*Rain drops fell upon her face while she watched the red blood sky and the black moon. She stood there, laying on her back, not moving, beraly even breathing, but she was awake. She could smell the smoke, ash and blood in the air, and she was in great pain. Pushing trough the pain as much as she could, she managed to get up enough so she could see her surroundings. Forests on fire, mountains and the landscape destroyed, a river of blood, city destroyed, and countless dead. The corpses of ponies, griffins, dragons, magical beasts, titans and golems filled the streets and the outskirts of the city as well as the lands beyond. She watched what monsters and demons that remained massacre the few that had survived the battle. Citizens crying while running in fear, children screaming for their mothers and fathers, only to be killed or eaten seconds later. Soldiers that fought to the bitter end to try and save as many as possible, yet failing.

She grunted and screamed as she got up. She was dying, she knew that, but she would not die staying on the ground and letting those abominations eat her alive. No, she will die in battle. 'Miss'

Little by little, she started chuckling as she watched her surroundings, then little by little, she started laughing. A maniacal one, a broken one. How could she not? She foresaw what was going to happen, prepared accordingly, yet still lost.'Miss' If only GriffinStone and Equestria helped. If only they weren't so afraid to fight, if only.... If only. She thought. And so, how could she not laugh? Her people were dead, her country destroyed, her land in shambles. But, strage as it seem, she was happy in a way, content. While she lost everything, at least she managed to... 'MISS!'*

Sunset eyes opened, and jumped from her seat in a cold sweat, looked in all directions, before she recognized that she was in a train.

"Miss, sorry to scare you like that, but we arrived, and you seemed like you were having a nightmare. A bad one from the looks of it." The conductor said. looking concerned.

"A nightmare?.. No, not a nightmare. A memory. A fragment." Sunset murmured. Suddenly, pain started to envelop her head, causing the unicorn to grind her teeth and fall to her knees. They're getting more frequent. After a second she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself, before opening her eyes again, getting back up and looking at the conductor. "Sorry for that, and thanks for waking me up. I was about to miss my station." She said, trying to smile as realistically as possible.

The conductor looked at her with doubt, but decided to leave it. "No problem miss, as long as you are fine, I'm fine. Now, off you go, i have to prepare for departure." He said, before turning and leaving to do his job.

Deciding that she should do as instructed, she grabbed her backpack and disembarked from the train.

Stepping into the train station she felt a sense of awe as she looked at the interior of the building. She knew that Lunar Harbour was a very developed city, but she didn't expect the train station to be this big. Arches of quartz and sapphire holding up the glass ceiling, while stained glass with beautiful design decorated the windows. A big golden clock was in between the tracks that served as the schedule for when trains arrive and depart. The station was decorated with benches and the walls were decorated with flowers and plants, and a lot of creatures moving and going about their day. It was a sight to be seen. Looking a bit to her left she saw the exit, right next to it were two statues. One was with a pony that held up a fish in it's harpoon and the other was a leviathan. Stepping outside the station, she was more in awe. The city was beautiful. The station was located on a hill, strategically placed there for tourists and locals that were coming back to have a view of the whole city. The city was big, it was expected, but it was still massive. Building of every shape and sizes, factories, markets, and greenery, a lot of it. Trees everywhere, moss, plants and vines decorated each and every house and building.

Two locations sood out the most. The first location, a massive building, tall and wide, with a rounded roof. Sunset figured that should be the city hall. The other location that caught Sunset's eyes was the harbor. Cranes used for making ships, docking ships, transporting and depositing goods. Ships of every size coming and going. That's where she needed to go.

With the destination acquired, she began to move slowly throughout the city, enjoying the little peace she had. She knew that it would not last, but by Amara herself, she would try. And so, she walked, taking turns, getting lost, asking others for directions, untill, she finally got to the market, the central part of the town.

Sunset found it amazing how a port city market was so varied. Shops and stalls that sold everything from clothes to books, weapons to candy, artifacts and runes. It was amazing. The market was also populated, tons and tons of creatures, so much so that she had a hard time navigating. Everywhere she went, she had to be careful to not bumb into someone. She also had to be careful of pickpocketers. While she had casted a simple location spell on her backpack, she didn't want to run half the city to get them back.

After some time of weaving trough the crowd, and asking people where to go next, she found herself at the hearth of the marketplace. A big fountain stood glamorously in the middle of the marker. Deciding that she needs to take a break, The unicorn scanned for an empty place to rest her hooves. Finding none, because the benches were already occupied, she got thinking of her options.

