“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”
- Mae West

“You will lose someone you can’t live without,and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.”
- Anne Lamott

Scribe’s Alcove:

Scribe continued to stare at the trio, ignoring Celestia’s greeting in favor of gauging each of them individually. She closed her eyes as she gave a small smile, shaking her head.

“All it took was the end of the world and possibly all sentient life as we know it being snuffed out in the known universes for you all to gather before me.”

The trio blinked at her statement in confusion, unsure how to take it.

“Uh, hey Scribble,” Discord said awkwardly as he took a step towards her. “I mean, eventually we would settle our disputes.”

“Hardly,” Scribe remarked as she gave a look to Celestia with a raised eyebrow. “Celestia would no doubt try to have you under her hoof if given the proper course of action. And you would no doubt try and humiliate her in some suitably bizarre way.”

Discord blinked whilst he turned to look at Celestia, a witty joke lay on his lips before falling silent as he saw Celestia’s grimacing face.

“You saw?” Celestia asked, causing Discord and Luna stare at her with shock.

“I don’t miss much, Celestia. Your planning for Discord, while positive in nature, leaves a lot to desire.” Scribe answered, “Much like I don’t miss the arrival of the human, nor the growing war between worlds, nor the unpleasantness with our counterparts. However, before Luna or Discord begin their accusations of doing something ‘foolish’, I would like to clear the air between all three of you.”

“What?” Luna blinked, utterly lost. “Clear the air? We fought, we waged war against one another due to our differences. We set it aside to battle this greater threat! I understand that we made some mistakes-”

“No,” Scribe cut her off, her eyes narrowed as she looked to the three. “Mistakes that are none of your faults. Not yours, nor Discord’s, nor Celestia’s.”

“I… I don’t understand?” Discord sputtered, shaking his head. “You’re confusing me, and that’s pretty impressive given who I am.”

“We spent much of the last two weeks pointing out each other’s mistakes,” Celestia added. “We dragged every skeleton out of our respective closets.

“I learned to see the after effects of my magic,” Discord admitted, looking downwards in shame. “I toyed with living beings and ripped the world a new one several times.”

“And now they’re not our faults?” Luna looked at Scribe in shock.

“No.”

“Sorry, I must have missed the memo where there was another Discord running around and mucking things up.” Discord said sarcastically.

“Celestia.” Scribe turned to look at her. “The reason you and Discord first began fighting was-”

“Because you sent him to retrieve myself and Luna. I know,” Celestia answered, only to receive a shake of the head at her answer.

“While that is true, that is not the true reason why, is it?” Scribe asked as her eyes seemingly burrowed into her. “You were angry at Discord, frightened of him. You always have been, even when you first saw him.”

“I…yes.” Celestia looked away before narrowing her eyes. “I saw what he was capable of. Sending the Windigoes-”

“That was not him.” Scribe cut her off.

“Excuse me?”

“Discord did not create the Windigoes,” Scribe reiterated. Discord began to laugh out loud, shaking in mirth as he leaned against a counter.

“Sorry, sorry. You’re telling me I didn’t-”

“No.” Scribe turned to look at him, a motherly glare directed right at him, causing him to flinch. “I know you are trying to accept the blame of the wendigoes as a fault of your own. If so, then you should also accept the blame of every monster on this world.”

Discord stared at her, swallowing as he looked back to Celestia and Luna. “That’s… a lot. B-but, maybe I should! After all-”

“Discord did not create the Wendigoes. I did.” Scribe answered before she vanished, an image of a mountain appearing in her place.

It showed Discord working his magic, pushing the clouds further along before nodding his head and vanishing with a snap. Not once did he notice the cloud pulsing, shaping itself into a vaguely equine shape, nor glance at cave opening with a small pony figure looking up at him.

Discord blinked in surprise to see an image of himself working his magic like he stated, then scoffed as it ended. “It just shows me being rather clumsy with my magic.”

“Discord, you were taught by a powerful interdimensional being and the most powerful alicorn in history. Clumsiness should not come easy to you,” Scribe chided him. “No, while you were working, I gathered the leftover magic and created the Wendigoes.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why?!” Luna asked, horrified at this revelation.

“Because that is my directive,” Scribe answered as she showed them a different image. Discord was laying on a beach, drinking a rather fruity looking drink. Beneath the waves, a rather slim looking eel grew nearly thirty times its size before bolting into deeper waters. Said eel later attacked a ship, killing half of the crew. Another image showed Discord gently pushing a volcano to erupt, the lava slowly spilling over the side. At the bottom of the mountain, a worm began to shift and change, growing to lengths unheard of before it burrowed away, its mouth splitting open like a star as multiple eyes opened along its head.

A chicken wandered off from its farm, into a tall forest. It finally happened on a clearing where Discord stood wearing a wide, floppy hat, leather gloves, and an apron, planting several seeds, including a curious blue one. He was also harvesting seeds from several large black vines, most of them snapping at his face before he snapped his claw and reverted them back into seed form. As it got within a foot of Discord’s clearing, but not actually within it, it began to change. Its body became green and reptilian, and its wings became not dissimilar to a bat’s.

A lone pack of wolves with singed fur, some of them little more than pups, perhaps the last in Equestria, walked into the very same forest. One of them, tired and limping, picked up a moss-covered stick in his jaws and found he couldn’t put it down, because his jaw was the stick. His whole body slowly transmuted to wood, his fur turning into moss or falling off to reveal a skeleton made of logs. His eyes were wide-open green glowing orbs set into hollows in two mismatched logs. Howling in pain and anguish, he leapt at his brothers and sisters, clawing through them and transfiguring them to the same creatures of wood and moss.

The pups, too young to have helped to fight off their former packmates, but old enough to know that they should run, stared in horror and ran away. They would soon be found by a pony who would adopt them as his friends and companions, and raise them and their descendants, giving rise to the domestic dog of Equestria.

“The dogs were an accident, but a happy one nonetheless,” the Scribe continued. “I’d assumed they would have hidden underground like the wolves that would soon become Diamond Dogs, but they found a pony who cared for them.”

“I made so many things in that forest,” Discord said, looking fondly at that clearing, with its Poison Joke, bladeflowers, black vines, and-

“Oh…. OH!” Discord palmed his face before he vanished from sight. He popped back in a second later. “Uh… Uh yeah, I’ll be back in… a few minutes.”

“Discord, what did you-”

“I’ll explain later, it’s just something that we’ll all be too tired to deal with after the war,” Discord said quickly, eyes darting from side to side, before popping away. Luna however was more concerned with what was happening before her eyes.

“Why Scribe? What purpose could creating these monsters yield for you?!” Luna looked like she was on the verge of tears at this shocking reveal.

“To unite all of ponykind,” Scribe answered. “Before the wendigos, ponykind was fragmented, left in disharmony. Pegasi and unicorns alike used earth ponies like slaves, none of them liked the other, the pegasi nation was outright vicious and ruled by a deranged, bloodthirsty despot with rather… unpleasant tastes. The Earth ponies were destitute and starving though they were surrounded by food, and they hated the other races. The unicorns were mostly only concerned with money and wealth, even as others starved. If I left things as they were, they would not overcome their differences for over a millennia, if ever. As I always stated before. I was in charge of making sure that ponykind became one again and ascended back to their original forms.”

“Alicorns…” Celestia whispered as she watched the various species slowly come to light.

Dragons, Griffons, Diamond Dogs, Breezies, even the Changelings appeared on the list of beings she tampered with using Discord’s magic.

