A few new fires had started to burn amongst the more stable houses, whether from magic release or weapons, I couldn’t tell. The scattered survivors of the caravan had hunkered down against the side of a faded yellow building. Half of the building had fallen on one of their wagons, pinning two ponies underneath. “Think you can take care of this?” Shield asked, motioning with his horn to the rubble.

At full strength with Twilight this would be easy. Now, after having been shaken up and ill for a day, I wasn’t so sure. I took a deep breath, more to steady myself than anything else and began to focus my magic. A faint bloody glow began to appear around each individual rock. I pushed gently, moving the whole mess up and off the pony, a wave of energy fleeing me at each nudge. Barely hanging on, I dumped the rocks about ten feet away from the trapped pony, collapsing as I did so, but remaining conscious. I heard an impressed whistle to my right, coming from Shield. Shield leaned against my side, supporting me enough that I could stand.

“Just wanted a bit of your magic, didn’t mean for you to lift the whole Celestia-damned thing yourself.” He explained,  chuckling nervously. I shook my head to stay awake and glanced up at the pony I had rescued start to ascend from a small crater where she had been trapped. Unfortunately, the other had taken a direct hit from the rubble; he wouldn’t be moving again.  I felt a brief surge of remorse for the pony I hadn't had the chance to meet. He could've been somepony's father and now... Just don't think about it Zenith, i tried to tell myself. Fortunately, the next pony to emerge helped that.

The pony was slowly crawling out of a small crater still covered in dust.  The pony’s soft, orange coat shone with an almost ethereal sheen as the sun shone directly onto it. Her mane was a subtle, light shade of red matching that of the sunrise just as it crested the horizon. Her eyes were a paler color than her coat, closer to yellow than to orange giving the impression of staring into a vat of honey. I didn’t bother looking at the rest.

“Was that your magic then?” The mare asked, leveling her gaze on me. I couldn’t move my eyes from hers, they were the most beautiful thing I had seen since arriving in the wasteland and contrasted so sharply with the bleak surroundings.  And that voice... more beautiful and graceful than any animal ensemble Fluttershy had ever put together. I stood stupefied for a few seconds, probably looking rather foalish before Shield kicked my hind leg with his own. “She’s talking to you.” He whispered, raising me from my stupor.

“Oh... Oh!” I squeaked, without even realizing it. “H-Hi, my name’s Zenith.” I said, feeling rather flushed all the sudden. I glanced down, keeping my gaze on my hooves.

“Charmed. Sunrise’s Melody, pleased to meet you.” The mare responded. I could feel Shield smirking at my obvious discomfort. “A unicorn huh? Caravans could always use some magical talent.” Sunrise explained, turning to frown at the devastation.

“I was thinkin’ about that actually. Now that the raiders know my place is here and you guys needing some extra firepower and all, I figured I’ll do my good deed for the year and help you make it out of this hellhole.” Shield said, surprising me. I thought he’d be more of the selfish asshole type. Then again, he seemed rather flustered at Sunrise’s appearance as well. Somepony could have a bit of a crush around here. The raiders knowing where he lived could be that bad too, I didn’t know. I finally had mustered enough self-control to put my head back up, just in time to see Sunrise’s smile.

“Perfect! I assume you’ll need a few minutes to pack up your personal effects?” Sunrise asked, smiling in a manner that made my legs feel week.

“Yep.” Shield responded with a nod. He abruptly stopped supporting me and I nearly fell on shaky legs. “Hey, Zenith, mind going back and picking up those saddlebags I left back in the house?” he asked. “Need to talk to Sunrise about a few tactical decisions with the caravan.’ He continued.

I frowned, getting a sinking suspicion that Shield was going to talk about me but nodded and set off. He had been shifting from hoof to hoof while talking, like he was uncomfortable. If I hurried, I may be able to catch the tail end of any conversation. Barely remembering my way through the burnt hull of Ponyville, I made it to the house with the bloodied corpse and levitated Shield’s bags with the tiny bit of magic I had left. My pace back was significantly faster despite the extra weight as I knew the direction more easily.This time I halted around the corner from where the caravan had been ambushed, giving me a slight vantage point. From this spot, I could just barely make out the voices of Shield and Sunrise’s Melody.