First option was to continue walking, untill she got out of the market, but her hooves hurt from all the walking.

Second option was to go to a restaurant and hope there was a seat avaliable.

Liking the second option more, she quickly got to work, only to find out that all of the restaurants in the vicinity were full. Great. first option it is then.

After about half an hour of walking, she finally got outside of the marketplace. Finding herself in an unfamiliar place yet again, Sunset swore a bit, then, deciding it was not worth consuming any more energy, she just sat down on a front porch of a random house. Opening her backpack, she levitated some rations and started digging in. As she was eating, she heard the door behind her opening. Turning her head around she saw a young pegasus mare, no more then 14 years old, looking at her with a peculiar face.

"Hello? Can i help you miss?" The young pegasus asked, cautiously.

Sunset quickly got up and turned to face the mare. "Oh, sorry. I was just resting a bit, and i didn't find anywhere else to sit." She said sheepishly.

The pegasus gave her a confused and concerned look.

"No really, see, i got lost. This is my first time in the city, and i lost my way. I'm looking for the harbor, but i got tired from all the walking and decided to catch my breath a bit." Sunset said embarrassingly.

"I see. Well then miss." The young mare said with a smile. "You are in luck, I'm going there myself to give my father his launch. If you want, you can tag along."

At those words, Sunset was extremely happy. Not only there was someone who was going in the same direction, But she had company as well.

"Thanks, um?"

"Calming Waves. But friends call me Weavy." The young pegasus said, smiling, as if to calm the unicorn.

"Beautiful name. Well then Weavy, thanks for letting me tag along, you really saved my legs some walking." Sunset said as she put the unfinished rations back in her backpack. She wanted to rest some more, but she could do so when she got there.

"Legs?" The pegasus asked.

"Oh sorry, i meant hooves." Sunset said, a blush forming in her cheeks at the mistake she made.

The trip to the harbor didn't take that long if you knew where to go, a simple twenty minutes walk. No doubt widout her companion, it would have taken way longer for Sunset to arrive. During the walk, Sunset asked various questions about how the port works and other stuff, learning a few thing in the process.

The first thing she learned, it's that the port mainly deals in trade. Most of the ships that come and go are either training ships or fishing ships. Very few ships were used in transportation, and even less ships were independent from the harbor. Sunset didn't like it that much, her chances to find someone to take her where she needed to go were low, but now they were even lower.

Second thing she learned was that the harbour was an comprised of different institutions. It was not a single body, but many that worked in sync. The biggest two, and the ones that could be of help to her, were the fishing guild and the merchant guild. There was also the Union, which was a group comprised of individuals that didn't want to affiliate with any of the guilds or government.

Having been lost in thought, she hasn't realized that Weavy was calling her name to tell her that they have arrived.

Sunset, shaken from her thought, she looked around to see that yes, she has indeed arrived.

She turned to face her temporary companion. "Thank you Weavy, for bringing me here." She said with a smile.

Weavy smiled back. "It's no problem miss, i was going in the same direction. Well then, i better hurry, I'm sure my father is quite hungry at this point." The pegasus said as she started walking away.

Having been left alone now, Sunset began her search. She started to ask around on the whereabouts of the offices of each institution. Having gotten directions, she started walking. It wasn't long before she arrived at the Merchant guild office. Knocking twice, she waited for a response before entering.

The office was a small room, filled with stacks of paper, a desk and an older stalion behind it.

"*Ahem* Hello sir." Sunset said.

The stalion looked up from his papers to look at Sunset. "Name?" He said. It was clear from how he talked and looked that was very bored.

"Sunset Shimmer" She said.

"Purpose?"

"I would like to embark on a ship." She said.

"Where to?"

"Navalia." She said.

At those words the stalion looked up in confusion. "Navalia? Oh, i see, you were joking." He said before letting out a sigh. "Miss, i don't have time for jokes. I'll ask again, where to?"

Now it was Sunset's turn to be confused. "I wasn't joking. I'm looking for a ship to take me there. If it's about the money, i can pay."

The stalion got up from his seat to look at the unicorn in front of him better. "The hell you want to go to that accursed land for?"

"Accursed land?" She said in confusion.

The stalion looked at her in awe. "Stupid girl, you want to go there but you don't even know what you're getting yourself into?" He said angrily. "Get out from my office before i call the guards!"

