Alcohol was the first thing that told the unicorn she wasn’t alone. The acrid stench of whiskey on a pony’s breath rode in on the breeze, followed a second later by the sound of hoofsteps. She knew she should’ve been angry to smell that smell, but tonight, she let it slide. Different ponies dealt with stress in different ways, and it’d taken all of her willpower to leave that damn wooden box inside the shack behind her.

Although the unicorn’s ear flicked to the side, she made no other movements as a pegasus sat down next to her. Her orange eyes were fixed squarely on the western horizon, where the fiery blue sun was already halfway concealed. The strong breeze, so common to this region of the planet, pulled at her orange and yellow-streaked mane as she remained motionless. Her throat bobbed like she wanted to speak, but her lips refused to part for any words she might have said.

Sighing, the pegasus leaned against the unicorn, resting her head on the charcoal mare’s shoulder. “You alright?” she murmured, watching the sunset with her companion.

A twitch of a black ear. “Fine.”

It was a lie. Both ponies knew it. Awkward silence hung between them as they watched the blue sun slowly burrow itself in the pink mountains to the west, until finally it was gone. With a grunt, the pegasus crawled to her hooves and nuzzled the unicorn. “Make sure you get some sleep. We’re movin’ at dawn.”

The unicorn slowly, deliberately nodded, and the pegasus noticed her turning an old light disc recorder over in her hooves. She bit her lip and watched the unicorn for a few seconds longer, then shook her head and turned away. One of her wingtips brushed the unicorn’s shoulder, but again, the charcoal mare remained motionless. She didn’t even flinch at the sudden wash of air the pegasus’ wings kicked up behind her as she took to the skies, disappearing somewhere over the shantytown to the east.

When she was alone in the field, the unicorn picked up the recorder in her orange magic. She stared at it for several seconds, licked her lips, then pressed the red button on top. Immediately, the vents on the device glowed with flickering white light.

Lips moved as they fought for words to say. Strange, trilling noises echoed throughout the valley, and the white light flickered different colors as the recorder picked up the sound. Something about the sound stirred the mare, and finally, she began to speak.

“My name is Ember. You might have heard of me. You probably haven’t. It really doesn’t matter either way…”

She swallowed, and the rainbow of colors the recorder had been emitting returned to their blank, white state. Her teeth slid past each other as she parted her lips, and her tongue danced against the roof of her mouth. “Three months ago, I left my home on a journey that would take me across the continent. I hunted down High Queen Twilight’s message and stitched together the pieces. I met an ancient monarch in the mines beneath Atmorah and learned the dark secrets of Equus. I’ve seen things I never would’ve imagined, and I’ve done things I’ll regret for as long as I live. I’m no hero. I’m no icon. I’m just a mare who got in over her head, and somehow it’s brought me here.

“Tomorrow, it all ends,” she said, pausing to swallow and lick her lips. “Regardless of what happens, it ends tomorrow. If we lose… I want to leave this to whoever comes after me. If we win, I want Equus to hear this. This is my story, and I know that ponies can learn from it.

“I only hope they do; I won’t be around to see it. Please, please listen. I learned long ago that a message sent out of desperation can change a world. Let me change yours. I won’t have anything other than this one chance.

“Because tomorrow, I will die, and there’s nothing anypony can do to stop that.”