“Yes. That was my function, and it still is. However, I have done a poor job in doing so.” Scribe returned before them, a sad look on her face. “I have caused my creator’s children to fight each other due to my meddling.”

“Well… We are not fighting anymore...” Celestia murmured quietly as Luna glared at Scribe.

“No we are not,” Luna agreed angrily.

“You are angry at me,” Scribe noted quietly. “That anger is justified, but it is how I was created and I did not foresee my involvement to cause such issues.”

“Luna, peace,” Celestia wrapped her wing around her sister. “What’s done is done. We can not change the past.”

“Indeed,” Scribe agreed, and then a loud pop indicated Discord’s return, wrapped head to hoof with black vines, his head covered by leaves.

“MMMmmmH!” Discord muffled out, attempting to snap his claw did nothing as the vine wrapped around his claws rather thoroughly. Celestia rolled her eyes as her horn glowed with power, setting the vines ablaze.

Celestia gave a small giggle as the fire cleared, revealing a scorched and ash sooted Discord, giving her an unamused glare. “Where did you go?”

“Clearing up a past decision… and visiting mother,” Discord said quietly. Celestia blinked at that, Discord gave her a small smile as he summoned a small replica. “You should know, it’s where you got the Elements.”

Celestia stared at the tree, long forgotten memories of receiving the Elements from the newly named Tree of Harmony. “Wait… Wait! Mother is there?!”

“A side effect of using Pure Harmony,” Scribe answered as she looked to the miniature. “Your mother sacrificed her life to save the world, and, to ensure that future generations had a chance to face off against great evil, she created a spell that used her body and magic to generate that chance. Thanks to that, Tirek was stopped before he had a chance to rise. A long lost species has used the 'Tree of Harmony' before yourselves, or even your student and her friends.”

An image of several very very short humanoids stood before the tree, lowering their heads to the tree. A young female held up a familiar locket, all of them looking on with happiness as the tree glowed with power, invoking the essence of Harmony within it.

"This species died out, but not before they pass the power to another."

An elder looking humanoid danced around, searching for something while systematically destroying everything around him. A young human girl and several ponies could only look on as he sung and danced before apparently giving up. Only for the small rabbit to pull it out the same locket and hand it to him. The small humanoid placed the locket around her neck before pushing her away in a hurry.

"Thanks to these small beings, Tirek never made his return. Thus giving you three a chance to avoid his power. I would've told you, but you three were too busy fighting each other." Scribe sighed as she banished the image. "Miss Faust has planned for everything it seems."

Discord looked at the small crystal tree in his paw, a small sigh as he banished the image. “Well, it’s a good thing you reminded me of my past crack at gardening. Almost forgot about those vines.”

“What vines?” Luna’s eyes narrowed as Discord simply whistled, ignoring her question entirely. “Discord!”

“Worry not, Luna,” Scribe gently interrupted, “Discord has taken care of the problem and it is no longer an issue. There is one issue that I wish to bring to light, however.”

“And that is?”

“You,” Scribe said as she looked Celestia over. “Given what happened between you and the human, I am worried about the implications. However, there is also another issue that arose that I did not take into account.”

“And that is?” Celestia asked again, raising an eyebrow as a soft light began to surround her.

“It is this issue,” Scribe vanished, and in her place was a familiar hallway.

“Dozens of innocent ponies were dying because of the storms you brought, the wild animals you introduced killed many more, and the very changing of the night and day, where you set the sun and rose the moon in the middle of the day, was tearing their minds apart! It was chaos!” Celestia defended herself. “That caused the Wendigos to prey on them once they began to blame each other for the troubles that were caused! I was there Discord, I saw you bring the storm the day the Wendigos appeared!”

“I don’t understand. What is the problem?” Luna asked, tilting her head as she examined the image before her.

Seeing Celestia and Discord glaring at one another, close to another brawl that would no doubt lay waste to the land due to the huge amount of clashing powers, she felt her heart sink as she realized that this was probably the last time she would see something as ‘normal’ to herself.

“It is not the problem to be seen, but heard,” Scribe said as she placed herself between the two stilled image of Discord and Celestia. “And I find it hard to believe Discord did not take notice of it earlier. But, perhaps tempers were running high, so he took no notice.”

“I didn’t?” Discord blinked in surprise, somehow appearing next to Scribe within the image, giving her a quirky smile before he looked to himself and Celestia. “Hm… I don’t…!”

Discord stood slack jawed, looking to Celestia before looking back at the image. He took a running start and jumped out of the floating image, quickly grabbing Celestia’s head and looked into her ear.

“Seriously? How did I miss that?!” Discord stated, his eye extending out and popping out of the other ear, looking around before Celestia pushed him off.

“What are you talking about?” Celestia scowled as she sat down and rubbed her ears in annoyance.

“HOLD IT!” A male voice bellowed from somewhere around Discord. What appeared to be a pane of glass suspended itself in mid air, allowing everyone present to see it. Celestia from the past appeared after a moment, large blue letters proclaiming ‘Witness Testimony’ flashing gently across the screen. Celestia’s words, along with her name, appeared in a blue box with white text, scrolling along with what she was saying.

After it had scrolled through everything, large red text reading ‘Cross Examination’ popped up.

Blinking rapidly, Celestia began to speak, to voice some complaint, before Discord covered her mouth with a paw. “Shhhhhhshhhshhshhhshssssss!”

The text scrolled through Celestia’s speech again, and nothing happened for the most part. The only difference seemed to be that the text was green now. At the end however…

”I was there Discord, I saw you bring the storm the day the Wendigos appeared!”

“OBJECTION!” The voice boomed again.

“This! This right here doesn’t make sense!” Discord exclaimed. He rounded on her, capturing her face once more and looked her directly into the eyes. “Explain this discontinuity!”

Discord pulled away for a moment, summoning up a small blue suited doll, and began to look fondly over it. "You know that is a lot more fun than it appears. I should become a lawyer! Oh wait, I have to change the way legal procedures work first..."

"I... I don’t understand?" Celestia looked to Scribe, unsure of what was happening. "What's wrong with what I said?"

"Only this," Scribe vanished, an image of a snowstorm made its way to the land; off in the east was a large castle and unicorns going about their lives, in the center was the earth ponies’ settlement where they worked the large fields and in the west was the cloud city of the pegasi who were flying and training. There was an ominous glow in the clouds, unnoticible by anyone.

What happened next was a familiar scene - the raging snowstorm which covered the land in ice, rendering the farms unusable. The pegasi tried to get rid of the storm, but nothing worked. The unicorns even kept the sun up for a few hours longer than scheduled, but even that couldn’t melt the snow. And soon, all three tribes were in dispute.

“What is the point of this, Scribe?” Luna asked, twitching with a little impatience. “We already know of these events.”

“Just watch,” was all she said in response.

Princess Platinum was the picture of unicorn royalty, with a pristine silvery white coat (likely what made her parents name her such) and a deep blue mane; Commander Hurricane was what one would expect from the leader of the pegasi military, with a deep blue coat and a mane and tail reminiscent of storm clouds; Chancellor Puddinghead was the sole stallion of them, with a deep red coat and a curly yellow mane and tail; topped off with his odd choice of headgear.

It was supposed to be a diplomatic meeting, three tribes coming to an agreement. But it didn’t take long for the blame game to start up.

“Alright, let us get straight to the point,” Platinum began. “Why hasn’t your weather controlling done anything to quell this storm?! Answer me, 'Commander'!”

“Why is it us you blame first, Princess?” Hurricane asked, stomping her hooves on the table. “You unicorns haven’t done anything either!”

