The Shadow of Ages

by Warwolf

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Princess Celestia, Crossover, Anthro, Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Human, Other, Romance, Princess Luna, Original Character
Length: 11693

The ponies of three worlds go to war against an ancient evil from Earth's ancient Past.

After the events of The Conversion Bureau: The Warrior's Way it seemed like life in Equestria was going to return to semi-normal. Relations between the four worlds was steady and growing. But when the Six are sent into a completely new Multiverse, things take a turn for the dangerous, as they must contend with a fourth Equestria, and an Earth suspicious of outsiders. And waiting in the wings is an enemy from the ancient past of the world on which the Six live....

A crossover sequel to both The Conversion Bureau: The Warrior's Way and Starman Ghost's critically acclaimed fic Not Alone (done with permission from Starman himself), the ponies of four worlds will learn that the legends of the past will be reborn as the enemies of all that currently seek to live in peace. Only the power of heroes past and present can save the future.....

Oddly, this fic has been mentioned on TVTropes.org, but has no page of it's own. Ah well. One can only hope.

Published 2013-02-11 22:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-03-08 04:40:49 UTC

The Bleed

The Shadow of Ages

The Bleed

Dusk Shine, a green unicorn who had silver streaks in his mane and green eyes settled himself down with a sigh, and stretched his arms, flexing his hands as he was in anthromorphic form at the moment. He and his brothers in arms had just finished an intense training session with Scootaloo. The pegasus filly still found schoolwork boring, but she did it, simply because of the deal she and Whisper had. The Ninja had adopted Scootaloo after the Conversion War. Although the four worlds now co-existed peacefully, Scootaloo was still a pariah in her home world because she had saved Whisper's life during the War. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle still considered her a friend and came to visit as much as possible, but Ponyville at large had largely begun to treat her as persona non grata, and despite Celestia's defeat and the liberation of her mind, Applejack still held a grudge against Scootaloo, whose selfless act meant she had spent more time than was perhaps necessary under the mental shackles that Celestia had placed on her. Which meant that the Cutie Mark Crusaders, as they called themselves, didn't get to spend much time together because Applejack didn't like to make the trip across the Dimensional Warp Bridge between the four worlds due to her dislike of the Shogunate.

Or perhaps, he mused, it would be more accurate to say that that version of the CMC didn't get to spend much time together. The CMC of yet another Equestria, one that they had had friendly contact with for about three years by the time of the Conversion War had done their best to make Scootaloo and her Applebloom and Sweetie Belle feel welcome, and to some extent it worked. But it wasn't quite the same. Scootaloo had bonded well with Whisper, however and since the Ninja had adopted her as his sister— making her a surrogate sister to the rest of the Six as well, as they all considered one another family— he felt responsible to see that she continued her education before he allowed her to start training in combat, which Scootaloo wanted to do, as her parents had been part of the Royal Guard and had lost their lives during a border skirmish sometime before the Conversion War.

They had reached something of an impasse on that. She didn't want to be pigeon-holed into just studying. She wanted to learn to fight as well. Whisper wanted her to wait until she was a bit older. She was young, and from a world where warfare and combat weren't part and parcel of life on the whole. Unlike the Six, who had been even younger than Scootaloo when they became the wielders of the Elements of Bushido, she was from a world that for all its ruler had been an evil and manipulative bitch, had still been almost a paradise compared to their world. A paradise built on lies, treachery, and a tyranny nobody ever saw coming because of how good at hiding it their ruler had been but a near-paradise all the same. The new ruler of that Equestria had been doing well to make it a paradise without the evil that had tainted it, and with help from the Three Worlds Alliance, things were going well on that front. But that didn't do much to settle things in the contest of wills between Scootaloo and Whisper.

Peanut, in his inimitable way, had broken the impasse between them. Perhaps there was more method to his insanity than any of them had dared believe. He offered a compromise: Scootaloo would continue her standard education during regular school hours, but would also train with the Six to become a warrior, but only if she kept her grades to a respectable level. B minus or better. If her grades slipped, her training would cease until they came up again.

Knowing it was the best she was going to get, Scootaloo jumped on the offer. Whisper was still leery of her making such a drastic change in her life, but realized that he wasn't really one to talk, given his own childhood had been spent training in the ways of the Ninja as well as being educated beyond just what his training would be useful for.

"Kid's getting better." said a voice bearing a British accent, and Dusk turned to see Flash making his way over to sit down beside him. Like Dusk, Flash was a unicorn type, with a silver-white coat, dark blue mane, and red eyes. Like Dusk, he was in anthropomorphic form. Both of them had been in training gear as this was a practice session being held under controlled conditions. They normally went to battle in their everyday gear. "She's eating up the training."

"She's motivated." Dusk replied. "I don't blame her. She's got all the reason in the world to want to live up to her parents, and with Whisper as an example and a goal to strive for..." He shrugged and smiled. Flash nodded.

"Give her a few years, and I'd say sign her up for the team."

"You'd have to talk to Whisper about that. Legally he's her guardian since he adopted her as his little sister." Dusk pointed out. "But I can't disagree with you. She's got potential, and would be a great asset. But I think we should give her a few more years to mature as a fighter. She's still getting used to the magic we use to transform between pony and anthro form. For us it’s a part of everyday life and inherent to every pony on our world. She's still getting the hang of it. In a few years I'd wager it'll be second nature though."

"Aye, that girl's going to be a menace to any enemy she comes across soon enough." Turning to the Scottish accented voice, Flash and Dusk found themselves smiling at Lightning Blitz, a dark blue pegasus with hair the exact shade of the precious metal known in all worlds as gold, which matched his eyes. He gave his wings a tired flap and sat down next to his brothers in arms.

"Whisper and Scoots're wrapping up in there, an' Peanut's....well God only knows what he's up to. Crazy bastard."

Dusk snorted in amusement. "Admit it, Blitz, you wouldn't be able to imagine him any other way."

"Maybe, but if you tell anyone I said so, I'll gut you where you stand. Crown Prince of Equestria or not, I can still kick your arse." Lightning Blitz replied with a roll of his eyes, which drew a laugh from the two unicorns. Getting Lightning Blitz to admit to the fact that he considered Peanut a friend was like pulling one's own teeth out with a bit of string. Getting even a halfhearted admission such as that was a feat worth celebrating.

A knocking at the door leading back into the main hallway caught their attention and an Earth pony walked in, in pony form, handing a small card to Dusk with his mouth, before bowing quickly and leaving.

"That was....random." Flash said, looking to his old friend, who shrugged, and quickly checked over the card, then shook his head with a half-amused snort.

"Better get outta this training gear, guys. Dad's sent for us. Seems something weird's come up out near Ponyville."

"I'll go get Ash and Whisper." Flash said as the trio got to their feet. "I still find it funny that Ash's home town has a name like Ponyville though."

