The Long Road Home

by ISKV

Prologue - Seven Days of Fire, and One Day of Hope

On the First Day of Fire, the situation was dire.
Two sides argued, and called the other a liar.

On the Second Day of Fire, the council collapsed.
There was no rule, and the rulers lapsed.

On the Third Day of Fire, things began to cool.
But most claimed him to be no more than a fool.

On the Fourth Day of Fire, the red began to shine.
Their judgment was just, the Rules of Nine.

On the Fifth Day of Fire, tanks began to roll.
They marched on the enemy, destroying them whole.

On the Sixth Day of Fire, He shot a gun.
The day ended with a force of the sun.

On the Seventh Day of Fire, nothing remained.
The land was dry, and fire still rained.

What is now a desert, was once my home.
My own little Athens, or maybe Rome.

This world is barren, sorry Mother Earth.
How could we do this to the one who gave birth?

“You’re lucky. You’re lucky you live in a world where the common pony can at least enjoy their everyday life. Yes, not even basic food and clean water was a constant in our world.

Why, you ask? Why does our world have so many wars, and yours doesn’t? No, it’s not the fact that humans exist in our world. You could take the soul of a pony and switch it with a human and the only sign that they were ever what they weren’t is the fact that a grown person is stumbling.

Second off, you’re wrong. There are plenty of wars in your world. Trust me, I’ve looked. But then again, do you ever hear of international affairs that happen on the other side of your planet? My point exactly. But that’s thinking too big. In our world, every pre-war country has been in at least one conflict in the last five centuries, while yours hasn’t for a good millennium. No, the Invasion of Canterlot was not a conflict. According to reports, I could successfully argue that it was a paintball match played with Nerf guns compared to our conflicts. Ever heard of the Operation Flaming Arrow? The Battle of Kazakhstan to be specific. One month, one battle. One and a half million KIA. And that’s just the reported deaths. There was another five hundred thousand MIA. And even then those don’t count civilian deaths.

But back to the point of your “Peaceful” country. Yours has something, or I should say, somepony, that we don’t have. Princess Celestia. The immortal. Yes, I know Princess Luna is also immortal, but how often do you hear her playing a part in politics? No matter how much you argue, Princess Celestia plays a pivotal role in your society, while you and your other princesses play minor roles. Of course that may change, but it's not happening now. But back to her.

She is a constant. Every day, you can wake up and realize that there’s somepony you can look up to and realize that she’s never going to change. Most humans and ponies in our world do not wish to lead. They simply wish to live. It’s the same with any group. It seems like the most vocal who usually run for office are those who are not the ‘Simple folk’ no matter how much they claim to be. But even if they’re genuinely caring, and wish the best, they are still mortal. They will die within a century. But her. She won’t. And you’d best be happy she’s actually caring. Imagine if there was an immortal Hitler. While I imagine that it wouldn’t have been very pleasant to live in a Nazi Empire, at least I could be assured that there would be stability.

What? You expect me to be happy that Princess Celestia has managed to keep war out of this country? Well… I’m sort of torn about that. To be completely honest, I’m sort of scared.

First and foremost, she loves, she cares, but in the end, she is a politician. And those in power need to do unsavory things to have things their way. Imagine what she had to do so that you could live your life in the way you do?

We have no such princess. And though that world is long gone, those ideals still live on. In the wasteland, there is no law but victory through any means. And the smartest won’t get into fights at all.

But regardless, this is our story.

When we said Equestria or death..."

"...Yeah?"

"We meant it. And I have to ask, Twilight… how much is Equestria worth to you?

***

In a dark room was the last memory of an archeologist. She was a friend, one that was curious to the point of insanity. Every month or so she brought back yet another piece of technology, something else to fix.

A bluish grey unicorn mare with a straight jet black mane walked towards a device mounted to a stand. It had an odd, out of place sterile white cover dirtied by years of dirt and neglect. It had a vaguely egg-shaped exterior with a clear tube coming from one end, another round half covering the bottom. Three claw like objects completed the setup. On the larger "egg," the symbol of its manufacturer was laser burned, ensuring that even after all these years, it would not be forgotten. It was found by her friend, a renowned archeologist in what she somewhat mysteriously named the Temple of the White God. A massive underground structure, she went again a year later, and was found dead in the middle of a wheat field.

The pony sighed as she picked up a framed picture next to the unknown device. She and a golden yellow pegasus smiled back at her. It had been taken long ago but she still felt the pain of loss. The device was intentionally hidden, not to prevent theft, or for convenient storage space, but because it was the last item her friend had found.

But her job of fixing technology was over for the day, and she knew that she had to finish her friend's work.

Blinking the tears that had snuck out of the corner of her eyes, she examined the handle. It was similar a standard firearm grip, save for the fact that it had two triggers, one a bright orange, and the other a deep blue. It was clearly meant for human hands, but she knew of few functions that required two triggers. A quick examination with magic revealed nothing. Not nothing as in nothing out of the ordinary, but nothing as if a void existed in the center. It wasn't like a vacuum like one of the very old tubes found in ancient technology, but rather it seemed like the inside simply didn't exist.

The repairpony, knowing enough about firearms, kept the end pointed away. It would be the last thing she would want to die from. She aimed it towards a wall and was about to pull the blue trigger when a thought occurred to her. A weapon with this large of a bore could only be a grenade launcher or a utility firearm. Flares, illumination, smoke, etc.

