"Are you ready, Rose?" Luna asked solemnly to the fridged night sky. Her words cold as the cloud of moisture escaping with every letter. "The Crystal Empire issued the order of retreat just moments ago, but the timing is off. Don't you agree?" she turned to me with a blank stare with her mane flowing with ice-fire to its nonexistent breeze.

'Was I ready?' Tomorrow, Evelyn and I were going to Canterlot for a summit for three days. On the final day, I die. Or, at least, someone will try. My body still ached from the overexertion from my little detour to the flying temple and the return home. I still had things I needed to answer, questions for my new arrivals, and plans to enact.

Wolhana, and my Griffon-turned-Angel, Azrael, were currently stuck at Luna Bay, ensuring the safety of Arcadia under Luna's leadership. From the reports from both of them; they were tired. Having to act as the damage dealers and shields brought so much stress to the pair that even the Eldrich guard of the Void needed to rest.

'An Eldrich Guard of the Void needed rest?!'

What could have possibly happened that the little kitten-girl-thing of death that it took her out of commission for the time being?

My train of thought pointed me straight to the notion that there was more War Spiders at Cadence's disposal, however. Spooks and company destroyed all of them at the wall like a Spartan fighting a Scarab. 'Unless reports lied about the actual number?' I thought but shook my head. 'No, Luna was around during their creation. There couldn't be more of them. Something else took her out, but what?'

With Wolhana and Azrael in a forced sleep from my medics up north, I won't be able to find the answer until they wake up, but if I'm not around for them to tell me. They have their orders, and I have mine. Taking myself away from darker thoughts, a few, stray, lights caught my eye.

To the west in the second floor of the castle sat, Alta and Snowball in front of a desk surrounded by books. Both had smiles on their faces and taking turns talking about things I could only guess in between sips of something warm and comforting. Luna also found what caught my attention, but kept quiet and just watched with scrutiny.

'Alta, another pain in my side for when I leave,' I sighed internally. It wasn't every day that you got to see a demon reborn trot around the living without a care in the world. She made it quite clear in just a few hours of her return that she had no more ambition. One would think that she was just playing a game to ascend to her throne once more, however. After a thorough mind rape from Luna told another story.

'She just wants to return to the temple and take care of it. How lame.' I couldn't tell if that was a joke, or she was a good liar, but Luna and Applejack assured me that she was telling the truth.

How could anyone want to live the hermit life after living the...Okay, nevermind. I would be the same, however, I want to return to my cloud home in Cloudsdale with Spitfire, Nightingale, and Feather Flight. Not to a mostly barren floating fortress in the sky, but knowing what she can and can't do. I made sure that if I die, 'she' would be dealt with accordingly. I can't risk a once power hungry cunt from getting hungry again.

Peeling my gaze away from the lip-locked pair trying poorly to hide underneath the desk away. One more thing reared its head to tell me that I was nowhere near ready, and that was in the shape of a Doe called: Evelyn.

One moment she was asking for my presence the second I was up and the next she was fine and didn't want anything to do with me. Luna later told me that she personally helped the fear filled Doe out with her problems and that once everything was said and done. She could bring back Elswhere to its former glory.

'Fucking bitch. I saved her ass from the temple and this is how she treats me? I'm going to nip at her tail every chance I get.' One one hoof, I don't have to deal with her anymore, on the other; I'm stuck with Redbeard and Stephen instead.

Never before had I have to figure out what to do with a super drunk and a giddy pyromaniac. 'Both of which are on the move back to Ash Lake. Thank Satans lactating tits that they helped themselves out of my face without a goodbye or thank you.' Then again, with the pair out of the way to do Luna knows what. I can focus on the summit and what should entail, but to ask myself again: 'Am I ready?'

With a heavy sigh and a look of solace towards my steaming cup of coffee. "No Luna. I am not ready."

"That is strange. You of all ponies should be the readiest for what is to come," Luna responded it a bit of surprise. I let out a weak chuckle, which only brought some worry to the Cougar Alicorn. "Why aren't you?"

"For starters, I know something bad is going to happen, and not the 'typical' kind of bad that we can expect from, Celestia. No, it's going to be more than bad. It's going to be horrific."

Luna's brow furrowed as she stared into her cup of tea in deep thought. Probably thinking of what her deranged sister could be thinking to end it all: Once and for all, but this silence only lasted for a few, short, moments.

"Do you expect that my sister will use her final card in this losing game of Poker?"