"I'd guess it's a holdover from before the Great Merger. There are still a few places whose names weren't affected by the Merger, after all." Dusk said as they filed out. "Meet you in the throne room in twenty."

The Six made their way into the throne room. Scootaloo had gone off with some of the friends she had made since coming to the Shogunate when Whisper explained that the team had been called to serve. Though she had been upset about it as they had planned to go see a movie, she understood that Whisper had to answer the call of his sovereign. She would have done the same back in the day with Princess Celestia, and hoped one day that the Shogun would allow her to join the ranks of the fighters that protected Equestria.

"You summoned us, Your Majesty?" Dusk asked as he and the rest of the team bowed in respect.

"Rise, my Six." The Shogun said, and nodded as they did. "And yes, I did. I've heard some unusual reports coming from near Ponyville. They requested that you six look into it, and seeing as Ash Jade is a Ponyville native, I thought he might be able to help shed some light on the situation." He picked up a device that resembled the Padd devices from Star Trek: the Next Generation and transferred the information on it to similar devices belonging to each of the Six. Pulling them out, the team began to look over the info. Ash Jade shook his head. The large Earth pony was a giant in either form, and the single most powerful member in terms of raw physical strength. He wore a stetson cowboy hat on his head, which bore a jet black mane and orange coat. Green eyes turned to the Shogun.

"Mmm, Ah dunno, sir. Never seen anythin' like it when Ah was livin' back home. Then again, it's been some fifteen years and change since Ah really lived in Ponyville proper. But Ah think ol' Grandpa Jade and mah sister Cut Jade woulda tol' me about somethin' like that." Ash said. "But it almost looks like whut me an' Dusk can do since we inherited the Decadriver and the Diendriver."

Dusk nodded. "He's right. It does resemble the original gateways. Ash and I can generate those at will and bring people along with us. But they don't pop up on their own like that."

The Shogun nodded. Most of his features were hidden behind his ceremonial armor, but the dark blue alicorn's wings and horns were unmistakable in either form.

"Head to Ponyville, boys. I want to know what that thing is and whether or not its dangerous. I also want to know who the hell conjured it up." he ordered. And with a nod, the team turned as one almost as if they'd planned it, and made their way out of the throne room.

Whisper, a pegasus with a muted gold coat and blood red mane turned aquamarine eyes towards Dusk Shine, who was sitting next to Peanut, who was completely blood red with slate grey eyes, and made a few gestures in Equestrian sign language. The team was taking a maglev based bullet train to Ponyville, figuring to save time walking as it was a good several weeks away on foot.

'Magic is your field of expertise, brother. Any theories?'

Dusk shook his head. "I got nothing, Whisper. Ash is right in that it looks like the dimensional gates he and I can generate, but I don't know of anyone else alive today who can do that."

'If it resembles the gateways you two can generate, maybe it is a gate.' Whisper signed back. 'Which begs the question: where does it go?'

"Good question. I'm hoping it's only a window. The memories I inherited when I first activated the Decadriver indicate that it's possible." Dusk replied. "Though if it is a window and not a gateway, what worries me is what might be watching from the other side."

'There's also the question of whether or not this thing was conjured on purpose or if it's a delayed consequence of the Conversion War. The Solar Tyrant had more than her fair share of contingency plans in play.'

"He's got a point, Dusk." Flash interjected. "What if it's some kind of spell on a delayed trigger and not a gateway or window at all? One final strike from beyond the grave?"

"There's an idea I really wouldn't want to think about." Lightning said.

Ponyville hadn't changed much in the fifteen years since Dusk and Flash had first come here and met Ash Jade. Some new businesses had moved in, a few had moved out, and a few new skyscrapers had been introduced into the city, altering its skyline somewhat. But in the long run, Ponyville hadn't changed to the point where Ash Jade found it unrecognizable.

"Welcome back to Ponyville, fellers." he said, smirking as he adjusted his stetson. He wore a denim vest and jeans and had his Gunblades strapped on his back. There was a time he wore them in holsters at an angle on his hips, but with the three foot long blades he now wielded, it made drawing them a cumbersome effort if left at his sides rather than his back. "Good to see it ain't changed too much since Ah been gone."

"I'll have tae take yer word on it, AJ." Lightning Blitz commented as he adjusted his bomber jacket and ruffled his wings. "Never really been around this place before for longer than ten minutes in the entire fifteen years we've been traveling together. Well, except for our trips to your family's place. So you, Dusk, and Flash would prolly know it better than I ever would."

Peanut, clad in a T-shirt he'd picked up from his last trip to Earth which born the logo of the band 'Whitesnake' and blue silk pants, with his guns and knives strapped to his sides said nothing. Whatever was going on in his warped mind, he was keeping it to himself. Likewise, Whisper, clad in a simple black t-shirt and jeans, ninjato at his side while whatever other weapons he had were either hidden in a magical pocket or in the backpack he wore, also held his silence.

Flash, clad in a simple but functional jacket, smiled a bit. "Brings back memories, honestly, Blitz. You've met the Jades of course, but Ash, Dusk, and I had quite an adventure when our little band of brothers was just starting out. And the Jades have always seen fit to welcome us to their home with open arms. It almost feels like a home away from home everytime we come visit."

Dusk gave a short laugh. He was clad in what was by now his signature apparel: a ground length leather duster, pants with Kevlar and ceramic plating, a muscle shirt, and fingerless biker gloves with spiked knuckles. He also held a large bag in one hand, while his Katana were strapped to his sides. "That it does. Old Strike Jade's going to outlive us all, even with the virtual immortality our powers grant us. I swear, that stallion wasn't born. He was built."

"Well now Ah wouldn't say that, young'n. But Ah appreciate the kind words." The Six turned towards the voice and found the very subject of their discussion walking up to them. An old Stallion in pony form with salt-and-pepper mane and beard, a dark tan coat, and a sword striking a gem into pieces for a Warrior Mark, who grinned, changed to anthro form as mining gear formed around his body to prevent him from being nude in that form (Nobody wanted to see naked anthros in public after all) and gave Ash a rough hug that Ash returned with a grin. He then turned to the others and greeted them all with a strong hug as well. "Land sakes, boys. You certainly get into more than your fair share of trouble, don'tcha? Elite warriors or not, sometimes Ah think ol' Lunaris pushes you too hard. Ah think he forgets that despite what y'all can do, and that you guys might be ageless after that whole issue with the Trials, that you still have some limits sometimes. The kinda pace you been settin' before an' after the Conversion War an' all can't be healthy, even for kids in their prime like you are now."