“We raised the sun and kept it up to melt this ice! And we don’t have any food to nourish ourselves! Magic requires much energy!”

“Hey, it’s not like we can do anything with the ground being frozen solid!” Puddinghead retorted, pulling out a clump of dirt that was as hard as a rock from the frost.

No truce was made, insults were thrown, and it seemed like the storm only got worse. The three leaders simply threw their forelegs up and said, “Whatever, we’re going home.”

And they did.

Their assistants were very familiar figures to Celestia and Luna. Smart Cookie, a light yellow earth pony with a wavy auburn mane and tail. Her name fit her well, as she was often beleaguered by her boss’ incompetence. The fact that he came into the town hall building through the chimney was a new one for today. She would silently grumble about this, until Puddinghead came up with the idea that the earth ponies would go it alone, and no longer have to be subjugated by the unicorns and pegasi.

The pale tan pegasus, barely above a colt but not yet a stallion, with a puffy white mane and tail like clouds, Private Pansy, greeted his commander, trying not to flinch as Hurricane barked and ranted about Platinum and Puddinghead’s disrespect before he finally growled out they were setting out for themselves, away from the other two. It was hard for him not to, as the chill made him shiver on top of his intimidation of that ruthless mare.

And finally, Clover the Clever, pupil of Starswirl the Bearded, a unicorn mare with a green mane and tail and light grey coat, clad in her somewhat ragged robes, tended to Princess Platinum. She dutifully, albeit with much eye rolling, listened to the princess’ complaints about how brutish the pegasi were and how low the earth ponies were, before the princess came to the conclusion that the unicorns would separate themselves from the other two tribes.

“Okay,” Discord cut in, pulling himself from Platinum's elegant cloak. “the little history lesson is nice and all, but what does this have to do with anything happening here and now?”

Scribe’s eyes just barely narrowed, hinting at exasperation, gently pushing Discord out of the scene. “Patience, Discord. Sometimes, the longer route leads to greater gains. Miss Faust taught you that lesson.”

The three duos set off on a quest to find a new home for their respective tribes. It was a daunting journey, as Platinum would endlessly complain about her hooves aching, Puddinghead would read the map upside down, and Hurricane would often leave Pansy out in the cold, literally.

It was mostly a blur, until they got to the most important part of this story. Puddinghead frolicked in the rich fertile soil, Hurricane marveled at the clouds and the clear skies, while Platinum was over the moon looking at the abundant gems the land supplied. Clover, Pansy and Smart Cookie each couldn't help but be excited too; maybe finding themselves a new home wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Huh?! No fair! We got here first!" Hurricane called out in anger upon seeing the earth ponies and unicorns at the same land.

Platinum huffed, "Like you did! This beautiful land belongs to the dignified race of the unicorns!"

"Oh like gems are so useful!" Puddinghead retorted.

"You barbarians trespassed onto Unicornia!"

"Uh, you mean Earth!"

"No it’s Pegasopolis!"

Clover cried out, "Please, every pony, maybe if we all calmed down, we can fix this!"

"I agree, that sounds like a good idea," Smart Cookie spoke up.

"I vote for calm," Pansy softly added.

"Why, I should have you court martialed for insubordination!" Hurricane yelled at Pansy. "I say we settle this the old fashioned way- on the battlefield!"

Puddinghead tossed the first snowball, but didn't notice until a moment later that the snow came back again. The wind howled with an unseen ferocity, the chill setting into the six ponies' bones. They had no other choice but to run into one small cave in the middle of a nearby mountain. As Clover was about to enter, she could've sworn she saw something odd out of the corner of her eye. A chaotic mish-mash of different creatures floating above her and the others. She didn't have any time to ponder what this thing was until Platinum pulled her into the cave. But the arguments didn't end there. They would draw lines in the dirt, squabble over a single rock.

The blizzard began to seep into the cave, a thick layer of ice quickly encasing the walls.

"Great, now we're trapped with them!" Hurricane growled.

"You two deserve this horrible fate!" Platinum fired off at Hurricane and Puddinghead. "All you've ever done is argue and fight!"

"You've been fighting too, your highness!" Hurricane spat, saying the princess' title with a thick layer of sarcasm.

"Well I haven't been fighting nearly as much as you!" Puddinghead taunted.

As they continued on, ice was starting to encase their bodies, much to their assistants' horror.

"Earth ponies are numbskulls!"

"Pegasi are brutes!"

"Unicorns are snobs!"

And then they were completely covered, like living pony popsicles.

The three assistants looked at each other, scared now more than ever. An ominous cloud literally hung over them, and Clover looked up to examine before gasping.

"W-what are those... things?" Pansy asked, stuttering in utter fear.

"Oh no," Clover whispered, "I think they're windigos! My teacher, Starswirl the Bearded, told me about these spirits of the ice and snow. They feed on hatred and conflict. The more hatred the spirit senses, the worse the storms they create become!"

"We brought this on ourselves," Smart Cookie realized with guilt. "We three tribes didn't trust or like each other... And now we've destroyed this new land that was supposed to be our second chance!"

The ice was closing in on the trio, about to encase their bodies like it did to their bosses. Clover lamented, "And it's all because we were foolish enough to hate each other."

The ice began engulfing them, and then Pansy suddenly said, "Well, to be honest, I don't really hate you guys. I hate Commander Hurricane more. Or well, I don't hate her; just really, really, really, really dislike her."

Clover and Smart Cookie laughed at that, the latter saying, "Well, I don't hate you guys either."

"Nor do I," Clover admitted with a smile. The windigos seemed to sense this, but that only spurred them to hurry the process along.

"No matter our differences, we're all ponies," Smart Cookie declared, grinning as the ice began to encase her and the other two ponies.

But then...

A brilliant glow manifested itself from the three, centered around Clover's horn. A large beam, like a burning flame, erupted from them. When it touched the windigos, they screamed as they were whittled away to nothing, before the flame swirled and formed the shape of a heart.

"What was that?!" Pansy asked in shock.

Smart Cookie was just as awestruck, remarking, "I didn't know unicorns could do that!"

"Me neither, but it wasn't just me," Clover said to them. "It was from all three of us, joined in friendship and harmony."

"Hey, look at that!" Pansy pointed out.

Under the heart of fire, two small lights came down. As the trio approached them, they took shape.

Two little fillies lay down on the ground before them. One of them looked a little bigger, with a bright white coat, purple eyes and a pink mane and tail. The second had deep blue fur with a slightly lighter shade of blue for her mane and cerulean eyes. It was odd they looked to be of different ages despite, as far as they could tell, coming into existence only a few seconds ago.

But what was most striking about those two fillies was that they had characteristics of all three pony types.

“How did this happen?” Smart Cookie asked, picking up the blue filly, who awoke and began to giggle at the earth pony.

“I don’t know…” Clover admitted, “but Starswirl told me about a legend about ponies that have both horns and wings. Legend has it that long ago, ponies used to be one race with access to all three kinds of magic, linked to the land, the sky and the mystic forces of the world. They were called the alicorns, and they flourished. However, one day, one alicorn turned towards the darkness, and placed a curse upon them, causing them to lose two kinds of magic and keep only one. But Starswirl also said one day, the alicorns could return if ponykind would be able to rediscover harmony again... Smart Cookie! Pansy! I think these two fillies are alicorns!”

Pansy picked the white one up who suddenly snapped her wings open and flew circles around him, giggling. He cracked a smile before noticing something. “Is it just me, or does it feel like it’s getting warmer? I mean, it’s not the fire from the heart, but something deeper…”

Clover smiled and began to coo at the two fillies before replying, “I feel it too.”

