“Even if the good old days never existed, the fact that we can conceive of such a world is, in fact, an affirmation of the human spirit. That the imagination of man is capable of creating the myth of a more open, more generous time is not a sign of our folly.”
Orson Welles

“Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.
Who shall gather the smoke of the dead wood burning,
Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning?”
Lament for the Rohirrim, “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”.

***

Starlight groaned, a hoof to her head as she sat up; passing out there and then was never a good thing to do, or comfortable in any case.

‘What was that about?’ She thought, looking up to see that she was back in her apartment… in New Manehatten; her cat Mr. Prenchy was sound asleep at the end of her bed, his grey fur sticking out against the comforter’s light colors.

“I’m home?” She asked aloud, her head turning to be greeted by the a large pale white statue of an Alicorn in the distance, set on an island that was within a bay; it was the Statue of Liberation and the Hudson Bay… it looks like she was home after all.

‘Was it a dream?’ Starlight thought, slowly getting out of bed and trotting out of her room.

Going to the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of milk and had a drink, frowning slightly at the sheer incongruity of the things that she thought she had been experiencing. So far everything seemed normal - Mr. Prenchy was his usual self by sleeping on her bed, could see her two Pony awards on the shelf and there wasn’t any sign of anything out of the ordinary.

So why did something feel wrong or out of place?

“Starlight, are you ok?” a voice asked. Starlight turned to see Twilight Sparkle, her roommate, trot up to her, concern in her features.

Starlight froze up a bit and backed away in fear, the events of her… dream were still fresh in her mind. “Oh uh, good morning Twilight; I’m… I’m just a bit freaked out over a dream I had last night, it was a real doozy that kept going downhill," she said, absentmindedly scratching her right foreleg with her left hoof. “I got shanghaied into joining the Resistance and you tried to cut my head open.”

“Well, that’s silly,” Twilight said with a smile. “I’d anaesthetise you first.”

“But you wouldn’t do it to me unless you had to… right?” Starlight asked a tad paranoid. “You wouldn’t actually cut my head open after I asked to be let go… right?”

“Well, there is all that Alicorn genetic material to study,” Twilight said seriously, a thoughtful frown on her face. “I’d have to see for myself at some point. In fact, that kind of gives me an idea…”

“Ah, uh… Twilight?” Starlight asked, a fearful frown on her face as she trotted back. “You’re creeping me out a bit, could you stop?”

“Sorry,” Twilight said, looking back up at her, an odd light in her eye and a strange smile on her face. “It’s just the war, you know? Really changes a mare…”

“B-But the war’s over, it’s been over for ages,” Starlight stressed, eyes widening. “You weren’t even on the front lines, it…”

It was then that a look of realization blossomed on the mare’s face as the Twilight in front of her grinned at her.

“You’re not Twilight are you?” she asked, her tone fearful for her life.

“Of course I am,” Twilight replied. “Commander Twilight Sparkle. Archmagi. Right hoof to the Empress.”

“No, Twilight’s my roommate and my friend - we’re performers we-” Suddenly, Starlight’s head throbbed. “Ugh,” she groaned, before demanding. “What did you do with my friend you loon!?”

“I am your friend,” Sparkle said. “I’ve always been your friend. You just never realised.”

“Friends wouldn’t cut other friends’ heads open,” Starlight shot back, glaring at the Unicorn. “Stars above, I need to get out of here!” She stressed, her horn starting to light up the door handle outside starting to glow.

"You won't find anything nicer out there," Twilight said lightly as Starlight moved away from her.

“Better than in here!” She shouted, the door swinging open and Starlight galloped out, hoping to get some distance… only to soon stop immediately at what she saw.

She was in the streets of Canterlot. She turned around to see where she had come from, but she couldn't see the door to her apartment. She turned back to the street, only for a spell of some sort to impact right near her, blasting apart the masonry all around her and knocking her to the ground.

A moment passed, a faint ringing in her ears. She opened her eyes, looking up at the sky, and saw a strange metal contraption - like a Zeppelin without its the balloon - zoom over her head. She blinked. A handful of Pegasi zipped across her field of view as she sat up, flying off into the distance, and then she frowned at the sight of something else in the sky - a bipedal figure, dueling with what looked like an Alicorn. The biped had a large two-handed sword in hand, swinging it far faster than such a thing should have been able to move, and the Alicorn held a glaive, blocking blows with elegance and precision.

The two swung their weapons at the same time, the blades meeting in a titanic clash and -

***

Shining Starlight’s eyes snapped open, she noticed a few things.

Firstly, she had an ice pack on her forehead. Secondly, she was in a bed, somewhere in a white room - it looked like some sort of hospital. Thirdly, her nose had been cleaned up and wasn’t bleeding anymore. And finally... she had no idea what had happened to her, or what was up with that dream

The mare took the time to groan over all that… and the fact that nothing made sense really.