'We can handle it, Grandpa.' Whisper signed with a smile. The old stallion had insisted on being called grandpa, and for the most part, they went along with it to make them happy. As Dusk, Whisper, and Peanut had lost their natural families (or in Dusk's case, had never known his, so far as anyone could tell), they were more than happy to acquiesce to this, as it made their little family feel just that bit more complete and real. 'We don't take on too much more than we can chew in one go.' he added jokingly and Strike gave him a playful punch on the shoulder.

"Come to see that weird thing out near the edge of town, Ah'm guessing. Lunaris said he was sending a team to investigate, an' somehow Ah figgered it would be you." he said. "Well, c'mon. It's on the way to the mines, Ah'll walk you there, long as y'all don't mind a crotchety ol' coot like me being along for part of the way."

"Old? Maybe. Crotchey? No chance, old friend." Dusk said with a smile as the group started off together. "How's Cut and Shatter, anyway?" Cut Jade was Ash's older sister and Shatter Jade his baby brother. Cut was a few years older than the Six, and Shatter would be about thirteen or so now, by Dusk's reckoning. He regretted that he hadn't had more of a chance to interact with them lately, but as Strike had said, the Six lived interesting lives, and it often kept them on the road. Not that any of them particularly minded. They all still had a bit of wanderlust in them even after fifteen years together.

"Flattery gets you nowhere with me, sonny-boy. Ah know you're just angling for a helping of mah famous home smoked bacon come dinnertime." Strike joked. Dusk had the good grace to look slightly abashed. Strike's home cooking was always a pleasure. Particularly bacon, which Dusk had something of an addiction to. "They're doin' fine though. Cut's in college, an Shatter's lookin' inta sports as a career once he graduates from high school as a way to pay his way through college and prolly even after he gets out, all honesty. Ah think he'd be a good match fer that sister o'yours." he added with a teasing wink. Whisper shook his head with an amused snort.

Shatter and Scootaloo had hit it off on their first meeting some months ago, and were around the same age. Strike had been delighted to see it as he was starting to wonder if anyone could catch Shatter's eye. He wasn't the most popular colt at school, but he had certainly attracted the attention of a few fillies but nothing ever seemed to last past a date or two. But he and Scootaloo kept in contact via video chat and email, and Strike had had no objections. Though neither of them seemed to see anything romantic in the other yet, he had hopes it would be only a matter of time, as they seemed practically made for one another.

"Good to hear. What can you tell us about that thing out there?" Dusk asked as they continued their walk. "It looks familiar, but seems to be acting differently from the gates Ash and I can conjure. We're not even sure if it is a gate."

Strike Jade shook his head. "Wish Ah could tell ya more, Dusk. But frankly folks is plum spooked of the thing an' Ah can't say as Ah blame'em. It ain't like any normal magic ponies or humans can do. Ah heard some speculation that it might be somethin' the Dragons or Griffins cooked up. But after the whole mess with the Conversion War an' all, Ah can't see them tryin' to stir up trouble so soon afterwards. Not what with the Four Worlds Alliance, as it's bein' called now, watching out for signs of aggression in all four worlds. Open aggression between nations on one world would probably bring God only knows what down on'em now. Ah mean sure, they're sovereign nations and all, but with the United Nations represented by nations from all four worlds, Ah can't see them riskin' being censured. They took losses durin' the Conversion War too after they sided with us, after all."

"I guess we'll have to hope this is just some random magical effect. Maybe a delayed reaction to the Trials." Flash said. Peanut snorted and gave him an amused look.

"Yeah right. Five years makes one moment of eggnog when it can bat through the lights?" The madpony quipped. The looks from most of the Six were enough to tell him they hadn't fully understood what he was saying. But Whisper nodded after a moment.

"Peanut is right." the pegasus pony said. Speaking was difficult for him due to the damage done to his throat when he was younger, and as a result of that his voice was like sandpaper on cracked bone. "The Trials were years ago. The idea that this is a delayed reaction is unlikely at best."

"It still scares me that you and Dusk can understand him when he gets that bad." Lightning Blitz commented. On days when he was semi-lucid, it wasn't too hard to understand what he was trying to say. But then there were times like now. Despite it all, Blitz had to admit, for all he complained about Peanut he couldn't really imagine the insane pony as permanently lucid, though he did hope one day he might snap out of his madness even if it would cost him the bizarre abilities he had been using since well before the trials. He was practically an eldritch abomination...but one that could be friendly and who would always have your back in a fight.

'It's just a matter of looking beyond the madness, Blitz. You'll get it someday.' Whisper replied, switching back to sign language.

"That'll be the day." the pegasus replied with a roll of the eyes.

"Famous last words." Peanut quipped. Which lead to chuckles from Dusk, Whisper, and even Flash. Ash just smiled.

They came to a twist in the road and Strike pointed east. "It's about twenty minutes thataway, boys. Wish Ah could go with you, but Ah gotta get back to the mines. You know how it is."

"No worries, Grandpa." Ash smiled. "Leave this to us. It's what we do. You go take care of Cut and Shatter. We'll try to be home in time for dinner, but no promises."

Strike smiled at his grandson and the ponies he'd come to view as an extended family and nodded, before turning towards the Jade property while the Six continued off the road towards the area Strike had indicated. They walked in silence, as their focus turned to the task ahead. Dusk, whose very talent in life was magic itself— though he often applied it for either studying or combat to the point of near-exclusion these days— began doing a long range but passive scan on the object, and almost recoiled as the spell didn't so much bounce as slam back into him with enough force it damn near knocked him flat. Flash caught him before he could fall though.

"You alright Dusk? I saw your horn light up. Trouble?" the silver-white unicorn asked.

"Not sure. I tried to do a scan of the window or gate or whatever it is, but something sent the scan back at me with all the force of a sledgehammer." Dusk shook his head to clear it. "The weird thing is I'm not sure if that's some kind of protection put on it, or a natural response form it. ...If you wanna call that natural." he shrugged.

"Guess we'll have to check the thing out up close and personal-like." Ash said with a frown. "You got the scanners the Shogun gave us?"

"Yeah, in the bag." Dusk said, gesturing to the bag. "Bleeding edge tech. If this stuff can't make heads or tails of it, nothing we've produced yet will, aside from maybe some magic scans. Or I would have thought so up till a few minutes ago. Now I'm not even sure about that."

The sextet arrived, and sure enough, the object looked something like a tall and double wide rectangular object set on one end that rippled and flowed, looking almost like water, but somehow semi-solid. Like a mirror or a large opaque piece of glass that was somehow being heated and cooled all at once to temperatures that cause it to flow as though it were the surface of a lake, or maybe the ocean. Dusk began digging out the various devices and turned them on to begin checking the thing out.

"What are we dealing with here, Dusk?" Lightning asked as he and Whisper hovered in a circular perimeter around the thing.

After a few moments of scanning, Dusk shook his head.