The trio of ponies plus to two alicorn fillies unknowingly would start a new tradition, as they told stories, played with each other, laughed and let the warmth of friendship and harmony fill their hearts. And soon, the ice around their leaders’ bodies melted as well. Platinum, Hurricane and Puddinghead were understandably confused, but as soon as they saw the flame heart and the two alicorn fillies, their own hearts filled with love as well.

And once they left the cave, the six ponies created a new flag, with grown up versions of the two fillies flying together in harmony. And they decided to call this new land the old pony word for their kind: Equestria.

"What was the purpose of seeing our births?" Celestia asked, shaking her head.

"To show you the 'discontinuity' Discord spoke of," Scribe answered.

The imaged reversed until it revealed Clover looking up at the sky, seeing Discord work his magic.

"The question is," Scribe stood next to Clover as she looked up at the winter storm. "How did you see Discord, before you were even born?"

As Celestia opened her mouth to answer, her eyes widened as the implications began to weigh down on her mind.

"I... I don't know." Celestia hung her head, eyes wide as new implications began to form.

“I see,” Scribe said as she banished the image. “It appears Miss Faust has prepared these sorts of contingencies.”

“Contingencies? What contingencies?” Luna jumped as the wall behind her open up, large crystals floating around, powerful runes inscribed onto them and the walls.

“Soul memories,” Scribe answered as she gently pointed to the chamber. “Celestia, you must enter. Your very being was composed of the souls of Clover, Pansy, and Smart Cookie. Luna, while she was born looking physically younger than you, is also composed of the same. But it appears while she fully integrated them together, you have not. Neither of you should have memories of the souls of the three ponies, you should also have all the knowledge needed to function in this world and do your duties. However, due to Platinum, Hurricane, and Puddinghead, the process was warped.”

"As if this family tree wasn't complicated enough," Discord sighed, holding up a bonsai with bizarrely arranged branches. "Now I'll have to use the non-Euclidean bonsai..." He threw the tree off to the side, where it exploded.

“Th.. the souls of… Clover, Pansy, and Sweet Cookie?” Celestia stood stock still, stunned by the info. “But if Luna and myself were composed of their very souls-”

“You fret over nothing.” Scribe gave a small comforting smile. “They bared their souls to one another, a small sliver was used, nothing more. It was enough to create you two. Any more and they would be in agony for the rest of their lives. Miss Faust was sure to do that right. Besides, they replenished it as their lives went on.”

“I… I don’t know what to think of this...” Celestia said quietly.

“Don’t think,” Scribe warned. “You should have told me this in the beginning, I could have fixed the problem before it went haywire. It is only thanks to your stubbornness that you haven’t broken down into a blubbering wreck. Or exploded.”

“What do you mean?” Discord asked, looking at Celestia with concern.

“Luna looks upon war with a critical eye, she understands what is needed and may get angry over the injustice, but can carry on despite the stress,” Scribe explained.

“Wonderful, thou hath made Us feel detached and emotionless...” Luna grumbled, reverting back to Old Speak.

“That was not my intention,” Scribe smiled at her, “Celestia however, has shown to be overly attached, time and again she has shown to mourn the loss of lives, even with the limited war on the world.”

“If I don’t, I would seem to be uncaring to the ponies,” Celestia protested.

“Both of you have shown to care for your subjects, but Luna has shown to be quite in control with her emotions until the events leading to Nightmare Moon. You both knew you were immortal, you understood you would see ponies die, and yet the thought of ponies you cared for leaving you left you wreck. Luna loved once, she was very happy and even had a family, yet she did not want the pain of losing another lover. She walked away with greater knowledge and her heart intact.” Scribe gave Celestia a critical look. “But, you went on, seemingly making attachment after attachment, weeping uncontrollably in private before you seemingly woke up and put the pain behind you. I was concerned, but you have not once showed signs of breaking down, so I thought it be a simple quirk. However, the events with the human have me worried.”

“Crying, blubbering away and eating all the ice cream stores all over Equus, blasting palace walls, blowing up mountains and setting things on fire?” Discord asked as he floated over Luna. “Hmm… Sounds more like you were pregnant. Ooo! Am I an uncle?”

“No, Discord, she is not pregnant. But for the issues you stated, yes on those accounts. As far as I know, you should not feel anything other than the appropriate responses, yet you devolved further than anticipated, seemingly losing your mind at the drop of memories,” Scribe answered, “And now that you are here before me, it is all too apparent.”

Scribe gave her a frown as she looked directly into Celestia’s eyes. “Your very being is falling apart, your soul is breaking due to the traumatic memories, indicating that it has not fully formed.”

“You mean Celestia’s soul is fragmented?!”

“Yes. If she were to go into battle, to introduce more stress, of leading and fighting, of the horrors of the war to come, she would fall apart, and I don’t mean breaking down in a mental fit.” Scribe warned, “She will die, and it will be catastrophic.”

“How bad?” Celestia whispered.

“All the magic you hold within yourself will explode out in one massive blast due your mind breaking into pieces, and your soul will shred itself apart. Nothing will be in place to hold it back.” Scribe shook her head. “It would be equivalent to the most powerful human explosive going off.”

“How bad can that be?” Discord asked, and Scribe raised an eyebrow before the image shifted to a view of Earth. A bright light exploded out, the very clouds and ocean parted from the blast, leaving a very large crater and the death of thousands, if not millions. “Oh... She'd be so traumatized... That she'd turn into a supernova." Discord backed away slowly. "....huh."

"Is there anything I can do to heal my soul?" Celestia asked. "Anything? I have to do something!"

"Rest," Scribe said. "Relax. Do something that puts a smile on your face, like... Enjoy what human art might have come to Equestria. Maybe, in six months, you will be healthier, but it's extraordinarily unlikely. The chances of you being healthy enough for battle are…” Scribe paused for a moment, mind racing through the calculations. “To put it lightly... Astronomical."

“But we don’t have that kind of time!” Luna cried out. “The Tyrant is building up her forces as we speak, the humans are teetering on the edge of life and death, and from what the PHL spies have told us, the Tyrant is also planning to modify the potion to turn those… abominations into an army of soldiers, willing to kill! They were enough of a nightmare to fight already! And she has at least two billion of those mindless slave corpses at her disposal!”

“Your fear is unwarranted.” Scribe gently pointed to a chamber nearby. “This chamber should hasten the process. However, it should have been used from the beginning. You may need to be here for sometime to start the initial healing.”

“I see.” Celestia looked at the chamber before giving a small sigh. “I have to fight. I can not let the ponies, nay, the entirety of two worlds fighting against this monster while I sit back due to my condition. If it comes down to it, I will try to take the monster with me.”

"That would be madness!" Luna yelled.

Discord’s eyes widened with shock, “Okay, Celestia, I know the Tyrant needs to be stopped before she can cause any more harm, but killing yourself to stop her would not exactly be the best course of action for anyone.”

"Think of your subjects. The Elements, your faithful student Twilight especially. The sun! All that hangs in the balance!" Luna added. "It would simply be senseless!"

"On top of that, she's stronger than she has any right to be, thanks to our little ‘friend’ here!" Discord added, conjuring an image of Tirek’s Bag as a reminder. "I'm not convinced she's gonna die easily either. It took more missiles than I can count, two bullets meant to punch through armor that were modified with magic crystals, three beatings from me, a rune-enhanced earth pony and Lulu turning into Nightmare Moon, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and a gigantic enchanted sword just to get rid of a clone of her!” His eyebrows shot up, the look on his face of dread and exasperation. "Oh Mother, it would take a lot to kill her!"

