Princesses of Equestria

Chapter 28: Desperate Measures

Far from the desolation of Equinox Greens, and its broken heart, the Crystal Empire thrived.

Royal guards patrolled its walls, and the Wonderbolts' remnants patrolled its airways. But its greatest defender was the shimmering ward that enclosed the Crystal Empire in its entirety. Every so often, a phoblin dove from hiding places in the clouds, testing for weakness. Always the phoblin found none, and got vaporized.

Considering it was besieged and overcrowded, spirits in the Crystal Empire were high. Glittering crystal ponies intermingled with, and assisted, their numerous new guests.

Dispossessed earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, zebras, yaks, dragons, gryphons and others from across Equestria vied for space, conducted business, and hawked overpriced wares. More mouths to feed meant more food demand, which in turn meant more salesponies.

Cuisine vendors sprouted like weeds, and anypony who couldn't afford their inflated goods queued at a pavilion signed 'ROYAL RATION DISTRIBUTION CENTRE' for free feed bags, and dollops of bland stew. Every decorative fountain in the Crystal Empire doubled as emergency water reservoirs, and every one was in use.

Entertainment was also in demand. Jugglers, stilt-walkers, jesters and bards from the Spring Equinox Celebration attracted eager audiences at either lowered prices, or gratis. Even a grim bunch of rock farmers had steady customers. But the pony raking in the most bits was Vinyl 'D.J. Pon-3' Scratch, whose dubstep cover of 'We Shall Not be Moved' was a smash hit.

Yes, spirits were high. But only relatively.

Look a little closer, and seams started showing. A parentless child here. A limping pony there, dragging a limb gone grey. Beggars in the streets. Angry shoving at the food lines. Protesters at the palace gates. A foal chased by a guard for stealing apples. Line upon line of billboards labelled 'HAVE YOU SEEN US?', covered in photographs, too many to count.

Hundreds of wounded lying in an overflowing medical pavilion. Hundreds more statues covered by sheets, their numbers gradually increasing. And even the Crystal Empire's healthiest citizens couldn't hide the anxiety gnawing at their heels.

Yes, the Crystal Empire thrived, but it thrived on the edge of a precipice.

And at the bottom, horrors awaited.

Captain Flash Sentry jolted, startled from the reverie he'd fallen into while on watch. There'd been no phoblin attack in hours. Endless hours of nothing. Flash hated the long, uneventful watches most of all. He zoned out. Wandered into dark places.

The light shocked him awake. And what a light it was. Many leagues southwards, a second sun dawned. Flash squinted, trying to comprehend what he saw. The sun, which was actually more like a spherical rainbow, sat on a floating island, which hovered above a blackened mass of jungle, rock formations, and were those volcanoes?

Flash recalled, with spine-chilling detail, a nauseous train ride, a snapping bear claw, and Corporal Firmhoof's vomit brought back to life. Its bubbling voice would plague his nightmares till the day he died. He'd fought phoblins less terrifying.

There'd been no splat. Was it still out there, somewhere, slithering in the shadows?

Flash shivered. Hopefully a phoblin had petrified it, or a diamond dog had eaten it, or maybe it'd gotten homesick and was hunting Corporal Firmhoof, eager to jump back down his ...

Peace of mind. Peace of mind.

Marching hooves snapped Flash, mercifully, out of his second reverie. He and his team looked down, away from the second sun, and saw ...