Seing how angry the stalion was, she got up and left in confusion. What did he mean by accursed land? Seing as she was getting no answers by asking herself, she decided to head to her next destination. The fishing guild. The chances to find a ship to take her there were low, but at least they weren't zero.

Sunset stood outside the fishing guild's Office, baffled, confused and annoyed. The interaction went about the same as the previous place. As soon as she mentioned Navalia the stalion snapped, and when she tried to ask why he was so hostile all of a sudden, he just called the guards to escort her out.

Seing as she just got trown out by both guilds, Sunset thought it would be a good ideea to gather informations about why Navalia was such a taboo place. Taking a few minutes to think, she decided that the best place to ask around was the bars around the harbour, where sailors gather to drink after a long journey.

With the plan made, she started walking yet again. Her hooves hurt, and she was tired, but even if she couldn't find information there, she could at least rest and eat something.

Having found a few bars, she decided to go to the most populated one. It was called the Sailor's Song. Nice name. She thought. Wasting no time, she went in the establishment. The inside of the bar was as she expected, a bar in the corner, decorations on the wall, Pictures of sailors. It looked like the typical bar if she was being honest. Looking around the place, she found a table that was occupied, but had a free chair, looking around some more, she found out, that was the only free seat. Grumbling a bit at the thought of having to share a table with sailors that haven't showed in days, she decided to take it. It was better then nothing.

"Sorry, is this seat taken?" Sunset asked.

The other three occupants stopped their conversation to look at the young mare. Giving her looks that screamed *Who is she? and *What does she want?*. After a few moments, one of them, a Hippogriff, spoke. "Sure lass. Go ahead."

Having gotten the approval, Sunset wasted no time.

"So, miss." Another one spoke, A stalion, with a scar on his right eye. "What brings you to this side of the city?"

"Information gathering, but for now, a nice meal and a place to rest." Sunset said.

"Aye lass, this here be the best dinner in this part of the city, that i know." The Hippogriff said with a smirk. "The name's Sky." He pointed to the stalion next. "He's Sunny and the other one's Cal."

"Pleasure." She said with a smile. "I'm Sunset Shimmer." She said, before getting interrupted by her stomach, causing her to blush a little.

The other three started laughing at the sound her stomach made. "The lass's hungry i see." Sky said before turning his head to the bar. "Oi lass, bring some food here. We've got one hungry mare here." he shouted.

After a few moments a young waitress came and brought the food. Before stopping. "Oh, hey miss. we meet again."

"Weavy? What are you doing here?" Sunset asked, confused at what a young child like her is doing here.

"Helping my father. He owns the place. I'm the cook by the way, sp you know the food is guaranteed to be good." She said, before hearing her name getting called feom somewhere else. "Ops, I'm needed elsewhere. See ya beautiful miss." She said with a smile before running off somewhere else.

Sunset blushed a bit at her comment. Looking at her food, which was comprised of grilled fish and a salad, she took a small bite. It was then that she found out that Sky was telling the truth. This was delicious.

The three others started laughing at how fast the young unicorn was devouring the food, but Sunset didn't care, she was to preoccupied with eating to care.

It wasn't long before she finished the meal, letting out a sigh of satisfaction.

"Now that you had your meal, mind telling us what business did you come here for?" Sunny asked.

Sunset smirked. "Intrigued are you? Well, i came here to search for informations about a certain place. And before you get all mad and angry like the others, I'm just looking for information, nothing else."

Sunset waited for them to nod in approval before starting. "You all know Princess Twilight Sparkle, right?" She said, getting nods of approval in response. "Well, she recently got invested in researching the continent of Navalia, and as i am a very good friend of hers, she asked me for help. Fast forward a few days, we decided that it's better for me to come here in person to gather informations and for her to search the royal library. That way we cover more ground. I've tried to ask around, but every time i got told to leave." Sunset said. It was a lie, a big fat one, but using Twilight's name would make the conversation smoother.

"The hell you want to know about that place for? Tis nothing but trouble if ye ask me." Sky said, scowling while doing so. Soon enough, the others made the same face.

"It's a cursed land miss Shimmer. I suggest you go back and tell the princess to give up. She'll be spared the headaches." Sunny said in a serious tone.

Sunset gave the stalion the same serious face. "I'm afraid that won't be possible. Just tell me what you know, and in return I'll pay for the drinks tonight."