"Nothing the scanners seem to recognize. In fact, they aren't registering anything at all. It's there, we can see it, and my magic can detect its presence at this range that it doesn't seem to cause any feedback....but as far as the machines are concerned, the thing may as well be an optical illusion." He frowned, walking around the object , trying to puzzle through the phenomena. "One would almost think it was designed to deflect all attempts to scan it mechanically."

"Maybe it was." Flash said, rubbing his chin in thought. "You were able to feel it with your magic before it slammed the scanning spell back at you, right? So we know magic can detect it, at least."

"True. Maybe I can try again. My magic has been buzzing since we got here. Whatever this is, my magic is picking up on it since we came into close contact. It's almost like being on pins and needles when a limb falls asleep and gets circulation back again....." Dusk said. His horn lit up once more as he tried a second magical scan.

The effect was immediate. The object lit up like the sun, and began to generate a powerful pull, such that it generated winds that howled from the amount of suction it was generating.

"What the hell?!" Blitz exclaimed as he and Whisper slammed down to the ground and dug their heels in with the others to try to pull away from it. "Dusk, turn it off!"

"I can't!" Dusk called back as the scanning gear they had brought went flying into the object and passed into it as though it were water. "It's linked itself to my magic somehow! Whoever set this here was expecting us!" That didn't stop him from trying to raise a magical shield to protect the others, and saw with a grim satisfaction that Flash had followed his lead and was pouring his own magical power into the shield. Sadly, this seemed to increase the pull they were experiencing from what he now believed might be something worse than they had anticipated.

"So this is a gate after all?" Flash yelled over the winds, as he began to lose his footing.

"Worse! I think this is a Warp Bomb! We could end up having our molecules scattered across the multiverse! Or worse, thrown into the Multiversal Barrier!"

"If we survive this, Dusk, remind me to hunt down whoever set this up for us and GUT them!" Ash shouted, even as the gateway gave another pulse and began to generate enough force that for all their effort, sucked them all in. Dusk gathered them all together in the shield he'd erected, and began to try his utmost to protect them from the dimensional shear he believed might exist within this passageway. A wise precaution, as whatever this was, it wasn't a standard dimensional gate or even the kind he and Ash could create. It tried to tear at them even as it sent them hurtling through time and space....out of their own multiverse.....

Past the Multiversal Barrier they flew, not even realizing they had passed through it due to how fast they were going. They passed through the barrier and then beyond that into what some who were studying the multiverse called The Bleed. They flew and flew through unknown dimensions and multiverses as their protective shield began to crack.....

Eventually, everything went white.

Dusk cracked open an eye as he awoke to a mixture of pain and the overbearing brightness of the sun.

"Ugh...anyone get the number of that Tyrannosaurus Dopant?" He heard Blitz mutter, and sighed in relief as he saw that the six of them had managed to remain together and seemed to be alright, though a bit battered by their journey into....wherever the hell they were. He remembered seeing The Bleed, or at least what scholars believed to be The Bleed. The theory was that beyond the barrier was an innumerable number of other multiverses, each of which had their own realities and rules and whatnot, and these were kept separate by both the Multiversal Barriers— sometimes referred to as the Source Wall in some of the realities they'd visited, and as The Great Doorway in others— and the Bleed, which was a fluctuating energy that behaved almost like the tides of the ocean. If anything could get past the Barrier, they would still have to contend with the Bleed, and even if they managed to survive that, there was still the risk of being lost in a multiverse that might not have a safe way for them to return. For the moment, it seemed, the Six might be trapped here.

After the Six managed to collect themselves (Peanut was never truly 'collected' in the mental health sense of the term to begin with, so they settled for him being as alright as he ever got), they began to take stock of their surroundings. Dusk quirked his head in confusion.

"Guys? Doesn't this look...kind of like the Ponyvilles we've seen in those other Equestrias that are part of the Alliance?"

"Yeah, it kinda does. Or the general surrounding countryside anyway." Ash replied after a few moments thought. "Given the way the place looks, and the large amount of Apple trees Ah can see just out yonder, Ah'd reckon on Sweet Apple Acres existin' here. So we might be in another version o' Equestria. But the real question is what're the natives gunna be like?"

"No clue. Stow your weapons as best you can and switch to full pony form. I dunno if anyone's noticed our arrival yet and if they have, I want us to be as close to inconspicuous as possible. We don't want to provoke any hostile intent until we know for sure if this place is safe or not for us." Dusk ordered.

"And if it isn't?" Whisper asked in his rasping voice.

"Then we try to jump to this reality's Earth and pray to whatever God is listening in this reality that they're safer for our kind."

Nodding, the other five followed Dusk's lead and switched to pony form. "Just a thought, Dusk," Flash said as they began walking towards Ponyville, "But how do we explain your Warrior Mark? If this reality is anything remotely similar to the Equestrias we've met and/or gone to war against, there should be a Twilight Sparkle here. And colors aside, your Warrior Mark is a dead match for hers. And even in our Equestria, that was next to impossible."

"We'll have to wing it, I guess. Hopefully nobody will notice." Dusk replied. Then shook his head and snorted in amusement. "And then again, maybe monkeys with razor blades for wings will come flying out of my ass. I guess we'll just have to burn that bridge when we cross it. I'm more worried that we might have to fight this world's Elements of Harmony. I fully trust in the Elements of Bushido to protect us as best they can, but we don't know how powerful the Elements are here. Or if they even represent Harmony here. For all we know, we could be dealing with distaff versions of ourselves who wield this world's versions of the Elements of Bushido."

"Dude. No way." Peanut said, sounding completely blasé about it. Dusk just snorted and rolled his eyes while Lightning Blitz facehoofed.

"Way, Peanut. This is an entirely different multiverse from the one we're from. There's no telling what the rules of this place are like." Flash said, answering for Dusk, who nodded in agreement with Flash.

They were about halfway back to Ponyville, when Dusk heard a rustling below his left front hoof and picked up an old piece of paper, and upon reading it, frowned. "We might have a problem, boys."

The rest of the Six turned towards Dusk and peered over his shoulder to read the paper.

"What in the blue hell is 'Equestrians For Humans'?" Ash asked.

Author's Note

And so ends the first chapter of The Shadow of Ages. For those who didn't see the entirety of the summary already when you clicked on the link to read this fic, yes, this fic is a crossover with and sequel to both The Warrior's Way which is my second Shogun Six story (though it is more like the fifth in the Shogun Six canon timeline) and Starman Ghost's hit story Not Alone, which was much beloved and drew critical acclaim from the majority of its readers here on the site. I'd been sitting on this for awhile since I was busy working on the other two Shogun Six stories, as both are incomplete at present (though thankfully I am well aware of where each is set to go.), and so I was content to wait. But with Not Alone moving exclusively to Spacebattles, I felt now was the best time to launch the story while it is still in the minds of those who have read it here. This will not be the same kind of fic as Dalek IX's own sequel to Not Alone, entitled Conquer the Stars (and which I also highly recommend as it's pretty damn kickass.) as you might expect. It may not even be as entertaining as his. But I hope that you will all enjoy it anyway.