"Ah! She's awake!" a voice spoke. An electric blue Unicorn mare with a dark blue mane walked up to her, smiling softly. "How are you feeling?"

“I…” She tried to figure out a response, but found herself uncertain how to proceed.

She had been through so much that she was in danger, though she didn't realise it, of going into some kind of shock.

“I feel tired… what… what happened?” she finally asked, her mind a whirl.

"The Pegasus mare you were travelling with brought you in the minute you all reached British shores," the blue mare replied. "She said you'd been unconscious since leaving Equestria. Some sort of fit?"

“Dew Drop?” Starlight wondered, “Is she… is she okay?”

"Miss Drop is fine," the mare said. "She's waiting for you outside. Shall I tell her you're awake?"

Starlight just weakly nodded in response - she didn’t have it in her to even say yes at the moment.

A moment later, Dew Drop entered, looking faintly relieved.

"Hey there, dainty," she said. "You ok?"

“I don’t know,” Starlight said, “Is my life still in one piece and Twilight Sparkle isn’t out to cut my head open?”

"Wouldn't know about that, sister," Dew Drop said, apparently oblivious to the dripping sarcasm, "but to get to you here, Sparkle'd have to go through about ten thousand human soldiers and a bunch of pissed off looking ponies."

“Great… just great,” the unicorn groaned, trying to get up but couldn’t. “Did the doctor figure out what’s wrong with me?”

"Could always ask," Dew Drop said with a shrug. "Hey Doc? Doc?!"

The electric blue mare entered again, looking concerned.

"Hello?" she asked. "Is there a problem?"

"Dainty here wants to know if you figured out what's wrong with her," Dew Drop said gruffly.

"Oh," the mare said. "Well, Miss Dainty..."

“It’s Starlight, Shining Starlight,” she corrected.

"Well... Miss Starlight," the mare said, frowning slightly before continuing. "I've had a conversation with some of my colleagues. As far as we can tell, there's only one possible cause for your... issue, matching all the symptoms. It seems your magic has been Over-Channeled. This is extremely rare in Unicorns, but it's a condition well known to human medicine as a form of Magic Burnout."

“I see…” Starlight said, this was perfect - first she suffered from a snout bleed, then a searing headache, then passed out, had a crazy dream and has now been told that she somehow got Over-Channeled.

'Where is Discord when you need him? His brand of Chaos is better than this randomness,’ she thought.

“How long will it take for me to recover?” Starlight asked aloud, hoping the answer would be a positive one.

The blue Unicorn mare looked uneasy for a moment. Dew Drop scowled at her after a moment's silence.

"The mare asked you a question, Doc," she said, sounding annoyed.

"Forgive me," the Unicorn said softly. "The only other case on file of Magic Burnout is... terminal."

“…What?” Starlight croaked in disbelief, her eyes wide in shock.

"Now, that is a human sufferer," the doctor added quickly. "So it may be that Unicorns react differently - we're hoping so. But in the human case, the patient suffers from cellular damage that has already significantly lowered his life expectancy. In his case, there's no cure. In yours... well, there's so much about it that is unprecedented that..."

"Cut to the chase, Doc!" Dew Drop snapped.

"Well," the doctor said, swallowing slightly, "we just don't know. There might be some way to rectify the situation before too much damage is incurred. But so far, we're low on leads and low on resources to look up those leads."

“It doesn’t involve my head getting cut open does it?” Starlight asked, “cause Sparkle wanted to do that and… said something about my blood being weird.”

"Well we're still waiting for the results of your blood tests," the doctor said, looking mildly affronted, "but I am not Twilight Sparkle, Miss Starlight. I am a doctor. I heal. I do not harm."

“Sorry… I’ve been having a long week…” Starlight croaked, before turning to her associate, “Dew Drop… why did you leave Equestria?” she asked the Pegasus, “Is it because of the restrictions on Pegasi?”

"Not quite," Dew Drop said, but she didn't elaborate.

"Did Sparkle happen to mention what was wrong with your blood?" the doctor asked.

“Said it wasn’t right, asked about my parents… told them they were a Unicorn and Pegasus, said something Alicorn genetics I think,” Starlight responded before groaning. “Didn’t make any sense…”

"Alicorn genetics?" the doctor said, raising an eyebrow. "That's... well, that's the second unusual thing about you. Curious. We'll see what the blood tests come out as."

“Can I get some rest, please?” she asked. “I feel tired… really tired.”

"Of course," the doctor said. "Miss Drop, if you'll come with me."

"Yeah, sure," Drop said. "Hey, dainty. Take care of yourself, yeah? I'll see you later."