"You've got a deal lass." Sky didn't really want to talk about it, but free drinks are free drinks. "Like my friend here said, that land is cursed. The entire continent in engulfed in a thick fog of magical origins. Many who ventured there never came back, and the few that did return, well, let's just say that they were missing a few screws." He said grimly.

"Why? Did the fog messed with their heads?" She asked curiosity.

"If it were only that, the mages would have made something to counter it a long time ago. No, it's something else, something much worse. The ones that came back, all said that the land was weird. That it did not obey the laws of physics, and on top of that, time moves differently. I remember an article about a group of researchers going there. A few days later, only one of them returned. From his statement, a few years have passed. When he was asked what happened to the others, he began to cry and say 'Abominations' over and over. Poor guy lost his marbles." Sunny said, taking a long sip from his drink.

Sunset lowered her head, looking at the drink. "How long ago was that?"

"Bout 90 years or so." Sunny said.

Hearing that, Sunset got up from her chair and slammed her hooves against the table. "90 years?!" She screamed, causing the others in the bar to look at her in confusion and annoyance. Seing that as well, Sunset took her seat once more and asked again in a lower tone. "90 years? Wait, if the last expedition was that long ago, how long ago did the continent got engulfed by the fog?" She asked, not really wanting to hear the answer to that.

The others gave Sunset a confused look at the sudden outburst she had, before Sunny continued. "If my memory serves me right, I think it's close to 400 years.

"400 years? No, that can't be right, can it?" Sunset murmured. She wanted to immediately ask some more questions, but thankfully, she had the control necessary to not seem like a crazy person.

Calming herself a little after such news, she asked. "Are you sure ab-" Before she could continue she heard someone screaming.

"I'll do it. By the sea of Eques I'll do it." Sunset searched for the one who screamed like a madman, only to find an old grandpa, drunk as he could be, screaming at a guy who was laughing hysterically and looked like he just wanted to make fun on him.

"You ain't got the courage old fart." The young stalion said while continuing to laugh. "Just go home, you can barely walk, let alone sail."

"I'll Show you, I'll show you all. Bunch of ungrateful brats!" The old man said while swaying left and right.

Before Sunset could ask anything else, she heard Sky. "Aye, That one be Grandpa Grumpy. Poor guy that one."

Sunset turned to look at Sky. "Why?"

Sky made a grim face. "It all happened bout 25 years ago. From what i know, he was part of the fishing guild. He'd always take his wife and son with him, said that way he could spend more time with them. Little did he knew then, that was the biggest mistake of his life. Poor guy got hit by a storm, causing his ship to drift off untill they were right at the border of the fog. His wife and kid got trown off the ship and pulled by the waves into the fog. He tried everything to go after them, the fool even jumped into the water and tried to swim after them. Unfortunately for him, the waves changed direction, causing him to drift farther and farther from his family. Luckily, a ship found him the next day and saved him, but he never was the same. Poor lad always says that he'll go after them into the fog, but he never does it. Well, guess it's better that way.

"I see." Was the only response Sunset could give. It was sad, but that gave her an ideea. If the old man plans to go there, maybe he can bring me along. If not, then maybe he'll sell me the ship he has. There was also a third option, she could steal the boat, but Sunset didn't want to do that. She would only do that as a last resort.

Having heard what she wanted to hear, and some thing that she didn't, she decided to call it for the night. Not before asking where the old man lived so she could go see him tomorrow.

As the night fell, she eventually managed to get a room at a nearby hotel. Throwing her backpack somewhere in the room, she fell on the bed with a thud, taking only seconds to fall asleep.

Alright, this is where grandpa Grumpy lives.. I belive. She could be wrong, she didn't ask any of the neighbors if this is the house, but it looked old and dirty. Considering that this was the only house in this state in this neighborhood, Sunset had high hopes. Steeling herself for a conversation she will certainly not want to have, she knocked. A few minutes passed but no response. She knocked again, and after a few second more, she knocked some more, causing the man inside to scream. "I hear ya, i hear ya." Sunset could hear him.

A few moments later the door opened, revealing the old man. If looks could kill, Sunset would have died many times over with the way the old man looked at her.

"What you want girl?" The old man asked, in the most hostile tone he could muster.

Deciding to ignore the open hostility, Sunset put on her best smile. "Hello Mister Grumpy, mind if i step inside a bit? This conversation requires a certain level of privacy."

"I do mind." The old man said, his hostility not lowering even a little.