Strap yourselves in folks, this is gonna be one wild ride!

Legacy of Hope

The Shadow of Ages

Legacy of Hope

The paper was an old one. It had apparently once been affixed to a wall but had either been torn down or blown off by a strong wind, and had found its way into their path seemingly by chance.

Would you want NORMAN BORLAUG in Equestria?

We would!

For many humans, starvation is either a looming threat or daily reality. With no way to control their weather and seven billion people to feed, they must constantly pursue new ways to improve crop yields.

NORMAN BORLAUG was a human biologist who developed an improved strain of wheat that saved over one billion humans from starvation!

Borlaug was a hero. Think of all the good he could have done for Equestria! But Celestia and Luna would never allow him in, just because he was a human. We think this is wrong.

We are the Equestrians For Humans!

Friendship Is Universal!

"I've got a bad feeling about this, guys." Lightning said with a frown. "It almost sounds like this Equestria fought its own Conversion War."

"The question is, who won?" Dusk said as he looked over the flyer again. "It sounds like this Equestria wasn't wholly taken in by the Solar Tyrant's propaganda here and tried to mount a civil resistance. But for all we know, this might be a leftover from an entirely different reality that got sucked through with us when we went through the Bleed."

"You seriously believe that?" Ash snorted. Dusk sighed and shook his head even as he briefly summoned his duster and stowed the paper away in one of the inner pockets before dismissing the garment.

"No, but I don't want to believe the Conversion War could have occurred in a completely different multiverse. The idea that that's somehow a constant of existence would be depressing. C'mon. Let's get into town and hope that the shit doesn't hit the fan."

As they walked into this reality's Ponyville, they noticed that it didn't seem as boisterous as that of the other two Equestrias they had encountered. Despite the Conversion War wreaking havoc on their lives, the Ponyville of the Solar Tyrant's reality had not seemed to slow down in the least until the invasion, and within a few months under Luna's new regime, Ponyville's marketplace was one of the most thriving parts of the town. But there seemed to be few shops open and most of the stands were gone. Dusk frowned thoughtfully as he looked about.

"Hello? Anyone here?" he called out. He briefly kicked himself for not using 'anypony'. Though not every inhabitant of the various Equestrias used it exclusively, he couldn't be sure that wasn't the case here. But in either case, the green unicorn got no response. The team continued to meander. They found something resembling a small bar and cafe with yet another of those old flyers on the wall outside it:

Stylized graphic of a talon shaking a hoof.

If gryphons can be our friends...

Stylized graphic of a claw shaking a hoof.

If dragons can be our friends...

Stylized graphic of a hand shaking a hoof.

Can't humans be our friends?

We won't know until we try.

We are the Equestrians For Humans!

Friendship Is Universal!

"Is that piece of junk still up?" the voice came from an Earth pony with a violet and blue mane. On her flank were three pieces of candy.

"I take it you know something about these?" Dusk asked with a curious quirk of his brow. The earth pony glared at the flyer and then sighed, bowing her head slightly.

"I do, yes." Then she frowned. "How is it you don't? The Equestrians For Humans was a pretty big deal back during the war."

Wincing internally at the implications of that term, Dusk forged on. "My friends and I have been out on the frontier for a long time. We only just got back into Equestria proper."

"Oh? Where exactly on the frontier? Appaloosa?"

"Further out past that. Where the desert gives way to forest and greenlands again." Dusk replied.

"But...isn't that close to the Griffin and Zebra kingdom borders?" Bon Bon asked, frowning in confusion.

"It is. But it's been some months since we've been home. We decided to come in to see the kingdom properly. My friends and I grew up out on the frontier, you see, and we've never been here before, so..." Dusk smiled sheepishly and shrugged. Bon Bon nodded slowly.

"Then it sounds like you missed the border skirmishes." At the inquiring looks of the Six, she sighed. "Not long after we got back from Earth, the Griffins and Zebras cut off diplomatic ties with us, and insisted that any and all frontier ponies be sent away from the lands near the borders. Some ponies refused to leave the lands they'd worked for years, or centuries in certain cases. It's lead to a number of fights between ponies and griffins. The Zebras have told us they want nothing to do with us and have slaughtered a number of ponies who accidentally crossed the border into their lands and sent the corpses back over the border in body bags. The griffins have ignored us for the moment so long as we don't set hoof over their borders, thank Celestia. But that won't last."

The Six looked at each other with trepidation. This was getting worse and worse.

"Why didn't the princesses intercede?" Flash asked. "This seems like it would be resolved through a bit of diplomacy."

Bon Bon shook her head. "You colts really haven't had much contact with Equestria proper, have you?" she asked in annoyance. "Look, I really don't want to talk about this anymore. I don't even know why that piece of garbage is even still up. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in right now!"

"What's all the yelling out— oh. Bon Bon. Why are you harassing these new folks?" came a stallion's voice as a tawny coated pony with a red mane poked around the corner. He was a unicorn and seemed close to the relative ages of the Six and Bon Bon.

"Me?! Why haven't you taken that down already, Golden Gulp? They don't deserve any free advertising after what they've done!"

Golden Gulp rolled his eyes, and turned towards the Six. "Come on in, fellas. I'll rustle you up something to drink. It looks like you've come a long way. I'm surprised Pinkie hasn't spotted you first, to be honest. Don't mind Bon Bon. She has...issues with the EFH."

"Yeah, uh we just arrived, actually." Ash answered with a weak grin. "Dunno if this 'Pinkie' has even seen us aroun' yet."

Following the stallion into the cafe, where only a pony in a cloak and hood sat at the very far end of the bar, and a few others sat at a few tables, the Six grabbed some seats at said bar themselves, though nearer to the door in case they needed to make a quick getaway. Whisper fiddled lightly with a coaster, seemingly for something to do to amuse himself for a few moments. They missed seeing the pony in the cloak do a doubletake at the sight of them, and another at the sight of Dusk Shine's Warrior Mark. Though the boys were amused at the sight of Golden Gulp's cutie mark. And then collectively shuddered at the name cutie mark. The flagon of beer stamped on the unicorn's flank was still hilarious though.

"So, the EFH. Hmh. I swear, sometimes I wish they'd had more impact when it mattered. Everything they've done since has been...well, I'm not sure I can put words to it." Golden Gulp said, as he walked behind the bar. "What'll you boys have?"

After placing their orders, the Six settled in to wait for their drinks. Dusk, taking the lead to renew their conversation, asked, "What is it they've done now that suddenly seems to be so important?"