Starlight nodded before closing her eyes and once again going back to sleep, leaving Dew Drop and the doctor in the realm of the waking.

***

High Commander Sparkle stamped another report, frowning slightly. She shook her head, still feeling... strange. As though she had missed something important.

She had explained everything to her Empress, leaving out no detail - not the dream, not the Alicorn genetics... nothing.

"I see," was all Solamina said when Twilight had finished. "And you are certain the name was 'Shining Starlight'?"

"As certain as anything, Empress," Sparkle replied. "Tell me - what should I do?"

There was a long pause as the Sun Empress seemed to ponder this question, her expression thoughtful. Sparkle felt a rush of adrenaline building - would she be granted leave to seek this anomaly herself? Or -

"For now," Solamina finally spoke, interrupting Sparkle's train of thought, "you will do nothing."

"…nothing, my Empress?" Sparkle repeated, confused.

"Nothing," Solamina confirmed. "Shining Starlight... now that is a name I have not heard in many years... and the impossibility of it is... intriguing."

"May I know what it is the name represents, my Empress?" Sparkle asked.

Solamina looked down at Sparkle, and even through the crystal projection, Sparkle could feel the almost derisive air about her Empress' person.

"You have already gained much knowledge from me, Twilight," Solamina said slowly, sounding at once like she was placating Sparkle and mocking her. "Surely you will allow me to keep one secret, if only for a short time."

"Of course, my liege," Sparkle said, bowing her head. "Please, forgive my presumption."

"There is nothing to forgive, most faithful student," Solamina said airily. "But there are other things at work that must be... seen to. For now, your orders are as follows: wait, watch, be patient. Should the opportunity arise to do something about Starlight, take it, but take no action without first consulting me."

"It shall be as you say," Sparkle said, keeping her head bowed.

Without any further word, Solamina disappeared and the crystal projector switched off. Sparkle raised her head, a frown on her face.

There was something amiss with this, this whole thing felt… off. Why would Empress Solamina be so interested in some actress? Was her name the same as somepony she knew once? Or…

Or… could this ‘Starlight’ really be something the resistance have made? A golem to distract the Empress? To throw her off, as the saying would be.

‘Curiouser and curiouser, whatever she is…’ Sparkle thought privately, ‘One day… I’ll get the truth, One day.’

She was distracted by a knock at her door, and sighed.

"Alright, Commander Scootaloo, you may come in," she said, as the young mare entered. Twilight sighed. She hoped this wouldn't be too much of a waste of time...

***

Starlight and Dew Drop, it later turned out, that they had apparently ended up in one of the various field-hospitals off the coast of Britain that had been set up deliberately for the purpose of assessing new arrivals into the country. There were mostly pony staff and guards present, presumably to make the transition easier. That didn't mean there were no humans though - most of them were taciturn guards, though some of the doctors - apparently specialists in equine physiology, as marked out by the green crosses on their uniforms - were human as well.

Starlight wasn’t the happiest mare per se, despite not having any snout bleeds or throbbing headaches since arriving in Britain… she still wished she could just go home; back to her apartment in New Manehatten, feed Mr. Prenchy and go back to her normal life instead of getting roped into the Resistance and being amongst the humans.

She didn’t hate humanity, nor was she a bigot towards them, she just had to wonder why there was all this fuss over the potion? She knew some Converted, worked with a Converted once and even went on some dates with a fine Stallion back in the good old days who was a Converted.

All they had to lose is just walking upright and their… claws. Sure, there wasn’t a surefire transformation that meant they could choose which of the three races they could join but it was better than death by the Barrier.

Although, it was kind of disturbing to know that humanity has become so well versed in Equine biology - did they… do things to Unicorns here?

"Hey there, sister," a voice spoke, distracting her from her thoughts. She looked up to see Dew Drop appear, smiling. "How're you doin'?"

“Better,” Starlight answered. “Still can’t feel my magic though, can’t even move anything or make my horn glow.”

"Hey," Dew Drop said with a shrug. "If whatever's up with you is to do with your magic, maybe that's a good thing."

“What do you mean?”

"Well, I had a chat with Doc Tender Care about the human with magic burnout - his gets worse if he uses it," Dew Drop said. "You'll never guess what though - I think she meant their big hero guy, you know - their Avatar of Avalon or whatever."

“I believe it’s Albion, Dew Drop,” Starlight corrected before she paled. “Wait, he’s suffering from Over-Channeling?”

"Don't think they call it that for humans," Dew Drop shrugged. "But the burnout part, yeah."

“To think, the Boogyman across the Pond… he’s dying.” Starlight gave a hollow but short laugh over it. “Isn’t that silly.”

