala and Discord was kind of an asshole about it?"
She flinches, and then blinks. "You saw that..?"
"Yeah."
She steps back again. Shit, shit, shit. Heart's pumping real heavy now.
"Look, I.. I don't have any designs on this place if that's what you're worried about."
Delta's eyes fix on yours, and her thoughts rattle in your mind.

"C-Side, you dork. She's already got enough high level powercreep shenanigans in her life. You need to appeal to her grounded side of life."

You decide to trust her on that.
"Like.. all I used to do before all this stuff happened was cleaning animal reserves."
She perks up. "Really?"
You nod, and then your breath catches. Saying you worked at a private lab that tested on animals would be a very bad idea. You consider the other possibilities. Zoo. Animal shelter. Pet sitter. Reserve care technician.. Yeah fuck it, zoo. Don't appeal to her too hard.

"Yeah, it was a zoo." You say nonchalantly.
"Oh.. oh, dear, those poor things were probably in tight cages.."
"No, actually." You lie. They totally were. "The macaques alone had an enclosure the size of a two story home!"
They were like nine cubic feet and you know it. "It was mostly because there was a lot of parts of the world that like.. the animals that those places came from? Weren't habitable anymore. There were a lot of extinction prevention programs like that at home."
Liar. They were bred en masse to be test subjects for medical experiments. You're pretty sure that one time, they literally put the rabbits in one test room on cocaine for research.

"Extinction prevention...?" she asks.
Shit. You sigh, and decide that's a perfect way to merge into the truth.
"Our society didn't really.. respect nature. Sure, there were humans who fought tooth and nail for it, but the ones in charge only saw nature reserves as real-estate in waiting.."
"Oh..."
"Yeah. It.. it sucked. A lot. That's just like the tip of the iceberg in terms of suck. So.. when.. I left home," You don't have the heart to tell her that your world ended. She doesn't know what a Skaia session is, and it'd be better to not have that burden. "When I left home, this place seemed.. so, peaceful, and welcoming, and kind in comparison, that I thought, 'Well hell, there'd be plenty worse places to try and call home'."
"I see..."
She's quiet for a bit.

"... You and Delta... mentioned a Skaia session. What is that?"
Before you can answer, Delta's voice rings out across the field.
"It's what happens at the predestined end of the world!"
God dammit, Delta, why.
Fluttershy looks back to you, horrified.
"Is that true?"
Your face scrunches up, which answers your question.
"Your world ended?!" She squeaks.
"Y-yeah. It was.. dying. It was just its time to go."
"Oh.." Framing it like it was a dying animal helped her realign, it seems. "So, what's Skaia then?"
"It's an entity responsible for.. ensuring the circle of life continues. It takes the old, dead, universe.. it selects a few people from the universe to participate in its rebirth.. to.."

Your mind wanders to your friends.
You can't control your breathing. Fluttershy looks to Delta, who is comparatively calm, if a bit agitated looking. She takes another drink. Bitter whiskey dances on your tongue. You can't stop it. Horrible taste, horrible person.
"C-Side?!" Fluttershy yelps.
"S sorry. Sorry. Sorry."
Who's saying that?
"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry,"
Oh, it's you.
You keep repeating, "sorry, sorry, sorry."
Delta is approaching. She's growling.
She snatches you up and pulls you into her.

=> Delta: Take over.

C-Side disappears into your body and is tucked away in the back of your mind. You sneer, and look down at the little butter pegasus.
"She was panicking. I took care of it."
You can tell she likes you less. You take another swig of that sweet liquor.
"You should probably head on home, hon." You advise the mare.
"Uh- alright- are you sure C-Side will be okay?"
"We'll live."
"..Alright then."
She practically turns tail and runs, were it not for the fact that she took flight not long after. The guards move to make a protective formation in her direction, but it's all for naught. You sit down against the tree, very deliberately on the side of the trunk that wasn't facing the morning sun. You yawn, and close your eyes for some quick shut-eye.

=>

"Helloooo? Equestria to C-Side Disco, you in there?!"
The Rainbow pony is yelling in your face. You blink against the harsh mid-day sun and sneer. How come the only pony who's been nice to you is the fancy one?
"Delta Carol. C-Side was having a panic attack. You're stuck with me, pride flag."
"What did you call me?!" She glares.
"Nothing." You grin. "Whatcha need?"
She rolls her eyes. "Whatever.. I'm here to bring you your new partner. She's gonna be the one helping you get those weird freakish hearts back."
You look down. There's a unicorn there, surrounded by guards escorting her. Your eyes strain from the bright golden fur and mane that looked like a freeze frame of flame. You also note her horn is locked in some weird chastity ring.
Probably something to make sure she doesn't pull some bullshit.

You try to recall this mare's name, but you're not the one with the hyperfixation on Equestria - C-Side is, and she's still recovering from her breakdown. You don't really want to deal with her shit right now, so you just hold out your hand to shake it.
"Pleasure to meet you. Name's Delta Carol. You?"
The mare looks up at you with a weary gaze, and then sticks out her hoof to shake it. Goddamn, nice and firm. Respect!
"Sunset Shimmer. Ex-protege of Celestia."
One of your eyebrows arcs upward. Isn't this mare from the weird human AU? You remember that, at least. But that was in a mirror world, so what's she doing here?