The sliding glass doors silently opened, one of the many advantages of having an experienced repairpony as a resident. The glass on one of the doors was cracked, but a little duct tape conquered that problem.

It was as barren as always. Trotting past an ancient and cracked road, she hopped over a preserved tree that had fallen when the war broke out. The lack of water and the usual wildlife kept this trunk around much longer than it should've.

She stopped. The field was barren, rocks jutted out and bomb craters still dotted the land. The mare closed her eyes, and let her soul wander. It was times of peace like this that the repairpony would wish she could stand where she was forever.

The pony sighed. Lifting the device and aiming it in the sky, she pulled the blue trigger with a little magic.

The device contracted as it shot out a blue sphere with wisps of the same color trailing. Questions immediately bombarded her head. Was the contraction to compensate for the recoil, or was it to squeeze out the ball? She aimed it down to the ground and fired. It splashed off like a water balloon would but left no trace that it hit. Orange trigger? Same result. She repeated this process over and over again, til she was certain that it was no more than a training device for marksmen.

Disappointed, she returned home, tossed the gun onto a stand, and ended her day like any other day.

***

She woke up disappointed. Grumbling, she rolled out of her mattress that was tossed on the floor and walked to the cracked mirror hung on the wall. Picking up a comb with more than a few teeth missing, she thought in peace.

Nothing.

She had no jobs for the day. All of her customer-owned devices, random nick-nacks, or other precious items were repaired and ready to be picked up. She grinned. A rare free day. The pony eyed her tank, a heavily rusted, but still functional MBT-70 that sat outside next to pump number eight and wondered if she could just screw around with it for a day. The autocannon was prone to jamming, but then again, she had built the spare parts out of scrap metal. It was a wonder it even fired consecutive rounds.

Half asleep, she walked to the table salvaged from someplace she never heard of. Today? Peeking in the open box, she looked at her choices. More century-old preserved peaches. Food was scarce, but not enough to panic over. It was still disgusting though. Maybe she would go out for some real grass!

She ripped open the plastic seal and devoured the sliced fruit. The clear circle fluttered in the air. She was finished slurping down the contents even before it hit the floor next to the forgotten device from yesterday.

With a practiced throw, the repairpony tossed the empty plastic cup into the overflowing waste bin. The pony stared, wondering how and when it got so full. But with a promise to empty it tomorrow, she did a cute little twirl and landed, facing the other direction. But in her haste to discard the container, she completely forgot about the plastic lid, which was, unfortunately for her, still wet.

With a surprised yell, the pony slipped on her mistake, slamming into various items in her room, unfortunately knocking down the stand coming fact-to-face with the firing end of the ball-shooter gun thing. She sighed as she broke the number one gun safety rule. Pouring a little magic into her horn, the unicorn decided to get lazy and levitate her way out. Her eyes widened as her ears heard the signature click of a trigger being pulled.

Time slowed as a blue light shone from inside the ball shooter. Her eyes widened as the device charged and fired a shot at her horn, which was now glowing with her own magic.

Dimensional membranes rippled as another traveler flew between the universes.

***

The cupcakes fell to the floor as a pink filly shook violently. Onlookers gasped and the Cakes ran to help her. Then the yelling began.

"Mrs. Cake! Doozy! DOOZY! I need to go!"

"Dear, ar-are you sure-" Pinkie was already out the door and had already run two blocks before Mrs. Cake could finish talking. On the way she pulled out a heavy-duty welding mask out of somewhere.

Suddenly, the crackling of lightning interrupted the talking of the crowd and a light brighter than Celestia's own sun appeared in the street. The ponies looked away, those with unprotected eyes wore blindfolds for the next few weeks.

Then as fast as it started, the light receded. Pinkie lifted up her mask. The dust cleared and an unconscious bluish grey unicorn lay in front of her. The many ponies of Ponyville blinked green spots out of their eyes, and as soon as their vision was clear, they stared at their mysterious guest.

"HI!" Pinkie yelled as she poked the mare on the back. She groaned, roused from her sleep. Her eyes shot open as she took in her current location.

Her eyes hurt. They were used to the brown of dried dirt, the tan of sand, the black of night, and the dried-out blue of the sky. The repairpony was overwhelmed by the sheer color of her surroundings. But when the pink filly bounced into her sight, she almost had tears running down her face in pain.

"Where... where am I?" she breathed, still unable to comprehend the world around her.

Pinkie's smiled only grew bigger, "You're in Ponyville, duh!"

The repairpony gasped, years and years of bedtime stories resurfacing in her mind. "You mean... Ponyville... Equestria!?"

The filly giggled, "Yup!"

"But-But..."

"But nothing!" Pinkie said cheerfully, "What's your name?"

"...Crystal... and," she gulped, "are you..."

Her words never came out as she was once more surrounded by a bright light. When the unicorn dimmed, Pinkie lifted the mask she had put down just in time. The mare was gone.

***

Crystal laid on her mattress. Her mind could only thing of the land she visited. The pink filly, the bright colors. Nothing like the grey, colorless world she lived in now.

"Ponyville... Ponyville?... Equestria... Equestria!... EQUESTRIA!" By now, her voice was cracking due to the sheer volume of her speech. She galloped outside, not caring what she tipped over or what she slammed out of her way. Crystal took the biggest breath of her life and faced the expense of the sky, "I. WAS. IN. EQUESTRIA!" She screamed, screaming to the world and all of its inhabitants.

And from that day forwards, Crystal was never the same again.