"....." Sunset looked at the old man.

"......" The old man looked back.

"Ok then, outside it is. See, I came here today to discuss something you said last night at the Sailor's Song bar."

The old man scowled. "If you came here just to laugh, then you can fuck right off girly. I ain't nobody's damn circus." He said, getting ready to close the door.

Before he could do so, Sunset intervened. "Actually sir, i am very much intrigued by what you have said, and most importantly, what you want to do." She said, still trying her best to smile.

The old man stared at the unicorn in front of him, judging, thinking. "Alright, come inside." He said as he started to walk inside the house, letting the door open for Sunset to follow.

Happy that the old man would at least hear her out, she wasted no time in getting in before the old man changed his mind.

As she stepped inside, Sunset found herself shocked. The house was clean. The exterior of the building looked as if it would fall any second now, but the interior looked clean, well kept, organized. Looking around the house a bit, she found out that it was full of pictures. Of the old man and his family. She stopped to look at a picture of them. They were at sea, all three of them looked happy, complete. It was clear that Mister Grumpy treasured those photos. Looking to her left, she saw the old man in his chair, watching her like a hawk. Deciding to not let him wait any longer, she sat down opposite of him.

"So, what's this about?" Grumpy said.

"Like i said earlier, i have come to talk about last night. Specifically about the fact that you are planning to go to Navalia."

"Yeah? So what?" Grumpy said, never once letting Sunset out of his sight.

"Well, I've come to ask if it's true. Do you really plan to embark on a ship and sail there? Or was what you said last night the lies of a drunken fool?" Sunset asked, her face and voice now serious.

"What's it to you if what i said was true or not?" The old man asked, but he got no response in return, just Sunset looking at him with a serious, yet sad expression. At first he thought that the sadness was just pity for an old crazy pony, but as he looked closer, he saw that the sadness was not directed at him, it was directed at her. He knew that expression too well.

"I see." The old man said, nodding in understanding. "It's true."

"Then." She said, stopping a bit before continuing. "Would you be willing to take a companion on your last journey?"

The old man's eyes widened. From all the things she expected from this young lass, her wanting to embark on a suicide mission with an old crazy bastard like himself was not one of them. But as he watched her more and more, he understood why. There was a great sadness in her eyes, way greater then his. The old man could not fathom what a girl so young had to go trough. But he also understood that the young unicorn, unlike him, had a purpose. Closing his eyes for a few seconds to think, he made his choice.

"Midnight. West side of the harbor, sector four. If you're late I'll leave widout you." He said.

Sunset stood there for half an hour. It was almost midnight. She was wondering if the old man would actually show up. Just as she was about to go search for him, she heard someone walking towards her. Turning around she saw that it was the old man, walking slowly. Giving a nod to greet her newest companion she looked at the ship. An old one, but it would do the job.

"You've got some balls on you lady. Most men would shit themselves just hearing of what we're about to do." The old man said jokingly.

"Well, to do what we're about to do does require balls of steel or just being crazy. Thankfully, it seems i have a bit of both worlds." Sunset said with a chuckle. Causing the old man to actually laugh a bit.

"Come on, let's get started, before the winds blow against us." The old man said.

Doing as instructed, Sunset followed the old man onto the ship and began to prepare. Checking if everything is alright with the ship, letting down the sails, and finally, pulling up the anchor, causing the ship to move into the open sea.

Sunset looked back at the shore. That might be the last time she will see Equestria. If she was lucky, she would see it again, but unfortunately for her, luck was a rare resource.

"Stop ogling at the shore and come help me." The old man said in a high voice. He might sound angry, but Sunset could hear it in his voice, he was enjoying this.

Turning her attention back to the old man and smirked. "On it Capitan."

Author's Note

Oh yeah, the plot thickens.
Oo this chapter was hard, but fun to write. You can definitely see a drop in writing quality at the end, but, that's the best i could come with.
I also need realized that i kind of fucked up. Last chapter i needed to write a bit more. But I'll make it work somehow.

Now, onto the fun stuff. As you can see, there are some thing that will not make sense for you in this chapter. Don't worry, it's supposed to not make sense yet. I'll reveal more answers in the next chapter as well. Also, from here on out, at least in the chapters that are about Sunset, things will escalate. I have so many things in mind.

Anyway, if you liked it, that's good enough for me. And, if you have questions, I'll try my best to answer them without spoiling.