“And if we lose because I am not there, I will have to contend with the Tyrant alone, with an army made of children, the crippled, and the elderly,” Celestia shrugged. “Either way, I will be facing her. I rather try my chances against her with my friends and family at my side than alone and weeping due to losing you both and the people of this world.”

“The choice is yours Celestia.” Scribe lowered her head. “I can only point you in the direction needed. That is all I could ever really do.”

Celestia closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening. “I will take the time to heal myself…”

Luna and Discord gave a sigh of relief at these words.

“But I will join the battle.”

“But-” Luna started, only for Celestia to give her a sad look.

“I trust you both to take care of my little ponies in my absence if something were to happen to me in our battle. I will be careful, though. You can say all that you want about caring too much, but my alternate cares too little for anything. It is simply all about her. I will not be like that. I will do what is right for both worlds. I may have harmed myself by getting to this point, and I am scared of what I could do to myself, but I refuse to sit back and watch while millions, if not billions are killed or worse. I simply can't do that. Nobody should."

Scribe nodded her head, looking to the chamber. “Then we must start the process.”

“In a moment.” Celestia held up her hoof. “There is another issue we must resolve.”

Scribe looked to her in confusion, before a look of understanding. “I see. The runes.”

Celestia nodded her head, Scribe closed her eyes, dozens of runes began to float around her, all of them very familiar to Celestia and Luna.

“Yes. I have seen these runes before. I have them hidden within my data banks,” Scribe answered as she looked to the trio.

“Why?” Discord scratched his chin.

“In case Tirek ever returned, made a bid for power and the power of Harmony wasn’t enough.” Scribe moved the runes, revealing a human and pony figure. “The power of the runic enhancements, the most advanced set ever created by Miss Faust. Made to be imprinted on a living body, to enhance their abilities, offensive and defensive capabilities, evolve them to face him in his prime and on equal grounds.”

“You mean, like ascending them?” Luna asked, “Like what happened to Cadance?”

“Yes. In time, they would ascend to a higher form, though it would take some years. However, given what happened in the north, I can tell you that this was not supposed to happen for some time.” An image of Marcus appeared, his body twitching as the runes glowed softly on his body. Towards the edge of the image, a stocky man stared at him in interest, eating a donut and taking down notes, infrequently drawing revolvers in the margins. "Sombra messed with the process. That foolish stallion... So convinced he knew it all."

“I see... And the runes on his cheek?” Celestia’s horn glowed, revealing the strange rune to Scribe. “It is shown to be imprinted everywhere on his body, yet none of the other runes are linked to it in any way. What does it do?”

Scribe stood silent for a long minute, her eyes focused over their heads as she read something only she could see.

Discord leaned in close, his eyes narrowed as he raised his paw and slapped the side of the crystal console.

“Discord?!”

“What! I thought she froze up or something. Usually a good whack gets things running again.” Discord defended himself, turning to see Scribe giving him an annoyed look. “See! It worked.”

Scribe rolled her eyes, before giving the three her answer. “I have no answer to give you.”

“What do you mean?” Celestia stood flabbergasted, unable to believe that Scribe didn’t know the answer to a question.

“The rune is in my memory core, but its functions are unknown. I can only recall Miss Faust stating they were very important. Doubtless if I knew, Tirek or whatever being they would be used against would create a countermeasure."

"So no clue?" Discord asked.

Scribe looked at them, clearly thinking of a response before she vanished. Discord swallowed as the image of the room they were standing in appeared. Only it was replaced with Faust, their creator, standing in their place instead of the trio.

"Scribe, I am uploading these rune schematics onto your drive." Faust said to her, eyes tired with black rings around them..

"Yes Miss Faust." Scribe replied, "If I may ask a question?"

"You just did." Faust gave her a rueful grin, sparkling mirth dancing in her eyes.

Scribe tilted her head before responding. "May I ask two more?"

"You may." Faust gave off a melodious laugh as she went back to work.

"What is the purpose of this particular rune?" Scribe pulled up the familiar rune. "I see no description for its function or purpose, yet it appears to be important."

Faust looked up to her, small smile on her face. "Just a backup, in case the runes themselves are not enough."

Scribe tilted her head once more, attempting to discern the strange statement, only for a voice to catch her attention.

"Mommy..." a very small voice called out, a small form floating haphazardly into the room.

"Discord, what's wrong? Another bad dream?" Faust gently pulled the small draconequus into her embrace, gently kissing his head.

"Yes..." he replied as he rubbed his eyes. "It was the big red monster again."

"Oh baby, it’s okay." Faust gently squeezed him against her. "Let’s get you to bed. Maybe Merriweather can make us a good midnight snack? Does that sound good?"

"Yes."

"Good. Scribe, just know that it is important. Understand?"

"Yes Miss Faust."

"Bye Scribble."

"Goodnight Discord."

Discord blushed as Luna and Celestia giggled at his younger form.

"You looked so adorable Discord," Celestia cooed at him, "Why can't you look like that all the time?"

"Yes. Perhaps it would be best if you did." Luna smirked at him, "Dozens of mares would gladly take care of you."

Discord only snorted and looked away, crossing his arms while his cheeks burned red.

"I'm sorry I can not give you a more clear cut answer, but I am just as lost as you.” Scribe turned to the chamber. “We can not wait any longer. The healing process must be done, Celestia. It will take several weeks to repair some of the more severe damage you have on your soul.”

“Of course.” Celestia nodded her head as she stepped into the chamber. She turned to look at Discord and Luna. “If anypony asks, tell them I am searching for a means to win the war.”

“And the humans?”

“Tell them the truth.” Celestia laid down, her eyes closed as the chamber began to close shut. “Luna, lead the ponies in my absence. Discord, you must help with the training, find any means to prepare our world for war and ensure the survival of humanity.”

“Of course, sister.”

“Later, Sunbutt,” Discord waved. That caused Celestia to give a light chuckle as the chamber closed shut. "So... How do we do this 'prepare a world for all out war' thing?"

Luna stared at him. "You don't know?"

"I've... Never been too good at teamwork," Discord said sheepishly. "Haven't had many opportunities to use any, really..."

Luna raised an eyebrow as Discord paced the room, literally walking up the wall as he did so. “I mean, I've seen war, even involuntarily took part of it in some of the worlds I visited. I'm good enough in a fight. But leading? Nah, not my thing. Chaos doesn't exactly lend itself to things like tactics, forward planning, leading..."

“Why ask questions to answers you do not have?” Scribe started as she vanished, replaced with two humans, “When there are others capable of giving you the right ones.”

Luna and Discord blinked as they looked up to Marcus and Stephan, before they both facepalmed (or, Luna's case, facehoofed) in unison.

"We all have things left to learn, don't we?" Luna asked. "Alright. I have centuries worth of experience at leading. It's just a matter of what tactics to use." She seemed to mostly be thinking out loud, talking to herself. "If there's anything that Queen Celestia proved, the future of warfare lies not in cavalry. That's..."

“Ancient. At least to humans.” Discord smirked a bit. “But don’t count out old fashioned tactics, Luna. You’ll be awfully surprised at what humans are willing to use, anything at their disposal will do if it works. I think I remember more people than our mutual acquaintance using swords in the war, anyways. Come on, we have to go back, I want to see Sparkle huffing and puffing her way around the castle.”