"Well, after the war with Earth, they came back into the open." Golden Gulp replied, setting their drinks out with magic.

"Back into the open. That suggests that at some point they went underground?" Lightning asked, flicking an ear up in interest.

"For the most part. It's actually part of why Bon Bon hates that poster. She knew the mare who created the group back when it was dedicated to human rights. Nice girl by the name of Lyra Heartstrings. See, Lyra believed that humans were fine as they were despite the fact that the Princesses said they had to be converted. She had friends who'd been to Earth and apparently from all the correspondence that she'd had with some of her friends out there, she came to the conclusion that humans were really no different from ponies. Well, asides from lacking the ability to use magic, I mean. They depended on science and technology and they were so advanced in those fields it was frightening to a lot of folks here in Equestria. I reckon maybe Celestia and Luna got spooked when they saw what humans could do or something. Because the EFH pointed out— and hindsight being twenty-twenty, as the saying goes, they were right— that we had beings already living in Equestria just as dangerous in some ways as humans were, and we didn't force them to give up their race and everything they'd developed over the ages."

"I'm guessing that obviously there were some ponies who agreed. Otherwise the movement wouldn't have had any traction." Dusk said, mulling over the idea. Lyra had been an activist in the Equestria that the Thee Worlds Alliance had gone to war with as well. But it sounded as though she never joined the fight directly in this reality. The Conversion War had seen her become a warrior as much as a protestor when the Solar Tyrant had thrown all pretense at being open to the rights of others out the door. Despite missing part of one ear and her lower right arm— medical science back in the Shogunate had provided her with replacements through a mix of science and magic, but they couldn't quite entirely regenerate the original bodyparts, so she was partially biomechanical now— she remained happy with her role in the war and had an almost entirely carefree attitude now that her reality had been brought into the Alliance, even if only provisionally at the moment.

"There were. And oddly enough, turned out to be three ponies that nopony expected. One was Cheerilee, who was as gentle a soul as one could find, another was the former mayor of Ponyville. The third was a Zebra who had emigrated from her homelands to live in the Everfree forest named Zecora." Golden Gup smiled. "Shame we were all so easily frightened of her for being a bit different. I got the chance to speak with Zecora a few times once we found out she was just like anypony else. Her habit of talking in rhyme was pretty interesting too. I was never sure if that was a trait of all Zebras, or if she had some form of verbal aphasia, or if she just liked talking that way, honestly. But she was a kinder soul than anypony took her for at first glance, and even forgave us for being such idiots when she first came to live in Everfree."

"What happened?"

"Well, they were— and to all I know still are— a non-violent protest group that spoke out against the Conversion Bureaus. Never harmed a soul. But when the war kicked into high gear, and the bombardment of the barrier began, folks in Ponyville turned on them fast enough once they were ratted out. Cheerilee was fired from her job at the school, and Mayor Mare was thrown out of office by royal decree, which the Guard were all too willing to enforce. They and Lyra left town. Nopony ever figured they'd be heard from again. They came here for one last drink before they left. I never did like that they fired Cheerilee. My sister's little filly was taught by her. Was her favorite teacher in fact and she rarely had an unkind word for anyone. Her greatest joy was always in teaching. Seeing her being denied the right to do what she loved best was heartbreaking. But given that the EFH were starting to convince people of the idea that the princesses could actually be fallible....well, politically speaking the group was a threat to the consolidated front that we supposedly needed to present in order to show we were 'better' than humankind. I heard that Luna was the one that gave the order to have Mayor Mare removed from office. Celestia allowed them to continue operating since as far as she was concerned they were simply misguided. I left the poster up cause all of them had been my friends, and when all was said and done, despite their beliefs, they never did anypony any harm."

"So where did they go?" Ash asked, knocking back a shot of his drink. "Ah can't imagine they stayed underground fer too long if they've become such a big deal."

"Nopony knows what happened to Zecora. Some have claimed she still lives in Everfree, but if she's still there, nopony here in town could confirm it, cause if she still resides there she hasn't been coming out of it on our side of the forest anymore. Maybe she went back to the Zebra Kingdom. The Zebras did throw their support behind the EFH to a certain extent, as they had a lot of sympathizers there. As for Lyra, the former Mayor, and Cheerilee? They ended up in Fillydelphia. Seems that the EFH began again when rumors started swirling that the whole Conversion thing had stirred up a political hornet's nest with the other kingdoms and species out there. There's been talk of poltical embargos, trade restrictions, even outright war. But so far nothing has come of it. At least nothing major. However the attacks out on the borders of Equestria have begun to cause a great deal of distress for ponies across the kingdom.

"The EFH emerged again, this time as the Equestrians For Hope. Still lead by Lyra, who's been trying to convince anyone showing even the remotest signs of dissatisfaction with the Princesses to act on that in a peaceful manner, instead of turning violent. And the plea for non-violent response to the current situation has by and large been successful, but there have been reports of occasional riots near Las Pegasus. Though the solution to the political dissention that the EFH has been suggesting has rustled more than a few feathers at Court all across the Kingdom, but particularly in Canterlot. They're calling for the princesses to step down, to have the monarchy and nobility's power dissolved and for the institution of a democratic form of government, so that this way ponies can be responsible for their own futures, rather than being dependent on the princesses. Celestia actually gets a lot more political flak from the EFH than Luna, but that seems to be because Luna is staying well out of the argument. Nopony knows why." Shrugging, Golden Gulp sighed. "I don't know that I entirely agree with their current stand, but I can't say I think they're wholly wrong, either. We made a lot of mistakes when we made contact with Earth, and that's come back to bite us in the flank. Especially now, what with current attempts to renew friendly relations with our neighbors starting to nosedive."

"Hmm. Sounds like an interesting group. The recent poltical unrest probably explains why there was so little activity outside." Dusk mused thoughtfully, and Golden Gulp nodded in confirmation of that theory. "What about the Elements of Harmony? Even we've heard of them out near the borderlands. Where are they? Canterlot?"

"Not all of them, no. Rainbow Dash returned here to work on the weather team. Fluttershy vanished. Nopony knows why or where to. She set her animals free one day and the next she was simply gone. Rumors still come up now and then about her travelling to Fillydelphia to join the EFH, or heading out to the Zebra kingdoms, or any of a dozen other odd places. Never had any confirmation of them though. There are even rumors that say she never left Canterlot that day. That the Fluttershy who popped up was an imposter and that the real Fluttershy died when the strain of separating our dimension from Earth overloaded her heart." Golden Gulp replied. "But there's never been any indication that those rumors are true either."

"And the other four?" Dusk asked.