I took another sip of my coffee as red and orange lights from the north snaked its way through the northern mountains from the Crystal Heart in the Empire. The visuals of which sent a shiver down my spine.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

Light shone through the ice-covered glass where my cheek embraced the cold, crystalized window. It was a welcoming feeling, and at the angle that I was looking out towards the city, colors of all shades could be seen in the crystals. Pegasi and Griffins could be seen off in the distance with wagons filled with valuable cargo in tow. Bringing wood and stone to areas where the ships had done most of the damage towards my city. I counted them, hoping that a monotonous rhythm could take my mind away from the fact that I might never see Silent Hill again.

Not even with the constant love pouring into my body from the filly I'm pretty much married to help my racing heart. No matter how much reassurance she gave me through our link, we both knew that something was wrong, and she made it clear that we weren't going to leave each other's side one last time without saying goodbye. Thus, was the sunset blur flying as fast as possible towards the castle in the distance.

I closed my eyes. Squeezing them shut, and begged Father Murphy for once, just once! To leave us alone.

Then, as the cold from the window began to burn my cheek; it was moved with a downy appendage that smelt of; snow, hard work, and latex. It brought my cheek and pressed it against a gentle, yet, strong beat of the most soothing of lullabies,

A single tear fell as I leaned into the fluffy chest I was pulled against, further burying my face in the search for more warmth with a weak smile.

"Hey, kiddo. How is my little vixen doing today?" cooed the second most beautiful voice in the world as more appendages wrapped me tighter in the voices embrace.

"C-Could be.... Could be better?" I managed to choke out quietly.

"It's going to be okay, Winny. Just one trip back to Canterlot, then we can go back to our somewhat normal lives. Sound good?" the voice whispered lovingly into my ear with a light nuzzle.

"I-I wish it were that simple, Mom..." I replied meekly with more tears threatening to plow my face like Summers flanks. "...But nothing good will happen and...a-and as much as I want to go back home in Cloudsdale. We can't."

"I know, kiddo, but chin up. Home is where those we love are waiting for us, and you'll have me, Feather, Night, Summer and your friends waiting for you," she promised with a kiss on my head. "Besides, you will have Luna protecting you and your special wing blades to help fly away back to safety. Not to mention the Elements of Harmony are going to be there as well. If something goes wrong, then at least you will be prepared."

"But what if that's not enough?" I bawked while looking up to meet her tender loving gaze. "What if everything goes wrong and I don't come home?"

The arm of her soft wing brushed away the moisture on my cheeks without either our eyes parting ways. "You will come home, Love. You always do," she smiled warmly and planted a playful peck on my nose, causing me to go cross-eyed for a moment, then..."Achoo!"

"Eww, gross! You got snot all over my chest," Spitfire half-whined, half-giggled while trying to rub it off with a free hoof. I let out a giggle of my own and blew my nose with her wing. Earning me a wonderful, "Rose! Not my wing!" from her lips.

A brisk glare and quick wiping from my mother in a desperate attempt to clean her wing left me giggling and in a better mood. We said our last goodbyes to each other just in time for Summer to enter the room.

Watching with a smile, the filly with patches of snow pelting her fur flew up to me and my new perch on a reading couch in the landing. She tackled me into a hug with her head in its favorite spot on my chest and our wings encasing the both of us in a feathered cocoon. We opened our links again and relived each other's past once more before just cuddling in content.

We were like this for what felt like forever, but my internal clock told me otherwise. The peace, the harmony, the pure bliss of letting our emotions, memories, and bodies give each other the comfort we need before it was time for me to go, arrived. The silence, however, didn't last. I was pulled away by Summer's voice and our link being closed whilst I was in the middle of viewing the memory of the time Summer's first day of flight camp.

I couldn't help but laugh at how many colts flirted with her until she screamed. One colt; a dark gray one with an even darker gray mohawk said: "Hey, Summer. Is it just me, or is it hot out here. 'Cause you are bringing the heat like the fourth of July."

'Wow, Just, wow.'

The annoyed grumble of the filly I was currently tangled with didn't find it as amusing as I did, but what could you do? I opened my eyes and was met with two, purple, globes of pure beauty, staring with intensity into mine with a light blush. She looked away, only to return a few sheepish glances my way and on the fourth one: My lips met her cheek.

"Everything will be alright, Sunny. You don't have to worry about me all that much," I smiled assuringly.

"I hope so, Winny. I truly hope so," she replied, but without a smile of her own.

"Have you made your peace Empress Rose?" Luna asked worrisomely as our guards and I boarded a large, metal airship. I looked over my shoulder towards the docks—Still filled with tents galore to house those that have temporarily lost their homes to the fighting just days ago.

'Homes that I could have saved if I didn't go overboard back at the temple.'

Shaking my head from the growing guilt. I continued my path and answered with a sigh. "Yeah. Let's just get going before I do something I will regret, and is the Elements joining us?"

"They are already on board and waiting," Luna replied.

Author's Notes:

Another one!