Four days later

Lyra’s Journal, 6 AH:
Entry no.1
I’ve never been the sort of mare that keeps a journal, but this is so exciting! I can’t believe it! Humans! I’ve dreamed of seeing them ever since my grandfather told me the legends of Dream Valley. And then I found the lost KV-62 party’s ship! Ever since… I just… several words are crossed out here. It’s so amazing nopony even knows! This is literally a dream come true! Since I am now Canterlot’s premiere anthropologist, and logically the one that knows the most about humans, the one that proved a science wasn’t just quackery (though some ponies still insist I faked it. Or that I’m blatantly wrong. Like that idiot Catseye… that mare is a disgrace to all academia.) and has her name on several plaques in the Canterlot Royal Museum (eat it, Catseye! You’ll be lucky to ever get one!) for studying humans.

And now, here we are. I’m happy that we can finally meet humans! There’s so much we can learn from them! Imagine it. A species that survived for thousands of years without the intervention of any being with power similar to an alicorn, and they have no magic! Can you imagine the things they’ve made?! This is just so wonderful! I volunteered to be an ambassador, and… Celestia said yes! There was nopony more qualified than me, she thought.

Lyra’s Journal
Entry 20

I don’t like the newfoals.

I discovered this on a walk with Bon-Bon. She jokes that I have a human fetish, but I don’t think I do. Rather, I appreciate them, their culture, their accomplishments. Unlike a disturbing amount of ponies.

I looked into that newfoal’s eyes, and I saw...

Merciful Celestia, I have no idea what I saw. I don't know if there was anything to see. I know only that I do not like it. He seemed happy, but... There was nothing in his eyes to suggest he was happy. As if it was forced. But there was no evidence anything HAD been forced. He didn't look like he COULD force himself to do anything.

I don't know what the hell Reitman's going on about, especially considering she hasn't taken it.

I know I'm rambling, but something isn't right. Damned if I know what.

Lyra’s Journal
Entry 40

Can't sleep.

Don't want to sleep.

Had a nightmare.

I was flying above Equestria, walking on a cloud at night. I saw an alicorn, tall and magnificent, her mane resplendent. It could have been Celestia or Luna, I don't know.

We were talking together, in the same room as the Elements, full of other ponies. I slapped her on the back, as she had made a very funny joke.

Clumps of fur came off as I did that, and my hoof was stained. I turned around. Was a great bloody hole where my hoof had been. I tried to scream, to point to it, but nopony noticed.

More and more fur dropped out, her eyes rotted and yellowed in their sockets, and I kept trying to point it out.

No matter how decayed she became, to the point that she was little more than paper-thin flesh and patchy fur covering bones, only I noticed. I screamed till my throat ran dry, as she went about her daily business, conversing with the elements. Little more than a zombie. Nopony could understand what happened.

Then all eyes turned to me.

"There is nothing wrong with Equestria," Rarity said. "Only with you."

A smile spread over her. It was as if another pony, identical in every way, had been overlaid above her. Above all the elements as they marched at me, smiles on their faces.

Was back in Equestria for the night, and afraid to go back to sleep after that, so I decided to research some things. Up all night researching Elements of Harmony, magic, and anything that I could find. Questioned everything I knew.

The Elements should not have failed. If the Elements work perfectly together... The Elements should work as predicted. So much is unknown about them, and they're little more than a magical artifact, but there’s something deeply wrong here.

And yet....

So many ponies have been distant lately. The Elements, my friends and neighbors most of all. They don't seem to smile as much or laugh as much, and are suspicious whenever I mention humans. Every pony is on edge somehow. I don't know why. Twilight should be going a week without sleep, a huge smile on her face as she researches human technology. She should be writing a book fort around herself! She hasn't - she seems to hate it! What could have prompted that, I wonder....?

On that note. The Elements. Why didn't we involve the humans in the war with the Crystal Empire? They would have been happy to help. We are so... On edge against humans.

The newfoals. The barrier around the portal. The abrupt change in demeanor.

What am I missing? I'm on the edge of some mystery and I feel that I'm about to fall in and it will swallow me whole.

Lyra's Journal
Entry 54

Today did not just happen. I kept begging for it to be a nightmare that even Princess Luna couldn't save me from. I went to bed so I could wake up and say 'what a horrible nightmare!'

I don't know whether to scream in rage or horror or burst into tears.

The day I wanted to make an inspection of the bureaus and examine the potion like so many reputable groups couldn't, I saw hell. I knew something could have gone wrong, I knew there was a problem with the potion, I knew...

I didn't know anything about this. When Celestia herself became a despot of unimaginable evil.

I have to do this.

I can't live in a land where we consider newfoals to be a necessity. Where children are potioned in their beds and their murderers are hailed as saviors. Where Equestria turns its back on harmony and decides it can wipe a species out of existence for the sin of not being like us.

I'll be called a terrorist, a betrayer, treasonous, or worse. Bon-Bon could leave me. I might lose all my friends and family.

But it has to be this way. The humans have a quote about standing up for others. It ends "then they came for me, and there was no-one left to speak up for me."

I'm not a hero. I'm not some chosen one. But you don't need to be either to stand up for someone.

I will do what’s right, no matter what, I must go through with it.

Lyra's journal
Entry 77:

A German psychologist named Erika Kraber has just finished doing a study on newfoals. My worst fears are...

They're...

"Confirmed" seems like too inadequate a word. I don't know if I've ever seen someone so heartbroken. I've never seen anyone cry like her. In her final vlog, she cried as I have never seen anyone cry before.

She'd described it as "a state of intense brainwashing, inflicted within what appears to be seconds." The memories of the people they'd once been appeared to be intact, but they were incapable of thinking them without barely repressed disgust. Any human items instinctively enraged them, suggestions of Equestria calmed them. Like a drug addict getting their fix, in fact.

They were not the same people they'd been. They'll never be again. Worse, it was obvious that this was intentional. Erika then burst into tears, weeping for her ponified grandchildren, the ones that her son had loved with all his heart. For all the ponified children of the world, whose minds had been broken before they could live. For the madness her son had been driven into. For everyone that had been ponified, nay, KILLED thanks to that bitch Reitman.

I was horrified, of course. Our queen planned on doing this to billions, all while preaching about humanity's flaws? That was hundreds, thousands, millions of times worse than what humanity had ever done in its history.

I... I couldn't show it to Bon-Bon. She's been through enough what with the car bomb, being on the run, the assassination attempts, dealing with an unfamiliar world and being disowned by her parents for betraying Equestria... I don't want to give her psyche any further knocks.

Lyra's journal
Entry 78

I have to make it. I need something to defend myself and everyone around me.

My magic is not that powerful, not like that looney Sparkle, but I can do things she can't. Where she's a massive weapon that anyone would struggle to swing, I'm more like a rapier.

I remember watching her jaw drop when I levitated almost a hundred different balls of various size and weight spun them around me. Not in one motion either, clockwise, counterclockwise, near the roof and around my hooves. I always had excellent control, it helps with playing string instruments, especially with playing my namesake.

I had an idea... a dream of sorts, if I am truthful about where I got it.

Somepony was talking to me. I couldn't see her, but I could hear her very clearly. She was showing me things, how to make something to defend myself after my meeting with the stallion who called himself Aegis literally blew up in my face. Not sure how I got away scot free.

She was so...

Proud of me.

She felt safe. Like my mom was there to comfort me, but at the same time, it felt like dad was there to keep me safe from all the bad things.

She told me she will watch over us.

She will help any way she can.

This was only the first step.

Lyra's journal
Entry 89:

I've been disowned from Canterlot University, my findings have been destroyed, and... They appointed CATSEYE AS DIRECTOR OF HUMAN STUDIES?!