"Twilight came back, I know that. But I haven't seen or heard from her in a long while. Her brother lost his legs in the war and word is she never forgave herself for it, since some believe her interview on that human TV show is what precipitated the war, including Twilight herself. Rarity moved to Canterlot. Her fashion designs finally caught somepony's eye and gave her an order big enough that she was able to afford to make the move when they turned out to be a major hit with the Canterlot elite. Applejack's back over in Sweet Apple Acres. Hasn't come to town much since, though. Word is that the lack of activity over at the market square has done their farm no help. If things keep up, they may lose it. Applejack's brother apparently went up to Canterlot the other day to ask for some financial support. And Pinkie? Well, she's been all over the place lately. Believe it or not, she decided to become a 'motivational party thrower'. She's trying in her own way to keep everypony happy. Pretty much what she used to do here in Ponyville, only now she's taken it kingdom wide. Her parties have gone from simply being beloved town events to being quasi-legendary things most ponies would give their tails to get to be part of. She never turns anypony away from her parties, always seeming to have room for more at them, and does her best to put a smile on the face of everypony she meets." Golden Gulp smiled. "She's a bit goofy, but she's still a sweet girl."

The next few minutes passed in silence, as the boys finished off their drinks. With little else to do, Golden Gulp moved on to overseeing a few customers' tables. As they set their bits down on the table (Dusk was happy they remembered to have had some currency from the other Equestrias in what was now the Four Worlds Alliance with them in case they had needed to travel outside of the Shogunate or Earth) and after nodding to Golden, who waved cheerfully— or as much as he could, given the slow business day he seemed to be having— they started for the door. The pony in the cloak followed them. Or tried to. The moment the cloaked pony was outside, the Six were apparently gone. Like a breeze on the wind. Confused, their would be tail began to search around. When the figure rounded the side corner leading to the back alley where the Six had first seen the second EFH poster, a strong pair of hooves wrapped around their chest and pulled the pony further into the shadows. The pony gave a low yelp of fright, revealing the figure to be a mare. She quickly found a blade at her throat and froze up in fear so as not to give her assailant a reason to cut into her flesh.

"Why are you following us?" came the hiss of a voice like the rasp of sandpaper on cracked bone. The mare's eyes bugged out. Whatever had happened to this stallion's voice, he sounded like something out of a horror story told around a campfire to scare foals.

"I-I'm here on behalf of the EFH." she stammered.

"Lies." the voice rasped.

"I-It's true! My name is Light Step. I'm a recruiting scout for the Equestrians for Hope. Golden Gulp is an old friend and still helps us find ponies who are interested in the group's cause." the now named Light Step said quickly. "There aren't many this close to Canterlot who are willing to reveal any interest in the group because of how often the Royal Guard patrols here. You're the first ponies I've seen in months even willing to speak about the group without at least acting like you dislike them. Most Ponyville residents make a show of denouncing them."

"If the guard is such a force here, why haven't they done anything about that poster?" this voice was different, and she recognized it as belonging to Dusk Shine.

"They let him keep it up because he hasn't actually broken the law, strictly speaking, and they can't prove he's actually an agent for them." she said. "Please. I'm risking my own freedom at the very least just by trying to speak to you. I have no reason to lie."

The blade at her throat slowly pulled away, and the weapon's owner remained in the shadows of the alley with the other five stallions.

"What do you want?" Dusk asked after a few moments. Light Step breathed a sigh of relief, and looked into the shadows, trying to make out the small band of stallions in the dark.

"The EFH is hoping to convince as many ponies as possible to join the cause for democratic government. But the Royal Guard have been given orders to supress it as much as possible within the bounds of the law. Since no EFH demonstration has been unlawful nor has it resulted in violence, the guard can only do what they can to keep ponies from learning of their existence. This is difficult to do since they usually hide their old posters in alleyways, and nopony knows where we hold our meetings. So the movement has been growing. Public opinion is divided almost smack dab in the middle. Half the ponies in the kingdom want to retain our current government, and a number growing to nearly half our population wants to dethrone them. The difference is that the half looking for change are split down their own line. Some want a violent revolution, while the other half're campaigning for a peaceful transfer of power. The EFH is obviously the group that seeks the latter."

The six stallions seemed to be mulling the matter over. They didn't attack her again, at least.

"We'll keep you in mind." Dusk's voice said from the shadows.

"What does that mean?" Light Step asked in confusion. But she got no answer. A fact which she found annoying. She reached out to poke the closest stallion, only to strike air. She lit her horn and gawked.

Somehow, the sextet had vanished entirely.

The Six emerged on the far side of Ponyville, close to the borders of Everfree, having taken the back alleys and side streets to avoid being seen by too many of its residents. They came to a stop in a small side alley off yet another side alley. It was secluded even by the standards they were looking for, and so found it perfect.

"What do you think, Dusk?" Ash asked.

"I don't like it. It's too neat." The emerald stallion replied. "All that information was dumped on us too easily. She was practically rushing to tell us. Either she's the most inept recruiter on the planet—"

"Or she's not who she says she is." Ash nodded, following in the train of thought with the rest of the boys, who all nodded as well.

'You think Celestia is trying to root out potential new recruits before they have a chance to add their voices to the EFH?' Whisper signed. It wasn't as easy with hooves, but sign language had evolved for those who didn't have the use of digits, and changing to the anthro form the team often favored wasn't a wise move right now. But to their surprise, Dusk shook his head.

"No. If Golden Gulp's right, Celestia basically treats the EFH like children who don't understand life outside their own perceptions and let them do what they want so long as they didn't become violent. I'd stake my money on either someone in the court at the regional level, or Luna. And I'm leaning towards Luna."

'Why her?'

"I'm not sure if I can put it into words. But somehow it makes more sense for it to be her. She's the one Gulp credited with ousting the former mayor. And I wouldn't be surprised if she's working to cut the EFH off at the knees."

Flash frowned. "You think she's trying to undermine her sister?"

"No." Dusk said with a scowl. "I think she's trying to protect her."

Golden Gulp frowned, staring at Bon Bon, who was standing behind a trio of Royal Guards. They weren't making any threatening moves yet, but Bon Bon's face wore a look that said she hoped they would.

"I told you to take that poster down, Gulp. Was that so much to ask?" the Earth Pony remarked.

"You don't own this shop, Bon Bon. I'll do with it what I want. You don't like it, you don't have to look at it. In fact, I don't see how it was ever any business of yours to begin with."

"That poster glorifies traitors, damn you! I think it would make it anypony's business!" the mare snapped. "She was my friend too, Gulp. But that doesn't excuse her for what she did!"

"She did nothing, Bon Bon. Nothing but try to present a different point of view. But for you, that somehow made her worthy of betrayal. You turned her into a pariah just because you didn't like the fact that she thought that for once, the princesses might have been wrong about something. And you call yourself her friend? After that? After you drove three ponies who'd lived here their entire lives out of the only home they'd ever known just because they spoke up for someone else? I think you and I have very different ideas on what makes a friendship." Golden Gulp replied, as he began to clean the dishes, turning his back on the guards and Bon Bon. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. It may be a slow business day, but I still have customers to look after."