“Doesn’t seem natural doesn’t it? The last time I saw anyone who could channel that kind of magic was five years ago and you know damn well what happened there.” Shield had just finished, hardly loud enough for me to make out from the distance.

“Whatever the reason for it, she’ll be a nice asset to have if we can keep her around. Remember, the mark doesn’t mean anything. That’s just an old mare’s tale, there isn’t any proof that Twilight or the others are still alive. Besides, she’s just a little filly, she needs the kindness right now. She’s still a pony just like the rest of us and should be treated as such. And Shield? Please watch the language, she’s young.” Sunrise had answered, sounding more like a lecture than a casual conversation. I didn’t want to hear anymore of this. I had been talked about enough back in Ponyville, I didn't want it here too.

I turned the final corner, exposing myself as well as giving me the first view of Sunrise’s cutie mark. The mark showed a sun colored shades of blue, just cresting over the horizon. More importantly, I noticed for the first time she was a Pegasus, her wings fading from the brilliant orange of her coat to a much lighter yellow at the tips. I felt heat start to rise to my cheeks as I realized I was staring. I quickly turned my gaze off the mare and back towards the rest of the caravan.

The caravan had also started to form back up. Ponies were starting to get organized again. Five ponies had been resettled into the wagons, some wagons remained abandoned but the rest had been filled to the brim. Perhaps a half dozen or so of the traders were still healthy enough to be on their feet and get the train moving.

“Ready Shield!” I said brightly, masking the conflicting emotions surging through me. Shield definitely didn't trust me because of the amulet. I needed to find out more about that. Sunrise at least seemed to be nice. Figuring I had nowhere else to go, I might as well stay with them... at least for Sunrise.

“Well that was... quick.” Shield replied, shooting Sunrise a meaningful look. He levitated his bags onto his own back to carry. “You going to scout ahead? I’ll keep the party under control down here, alright?” he asked Sunrise. Sunrise nodded, took a running start and jumped into the air, flapping gracefully to gain altitude.The sun quickly obscured my vision of her and I turned my gaze back to the wagon train with the distraction gone.

“Stay close to me, ye hear? Don’t need any trouble with these nice folks, don’t need ‘em seeing where you’re from” He whispered, just loudly enough for me to hear. It sounded like he was talking about the amulet again. It was just a present for Celestia's sake, how could it be this big of a deal? I rolled my eyes and the lead wagon started to roll, with a grunt of effort from the pack animal at the helm.

The wagon trail inched forward at a slow rate, none of the animals wishing to go faster than a crawl. That was alright with me; the trip would give me plenty of time to acquaint myself with the surroundings and the walking pace was well suited for my rather non athletic life. No need to stress myself after burning so much magic. “Hey Shield, are we going to by the old library?” I asked, wondering if he would even know what I was talking about. The tree could’ve burned down centuries ago for all I knew.

“Yep, not gonna do you any good, whole place has been blocked off with some kinda residual magic shield ever since I’ve been alive. Most ponies’ll tell you it’s haunted, but that’s a bunch of bull s-crap, just some kind of magic that won’t allow anyone else in.” Shield explained, stopping himself from cursing at the last moment.

“Magic? What color is it?” I asked, instantly curious. So the old library was still around and apparently hadn’t been razed to the ground like most of the rest of the town.

“Light purple, which is one of the reasons it scares so many ponies.’ Shield responded, glancing over his shoulder suspiciously. “Don’t get any ideas. We need to keep moving while we’ve got the light. No side trips.” He added, sounding ever so much like Twilight. If he pulled out a checklist I would honestly die of laughter.

Shield turned back to face forward and I rolled my eyes at his back. I kept an eye out as the caravan progressed, but none of the buildings looked familiar. I expected to be able to recognize at least a few of the buildings, but none stuck out in my mind. I wished I knew how long the disparity between this time and my own were, as it were the context provided didn’t exactly give me that accurate a range of years to judge with.