I can't believe this. I just can't. They're destroying our shared history and erasing humanity one inch at a time! This is.. I don't have words for now disgusted I am.

Lyra's journal
Entry 108

Bon-Bon had another night terror last night. I hope she's getting better, but I know she isn't taking the war well. This morning, she refused to get out of bed. She wasn't sick, just... She didn't have the will or energy to get out.

I learned that I was getting a bodyguard after the car bomb. He just arrived today.

I was so saddened by what happened to him. He lost almost everyone, both in his company and the civilians under his care. He looked so haunted that I just wanted to hug him and tell him to stand strong, but he stands on his own, he protected me with every fiber of his being. I think he is putting everything he has into protecting me to make up for his failure.

His name is Marcus Renee. And he is one of the strongest men I have ever met.

What happened to him was wrong.

I will do everything I can so he can get back into the fight.

Lyra's journal
Entry 120

I had another dream, no, more like a nightmare. Given what I’m living through, that’s to be expected. Leading a band of ponies against their former homeland, seeing dozens, if not hundreds of new foals throwing themselves to death, and watching your former leader and friends become monsters... There's death in all directions, from the HLF and PER, and Bonnie keeps telling me it won't work. That we're destined to fail.

I have to do it though. I've come too far to give up so easily.

I'm surprised I haven’t lost my mind yet. Maybe this is a sign?

Anyway, I saw this... Alicorn. Not Celestia, Luna, or Cadance. She was beautiful, more radiant than Celestia ever could pull off. She pleaded with me to go to Equestria, begged me to go into the Everfree and make my way to the Everfree Mountain range.

She wanted me to meet someone. To help in this war of survival.

I need to get to Equestria.

Marcus closed the book, shaking his head as he put it back into the foot locker. When Cheerilee sent over his stuff, she had sent over everything.

Including Lyra’s personal belongings.

He held onto them for Bon-Bon’s sake, but really it was just a chance to try and salvage his own psyche from losing one of his closest friends. The day she died was one of the worst days of his life, right up there with his father’s, mother’s and brother’s respective deaths. And going over her journal confirmed she didn’t even realize she was directly responsible for the war, the Empire’s ponification crusade, and the Tyrant’s corruption. He couldn’t blame her for any of that though; no one could’ve ever imagined this would ever happen. It was a complete and utter accident, and ever since discovering she had been the one who had unwittingly instigated all this doom and gloom, he wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or not that she even knew about the Bag of Tirek in the first place.

Marcus knew if Lyra ever found out what she had unwittingly done, she would have lost her mind due to overwhelming guilt and horror.

He looked down to her vest, the black protective vest with the PHL logo on its shoulder, laid on the table before him. Filled with stitches from previous fire fights with the HLF or assassins, off color markings due to spell fire, and dozens of other nicks and cuts from who knows where. She wore it with pride when it first came out, even when better combat armor came out, she always wore it. His eyes trailed to the large and heavy saddle bag, Lyra’s cutie mark stitched onto it.

Lyra’s own personal, and frankly terrifying, weapon of choice. The Assault Arms, which had inspired (and, in a roundabout way, been inspired by) countless human prosthetics, which were worn by many of his PHL soldiers. Marcus wasn’t sure where Lyra got the idea for the disturbing weapon, but it definitely had chops for crowd control… or crowd maiming, as demonstrated the last time she pulled it out.

It didn’t help that the last version he saw was called Assault Arms v7.0, and this bag had v10.0 stitched onto it. The fact that Lyra updated her weapon three more times before she died, it scared him that she did it so quickly at that. Some sort of drive that even he failed to see pushed her to make the already dangerous weapon even deadlier. The half-finished manual included references to a drill, onboard guns in addition to the ones it was meant to carry, and hidden blades.

Then again, Lyra might have only been copying human ingenuity to get a better weapon out onto the field. To show that ponies could also make weapons of war and use them to the fullest extent, without resorting to all powerful magic or overwhelming numbers.

“HURRY UP SPARKLE! I WANT TO SEE YOU HUSTLE!” Marcus raised an eyebrow as he got up from his seat and looked out the window. He watched Rainbow, Applejack, and surprisingly, Rarity of all ponies, running down below. They were followed by Pinkie, who carried on determinedly, despite the fact that she looked like she was about to keel over, and Fluttershy, who had a similar look of determination on her face as she pushed herself to keep running. Trailing far behind them was Twilight herself with Lyra beside her, and in the distance was Stephan, scowling as he ran after them. “HEARTSTRINGS! YOU BETTER START RUNNING OR I WILL PERSONALLY SHAVE YOUR MANE OFF! SPARKLE, IF I CATCH UP TO YOU, I WILL HAVE YOU CLEANING THE BARRACKS TOILETS FOR A WEEK WITH YOUR MOUTH! I HAVE TWO LEGS AND I AM BARELY WINDED!”

Marcus smirked as the two bolted, quickly gaining on Fluttershy and Pinkie as they rounded the corner. He turned to Stephan, who looked up at him and gave him a single wave before he followed the seven mares. Marcus shook his head before tilting his head to the side several times, the popping sensation ringing out in his neck causing him to give a sigh of relief.

“Let’s check in on Shining Armor then...” Marcus muttered to himself as he reached the door. He frowned as he looked to the door handle with some hesitation. He gently grabbed the handle and pushed.

*WHAM!*

Marcus looked down at his hand, seeing the handle in his grasp, the door hanging on one of its hinges. Marcus sighed as he dropped the handle and rubbed his head. “Well… At least the door is still connected to the doorway this time… Somewhat.”

Fortunately, items like books and other flimsy things like clothes and paper were easier to handle. Doctor Grim stated that his body was still adjusting. However, since he was used to handling lighter items all the time, he didn’t need much strength to handle them. Things like handling weapons or just opening a door, though, was much harder. His mind usually had to tell the body the amount of strength need to use such items, how much strength needed to grip a weapon, how much to push open a heavy door, stuff that required the body to use its strength to get the job done.

With the runes, it was as easy as just mentally flipping a switch, or twisting a knob, and he was golden. Now however, the knob had been cranked up till it broke off, leaving him constantly in the on position. While his body had the strength to handle light items down, anything beyond a gentle grip was completely out of his control. Marcus had to relearn just how to put on his own clothes, even. Thankfully Discord was there to help him out once he figured out how to put on his pants without ripping them to shreds, simply snapping his claws and fixing them without a fuss. Doctor Grim stated it was as if his body’s strength nearly quadrupled once it reached a certain point, and so Marcus found himself practicing his muscle control for the past week.

Marcus walked down the hall, stepping aside whenever a pony or his soldiers walked by, always stopping at an intersection as to not run over someone and put them in the hospital wing. He gave a sigh of relief when he finally made it to Captain Shining Armor’s office, wincing as he tried to knock gently and saw a dent in the wooden door.

“Come in Colonel,” Shining called out, only for Marcus to give a small huff and crossed his arms. “Oh, right. Sorry.”

Marcus watched as the door swung open and saw Shining talking with various ponies before him. Marcus frowned but remained silent, deciding to sit back and watch.

“Gentlestallions, we are at the cusp of the greatest war we will ever partake in,” Shining Armor stated. “So great, that Princess Celestia herself has gone out to the ends of Equus to search for the means to help us. Our once greatest threat, Discord himself, has sided with us. Princess Luna has gone to every city our fair Equestria holds within her to give the same speech on why we are going to war and pleads with the ponies to join.”

Marcus listened to his words, watching as several stallions swallowed nervously as they listened. He looked down to the desk he was next to, seeing dozens of reports from the past week. He frowned as one caught his eye.