Rainbow Head blows a whistle, making you both flinch, and derailing your train of thought.
"Since you're both in hot water with Equestria, you two will be working together to earn your collective redemption. To that end, you'll both be monitored by two specialist ponies assigned by Princess Celestia herself. You'll meet at the train station at 12 O' Clock, Sharp!"
"And what time is it right now?" You ask.
"11:54." Rainbow answers you.
"Dooooopeee." You sarcastically cheer, and take another swig of drink. "Thanks for making us late. Which way to the station?"
She points vaguely in a direction near the center of town. You shrug, and motion to Sunset to follow, and start jogging along. Some of the guards follow in your wake.

=>

It sure was a train station.
That's really all there was to say on the matter.

Your eyes glaze over the hubbub of apprehensive ponies giving you a wide berth, very clearly afraid of you. You feel C-Side's voice despairing in the back of your head, and hush her. You look for anyone that would look like a "specialist", but it's just a bunch of ponies going about their day.

The sun looms directly overhead, right above you, so it's definitely noon. And you're sticking out like a sore thumb, so you're not sure what the next course of action is. You feel a strange breeze, and an honest-to-god manila folder smacks you on the back of the head. You grab it, inspect it, and see no real sign of its sender on the surface. Sunset looks at you with a puzzled look as you finger it open, and pull out two train tickets to someplace called the "Crystal Empire", and a letter that has actual ransomware-magazine-cutout text.
It takes you a moment to decipher the actual text, because the variant capitalization makes your eyes glaze over the actual message the first few times.
"Board the train. We will meet you at your seats."
You hand it to Sunset, who inspects it, the tickets, and looks around for any signs of somepony lurking in the shadows or crowds. No such luck. "Whoever threw this at you is really good at blending in, I guess."
You and your companion shrug, and show the tickets to the conductor. He looks suspiciously at you both, but punches the tickets without complaint. You follow the seating number to the near back of the train, and walk inside the car.
There's no one in here. You roll your eyes, and splay out on one of the uncomfortably small, backless seats.
You rest your head on your arms, folded up against the window in a relaxed position.

"So!" You huff a sigh. "What are you in for?"
Sunset takes her seat on the other side of the car. She flips her hair - mane? - somewhat dramatically, and sighs. "Oh, you know, the usual. Tried to use my magic to lead an invasion into Equestria by stealing Princess Twilight's crown. You?"
"Unleashed four anti-magic statues that probably will spell doom for the world unless they're dealt with."
"Oh, so *you're* the reason that they're considering my freedom?" Sunset chuckles. "Guess I owe you one. I dabbled in a bit of anti-magic spells to try and take on Twilight since I knew she'd be coming for me, but, you can see where that got me." She taps her horn. "They probably think I can help you with that."
"So, what, they'll let you outta jail?"
"Jail? Oh, no, they just slapped this thing on me and have me on probation. The only thing that changes if we succeed is that this thing finally comes off."

"IF." A new mare interrupts you both. You look over, and there's some pony hiding mysteriously behind a comically huge newspaper. There's another mare sitting next to her, in a real snazzy fucking suit and sunglasses. A real MIB looking pony. You grin in amusement, and the mare hidden behind the newspaper lowers it slightly to eye you and Sunset up. The mint lady looks way more excited to meet you.
"IF you succeed at this."

C-Side's voice, still wavering a bit, but finally back to coherence, whispers exhaustedly to you. "Agents from S.M.I.L.E. It looks like Lyra and Bon Bon, but they shouldn't know that we know that. They'll get on edge if you do."
You groan internally. They're fucking feds. Greeaaaaaat.

"Don't need to tell me twice." You reply out loud, both to "Bon Bon" (seriously, what kind of name is that??), and your headmate. You shift your focus to the mares, and grin a bit wider when you see that they look like a futch/futch lesbian couple. The suits really sell that impression.
"You ladies got names?"

The minty toothpaste looking mare pops up. "I'm L-" She clears her throat. "Agent Heartstrings." She glances over to the other mare, who stares you down.
"Secret Agent Sweetie Drops."
"Charmed, dear." You nod. "Welcome to the team, I guess."
Bon Bon gives you some kinda sneer. "Let me get one thing straight- we are not here to help you. We're only here to monitor your progress and make sure neither of you try anything funny. We have direct contact with our superiors at all times, and are trained in hoof-to-hoof combat. If you step out of line, your flank's on the chopping block. Got it?"
She's trying so hard to be intimidating. It's cute! You decide to humor her, and lean back.
"Yeah, I know, if you say jump, I say how high."
She glares daggers at you, but you couldn't care.

The train whistle sounds off in the distance, and the floor rumbles a bit as the car lurches into motion. You stretch a bit more, and settle as best you can into the seat for a nap. Before you can, though, you're prodded by a hoof. You snap one eye open and look at your assailant.
It's Heartstrings. And she's grinning wider than the Joker.

"Hiii..! I'm just doing a bit of research on humans. For Agency purposes. You see, humans haven't been encountered in a long, *long* time. And, uhm, I personally volunteered to interview you about your society! Would you mind answering a few questions?"
Oh, shit. Humans are her hyperfixation. C-Side made jokes about this back when you watched the show with her.

"C-Side," you whisper internally. "You there?"
Nothing. She went back to sleep.
God dammit, C-Side, why.
"Sssssure! But I'd really like to nap first-"
"Oh, it won't be too long at all, trust me." She interrupts you and produces a college textbook worth of paper, chock full of questions, and a pencil, freshly sharpened.
"Okay, question one.. how come you have a mane, but no coat?"
You have the feeling you're not gonna get sleep anytime soon.