Dew Drop frowned. "It ain't gonna be any good for us if he croaks, ya know. We're Resistance. We'll be lucky to get a quick death at the end of this if we don't win."

“But I’m not,” Starlight protested. “You and everypony else here are a part of the Resistance, I’m just a Unicorn that got roped into this whole thing because of Twilight Sparkle being a loon.”

Now it was Dew Drop's turn to laugh. "You're here and you aren't wearing Guard Armour or militia colours, sister. That makes you Resistance. You could spend the rest of your time here under a rock and it'd make no difference. You're stuck with us, now."

“Well, Mr. Prenchy goes hungry then," Starlight commented dryly. “He’s still stuck back in New Manehatten.”

"Mr. Who-now?" Dew Drop asked with a smirk.

“Prenchy,” Starlight corrected. “He’s my pet cat, I’ve had him for the past four years - sleeps most of the day, loves tuna, hates Stallions hogging his limelight and would fight for it.”

"Sounds fun," Dew Drop said. "You bring him with you from Equestria?"

“No actually, I got him in New Manehatten - one of the Animal Shelters that Fluttershy started up… I guessed I wanted to commemorate my voyage to the new world with a cat companion," she said a tad carelessly.

Dew Drop frowned. "Thought you said you had him for four years."

“Yeah, that’s how long I’ve been in New Manehatten. Four years, thankfully I managed to get into Theater before the second year ended or I’d go nuts.” Starlight chuckled fondly at the memory.

"But that's not possible," Dew Drop said, frowning at Starlight. "You sure you're ok, sister? I reckon you're having delusions."

Starlight’s smile disappeared almost immediately: she didn’t like hearing that. Her grip on reality had already become somewhat tenuous, what with the horrific things she had undergone, the strange differences in her experiences she had already gone through and that blasted dream.

“Dew Drop, I’m telling you - I’ve been in New Manehatten for four years; I even got in a carriage accident once,” She rambled, slightly nervously. "That’s as authentic as you can get.”

"Sister, you can't have been in New Manehatten for four years, and that's for sure," Dew Drop said. "It's not been around that long."

Starlight frowned after hearing that. “No that can’t be right, after the barrier consumed North America a colony was set up in the East Coast it… I came in the second group and… and…”

"Sister, I had a cousin who worked on the New Manehatten weather team before the second Sanction," Dew Drop said. "She sent me a picture the week they started work. I saw the first pre-fabs they had up. Apple Bloom's contractor company was responsible for the whole darn thing. That was two years ago - up until then, they'd been focusin' on farmland. Everypony knows that."

“But… but I have an apartment that sees the Statue and Hudson,” Starlight stammered, her mind racing a bit.

"What statue?" Dew Drop asked. "Sister, New Manehatten's all prefabs and barracks, maybe the odd communal building. I don't think they'll have statues up for another ten years." She paused. "Heck, I didn't even think they had apartments yet 'til I heard you start talkin' about the the place."

“No that can’t… it… nrrrgggh," Starlight groaned. Just like that, her snout started bleeding again and the throbbing headache returned, but this time her horn glowed too.

"Ah, heck," Dew Drop swore. "Doctor Care! Doctor Care! She's havin' another fit!"

Dr Tender Care, the electric blue mare, charged in, eyes wide in shock.

"What happened?!" she demanded.

"She was talking about New Manehatten, but all o' what she was sayin' was weird, like she was talkin' about a different place," Dew Drop said. "Then I told her, but..."

"Hell!" Care swore. "She's having a fit! Nurse!"

That was the last thing Starlight heard before once more falling unconscious…

***

Astra Solamina Maxima sat upon her throne and looked out. All was well in her Empire - the sun was out, her ponies and Converted were happy, and yet she felt… troubled.

The news that her most faithful servant had granted her a few short days ago was still present in her mind.

‘Shining Starlight… a name that I have not heard of in years,’ Solamina thought, sitting upon her throne and reflecting upon that terrible night, oh so many years ago.

Fire and blood on the air, and a fresh figure imprinted on the moon, and there her body lay...

She pushed the memories aside. It had been so long, so long since then, and she refused to become maudlin about it after all this time.

‘How long has it been… how would she had survived?’ Solamina pondered, before recalling that apparent alicorn genetics that Starlight had.

She had been there when Starlight died, it was one of the worst days of her life… in fact, it was the only thing that made the day even worse than it already had been.

She shook her head, clearing the old feelings out. It didn't matter: she was not the same Celestia anymore… and Shining Starlight had been dead for years - whoever this mare was, she could not be her former student…

She couldn’t be the closest thing she had ever had to a daughter…

She just couldn’t be.

Author's Notes:

And another chapter is done, can anyone guess on what might happen next?