"We have reports of six strangers who came into the shop today, sir." One of the guards said. He was stony-faced, but his eyes were less composed, as his anger at having somepony be so easily willing to turn their back on the guard in such a way was impossible not to see. "We know that you spoke to them, and given the testimony of citizen Bon Bon, we have reason to believe you may have attempted to recruit them for the EFH. We also know that, by your own admission, you were friends with the charter members of the EFH. By royal decree, you are hereby commanded to turn over any and all information you have on the group and/or any potential recruits that you have sent their way."

This drew a snort as the stallion set one of the glasses he was cleaning down with a loud thunk on the bar, turning back to the guard so fast that they actually flinched. Judging by the look on Golden Gulp's face, they'd finally pushed the wrong button.

"Get this through those thick heads, gents. I may consider the charter members of the EFH friends, but I haven't seen mane nor tail of any of them since the day they left for what we now know to have been Fillydelphia. I certainly haven't sent any recruits their way, and in all point of fact, those strangers that came in today are just that; strangers. I have no idea where they come from, why the green one had the same cutie mark as Twilight Sparkle, or why the red one seemed to look as though none of us were even here. ...Frankly, the red one had a look in his eye that made me think he might have been legitimately crazy, so to be blunt I'm glad he never spoke. His gaze was frightening enough. Now the last I checked, I haven't the slightest criminal record, nor have I violated any laws." He held up a hoof. "I have checked the laws, and that old poster is an artifact of historical curiosity and thus I am well within my rights to do with it as I please and in fact if anything happens to it and I find out who the culprit is, I have the right to pursue damages simply because that poster is a historical curiosity. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm still the owner of this shop, and I'm sick of looking at you. So if you would kindly get the hell out of my cafe, I'd be ever so grateful."

The guardsponies looked sternly at him, and Bon Bon frowned severely. But they all eventually turned to leave.

"Oh, and Bon Bon?" Golden Gulp said just as she reached the door. "Don't ever come back here or I'll throw you out on your flank personally."

In their secluded hiding spot, the Six watched these events unfold through a form of holographic projection.

"Slick move putting that multidirectional transmitter in that coaster, Whisper." Lightning remarked. "You got that thing set to record, right? We can't go looking at the thing everytime something happens."

'Of course I did. What kind of Ninja do you take me for, anyway?' Whisper signed back, putting on a mock look of outrage at the comment.

"An honest one." Lightning retorted and stuck his tongue out playfully at his brother in arms, who simply gave him a light punch to the shoulder.

"Okay guys, enough with the banter. We need to figure out our next move." Dusk said, bringing an end to the levity. "We have a world that fought a Conversion war against humanity, and apparently got their collective asses handed to them by the human race on its own. That suggests either this world's Celestia isn't nearly as powerful as the one we fought, or more likely that humanity just wanted it more and threw everything they could into beating the ever loving shit out of Equestria. We have to assume that for the moment we're stuck on this side of the Bleed, which means we're trapped in a multiverse that we do not understand the political rules and climate of outside of the fact that there's three factions involved internally: a civil resistance looking to put an end to the Diarchy in this Equestria, more violent revolutionaries who are looking for change at any cost including innocent lives, and the Equestrian Nobility who for all we know aren't too dissimilar from some of the other Equestrias we know, who want things to stay the way they are. We have no idea how Earth would react to us if we jumped— though I doubt it would take too kindly to use even if we revealed our transformative capabilities given the situation with this Equestria— and we have no idea how this reality's Elements of Harmony are going to react to us, let alone the other sociopolitical factions we're going to have to plan for. Suggestions?"

'Further investigation would be the smartest course.' Whisper signed. 'The problem is there are too many places to start. We know that Twilight Sparkle and at least two other members of the Elements of Harmony are here. We could start there, but that carries its own risks, especially where you're concerned Dusk. I'm surprised nobody at the cafe aside from Light Step gave your Warrior Mark a second glance. She not only saw it, she actually did a doubletake at it.'

"There's also Light Step herself." Ash added. "Ah dunno how far Ah trust her, but if she's what she says she is, she might be able to put us in contact with ponies who're gonna be at least willin' to hear us out and maybe lend a hand. If'n she's not what she says she is though, the real question'd be who she's really workin' fer. I'd recommend puttin' some effort inta finding out just who's pullin' her strings."

"And let's not forget the risk of running into Pinkie Pie. No matter the reality, Pinkie is a danger by virtue of her powers. Peanut's our best defense, naturally, but at this point turning Peanut loose on her might be akin to using a grenade to kill a fly given what happened at the end of the Conversion War." Lightning opined.

"I'm more worried about Luna and Celestia, personally." Flash said as he sat down the pavement and rubbed his chin with a hoof. "I know we can hold our own for a little while if it came down to a fight, and if we had to, we could still call upon the Elements of Bushido, and as a last resort there's always you going Destiny mode again, Dusk, but given how close you came to dying from it, I'm leery of that last option. If you're right and Luna is the one taking the more proactive steps to kill off the EFH despite Celestia essentially letting them act as they please, then that means she's willing to do so behind her sister's back. We might be able to use that if worse comes to worst. The major problem is that we don't know what the personalities of the Diarchs are here. Celestia seems almost normal, like Equestria Beta's version. But Luna's whole bit with having the Guard act against anyone who shows the remotest interest in the EFH's political view in a proactively oppressive manner makes me think of the Solar Tyrant. And I don't think anyone here wants to see this place turn out like Equestria Gamma did. The Conversion War is still causing problems for them even after Luna came to power following the Tyrant's defeat."

"Everfree is the place to be. When the milk jug is empty, the fish will be nipping at the gonads of a wild mullosk as a stick pleasures a virgin crab."

Everyone stared at Peanut. More for the bizarre image he'd just presented than anything else. But Dusk eventually nodded.

"He has a point. We could use Zecora's old place as a base of operations, assuming she never went back."

"And if she did?" Ash asked.

"Then we'll have to hope she won't think we're suffering from poison joke when we explain the situation to her."

Luna frowned as she read the report from the guard. A stallion with Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark? That didn't seem possible. But the guard claimed that was what he'd been told. Cutie marks were supposed to be unique to each pony. No other resident in Equestria should have a duplicate of anypony else's cutie mark. The very idea was practically antithetical to all known facts about the things!

The strangers had claimed to have been from the borderlands, and yet had managed to avoid the problems out there. Why? How? And for that matter when had they begun their trip inward towards Equestria proper? How had they missed hearing about the conflict in what they claimed to be their home territory?

This is going to be quite the interesting story. And I think this requires my personal hoof in the matter.