As the group trudged on through the muck that used to be streets, I started to feel progressively eerie. Nopony was talking, even the caravan folk. The Ponyville I had grown up in was always loud, always with something going on, whether it be just couples dining at one of the local restaurants or a full blown party at Pinkie’s. there had always been something going on. The sheer void of the usual noise felt creepy, everything was out of sync, away from what it was supposed to be. Rarity should be getting in some fight with her sister, or Rainbow Dash should be causing some explosion. The lack of noise that usually irritated me filled me with a sense of despair.

It also gave me way too much time to think about the death I had already seen.

“Hey Shield, how long have you lived here?” I asked, simply to break up the monotony and depression of the surrounding landscape. Any conversation was an improvement, even with somepony who apparently had a reason to be scared of me.

“Don’t see why it matters none, but been here for about five years, not just in that house but all around the town.” Shield responded, glancing into the air. This confused me for a second before I realized he was keeping an eye out of Sunrise. The sun shone directly onto her, blocking out the vision of those who would be looking up. Her colors helped with the camouflage, masking her in the light.

“Well do you know how long the whole world has been...dead?” I asked. Maybe it had always been this way. The whole different dimension theory could still hold a little bit of sway. Things seemed too similar though, too close to the old Ponyville with the old world actions for this to be something that different.

“You don’t know?” Shield asked, shocked. He turned back to glance at me for a second with an apprehensive look. I shook my head in response. “Well this hellhole was created by a nice mess of a civil war about a century and a half back, during the time of Twilight Sparkle and those bi- ponies. Started a war against Celestia and it just couldn’t stop. Goddesses don’t die easily and when they do the land tends to go with ‘em.” He explained.

With his short explanation, any hope to find vestiges of my world vanished. This was my world, just not at the right time. I couldn’t connect Twilight Sparkle with this madness though. She loved Celestia didn’t she? She was Celestia’s student and only played my caretaker when Celestia had wanted her to. No, the story had to be different, and I might as well found out. Through the gaps in the houses, I could see a clearing up ahead along the street. The town center, perfect.

If Twilight’s library remained standing, it would be here. I needed answers. For a second, I almost wanted to turn around and go back to Shield’s house, scared of what I would find. Instead, I drew strength from the star around my neck. Spike wouldn’t run away from this, he’d be obsessed with finding out what happened to Twilight and gaining access to the quickest way back to his own time. I would do the same.

The caravan took the last turn, entering into the clearing which had been expanded into a full assembly area. At the far end, just where it had always stood, the tree-house still stood, wrapped tight in a glowing twilight shield, sparks occasionally dancing from the edges.

“So what do you mean Twilight started a war? The Twilight I knew hated fighting and loved Celestia.” I asked, my eyes glancing around the clearing. I needed to distract Shield enough for me to think of a way through the magic bubble.

“How the hell would I know? I wasn’t around during that time and no one still living was so, that story is a bit dead isn’t it? And why do you keep talking like you knew the bloody mare?” Shield blurted out. Such a short temper, not that I could say anything about it. The caravan had started to veer in the direction of the tree-house, bringing us ever closer to my destination. I did need to be careful with how I kept dropping hints from where I was though. It was careless and stupid.

Rolling my eyes, I turned my eyes back to Shield. “Er I- I mean, um nothing. I was just curious.” I finished lamely, avoiding Shield's stare. The caravan had just about reached the treehouse when we started to turn off onto a side street. Reckoning this was the closest we would get, I took  off in a dead sprint towards the treehouse, desperate to know what lay beyond.

“Stop, idiot!” I heard Shield yell out from somewhere behind me. Did he honestly think I would listen to him at this point? Seconds before I impacted against the shield, I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated on literally shifting my way past the shield. I felt a brief tingling sensation and opened my eyes again, this time on the other side of the shield, right in front of the door I knew so well. I turned back for a second to see Shield staring wide-eyed and opened mouth. I couldn’t help but smirk before turning and gently pushing the door open.