Missing Pony!
Name: Lightning Dust
Description: Light turquoise coat, two-toned brilliant amber/gold mane. Cutie mark of a lightning bolt and three stars.
Last Scene: Flying from Cloudsdale to Ponyville

Marcus looked up as Shining Armor sat himself behind his desk, his horn glowing whilst he passed out several scrolls. “Stallions, it’s up to us to prepare. We have to relearn how to make war, and I will not lie. We will lose ponies in this war, myself included. Do your duties, go home to your families and cherish them. Because if we lose, we lose everything. We are the only line of defense. Understand?”

“Yes sir!”

“Good. Starting tomorrow we will go through Tartarus and it will get harder from there on. Dismissed.”

Marcus crossed his arms, watching as the Guards left, all of them looking at him. Some of them stared at him with hatred almost certainly born of rage. Others with a scared or nervous gleam in their eyes. Marcus looked away, his heart feeling heavy with the decisions he made, but in the war of survival, everything was taken into account.

Even killing your planet to stop a mad alicorn was on the table.

“How goes the troops?” Marcus asked as the door closed.

“They’re scared,” Shining sighed as he looked outside, seeing his sister doing pushups with the others, the human staring at them as they did so. He remembered yelling at his sister to stop, to stay at home and stay out of the war. He didn’t win himself any points from her when he dragged their parents into it. They were horrified when they learned she was going on the frontlines, so fearful of losing Twilight to war they begged for her to come home and stay with them. But she refused, tears in her eyes as she described the hardships the humans had gone through, how their eyes were haunted with their decisions, how they had no one to turn to and they'd surely be doomed within the year. If not her and her friends, then who could show them the power of friendship can even turn the tides of war? “To tell you the truth, so am I.”

“Afraid that I will think less of you?” Marcus noted the reluctance of his answer, a tired look on Shining’s face explaining it all. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t. I’ve sent men, boys really, to the front line. Even before our war with the Tyrant. I sent men not old enough to drink, but old enough to kill what I once thought our greatest enemy. Ourselves.”

Shining looked away. "That's... Quite the responsibility." He then looked off to the horizon, a bitter laugh escaping him. “I never could’ve imagined anything like this. I thought I'd just be fighting monsters of the mountains, scaring some uppity lord like that Prince Blueblood who didn't feel like paying taxes, maybe apprehending some cults... Not, I don't know, saving two universes." He sighed. "Some of the stallions hate you."

"I've noticed," Marcus sighed. "Mind if I ask why?"

"I'll make sure they don't get far, but they... They hate you for dragging them into this," Shining explained. "It's easy to write off the few that hate you as some spoiled rich colts that wanted to get their service over with and didn't expect to deal with Armageddon, but it's not just them. Can't quite blame them, though."

"Because they're afraid," Marcus said.

Shining nodded his head to his response. He levitated a bottle over to him, and then two glasses. "Whiskey," he explained. "I figured you wouldn't like it if I levitated wine. I trust you, but..."

"You don't want to make things worse," Marcus said. "I understand." He gently took a drink. "Some part of me keeps thinking this is a trap. But if it is, it's the most needlessly complex sadistic trap it could ever be." He took a swing, closing his eyes as he savored the taste.

"Needlessly complex sadism doesn't sound out of the question for Queen Celestia," Shining pointed out.

Marcus looked down at his glass, then to his bottle. "It sure doesn't."

“And then I find out I’m one of the bad guys in the other Equestria… the other Cadance must have been devastated.”

"You don't want to know," Marcus looked away, his eyes closed.

"Why Shiny?! Don't you see what you are doing is wrong?!"

"Capture my former wife, I will drag her back myself to the Queen."

"Cadance get back!"

"Please come back to me! PLEASE!"

"You really don't want to know," Marcus whispered as he knocked back his drink, enjoying the bitter taste.

Shining grimaced, seeing the faraway look on Marcus' face. Something he was beginning to see as normal for the human.

It wasn’t just him. It was everyone that came with him. Both humans and ponies. Shining didn't know what to think was worse.

The faraway look they got time from time, as if they were remembering a time that was not carefree, but, at the very least, happier than this, or simply remembering what things they'd done as they were forced to evacuate...

Or the screaming and crying from their nightmares. The first night showed him just how bad they had it.

Shining ran into the barracks, thinking somepony got curious and startled them. He instead found a grown stallion wrapped up in a human woman's arms, whispering gently into his ear as he bawled his heart out, apologizing over and over again for causing them so much misery. The dozens of other ponies and humans could only give him a sad look, several of them even getting closer to hug him, to comfort him.

Though some things changed, and it wasn't always the same stallion and woman, something like this happened, at the very least, three times in the last week alone.

Once it was Acevedo, the tall, lanky company man, hugging a brown colt barely into his teenage years, sobbing about "the Mercy Ships," the depths they'd both sunk to, how hellish their land was, and how Acevedo had given damn near everything from his huge salary and it still wasn't enough.

A mare's faith in Equestria was so broken she wasn't sure this Equestria wouldn't ponify them too. An Israeli woman would read passages from some human holy book, begging god for some answer as another mare held her.

Mares and stallions afraid to look for the relatives they'd lost in the war, because of what the Empire had turned them into. Another woman with a headscarf, who cried for the loss of something called "Mecca" as a mare hugged her. There would frequently be humans that woke with a haunted look, tears in their eyes.

It was worse with ponies, their eyes more expressive than their human partners. The stories they'd told about escaping Equestria, the horrors they'd faced from the HLF and ponies alike, stories of betrayal, of uprooting themselves and losing everything, of those abominations called newfoals, all could chill the fur from his bones. He, and most of his personnel had seen glimpses of them in that exhibition of human artwork and creativity.

They hadn't been able to stomach very much of it.

It was then that Shining realized just how bad off they truly were. They suffered so much for so little gain, knowing that no matter how many thousands they killed, their doom was inevitable and there was little they could do to stop the barrier from devouring yet another city. Their nightmares would never stop as long as the war continued.

They were the wild card. Something the Tyrant Sun didn't, and couldn't, prepare for.

She couldn't prepare for an entire world to rise up against her before she even had a chance to set her teeth into it.

Shining eyes narrowed as he thought what would happen to him if he failed. What would happen to Cadance. What would happen to his family. His world.

He would not, could not, let that happen.

He looked at the whisky bottle before he raised the bottle once more for a toast.

"To our future. Let us pour our strength to face our monsters and have one." Shining refilled his glass. Marcus looked to the glass, then held up his own.

"To our fallen. Let us not forget those we lost on our way to victory." Marcus held out his glass, Shining gently tapping his own glass against it before both males downed their drinks.

Marcus looked outside, the bright blue sky reminding him of better times.

"Hey Marcus, do you think dad will be proud of me?"

"I know he would, Jacob. Not everyday you get chosen to be a Secret Service agent."

"Boys! Come back to the party. Danny and Molly brought some gifts for you Jacob!"

"Alright Mom! Come on. You know how much they love giving presents before a big trip.

He leaned back and closed his eyes, a soft whisper under his breath as he fell back into those happier times. "To our fallen."

Author's Notes:

You know, I didn't realize just how much this story really affected me until I completed. Since I am an American Soldier, I find the loss of soldiers to be harder, even if I never knew them. This past friday, on the 4th of July, I realized that I had to make something and so I did.

I like to thank Kizuna for jumping on board and helping out with several sections of the story. The others were just as awesome and I hope you enjoy it.

Next chapter will deal with the Stephan and the Elements themselves for their next six months. So keep a look out for it!