Princesses of Equestria

Chapter 39: The Last Battle

In time, Queen Eponia's cleansing radiance faded, as did the sparkles it had brought. Other, fainter lights took their place. Stars twinkled again in Equestria's sky. The sun and moon drifted apart, assuming their rightful places under their rightful mistresses. Below, the united peoples of Equestria began their work.

Those first few days passed in a weary blur for everypony, from the mightiest alicorn Princesses to the humblest earth pony townsfolk. They woke, breakfasted, rebuilt, lunched, rebuilt, dined, rebuilt, washed, and slept. Sunset, sunrise. Rinse, and repeat. Meetings were held. Plans were laid. Consensus was reached.

The astronomical cost of conventional reconstruction would have broken the back of Equestria's economy. The realm's five wealthiest cities—Canterlot, the Crystal Empire, Manehattan, Cloudsdale, Applepaloosa and Ponyville—were five massive junk heaps. The royal treasury was a doughy pile of gold slag. And even if it hadn't been, it wouldn't have covered a tenth of the insurance for homes, possessions, trades and livelihoods lost to Armonia's fires. Though she'd taken not a single Equestrian life during her reign, Armonia had paved the way for, as Mayor Mare so aptly put it: "A Great Depression as potentially fearsome as Armonia's apocalyptic Spring Equinox!"

Yet, therein lay the solution. A festival was reorganized. A date was set. Preparations were made. Accommodations were arranged. Equus bunked at Twilight's. Intellectus, at Fluttershy's.

Another blur of days, and preparations completed. Word was sent out through the Link. Everypony in the realm heard Harmony's call. And everypony in the realm was buoyed by fresh hope.

That night Equestria's citizens slept soundly in their tents, knowing that tomorrow they'd one and all be compensated for their losses.

And it wouldn't cost anypony a single bit.

The night ended.

In Equestria's skies, Princess Luna lowered her horn. The moon set. In the tallest tower of Canterlot palace, Princess Celestia raised her horn. The sun dawned. Its gentle luminescence peeked over the scarred bulk of Canterlot mountain, unveiling a skeleton town.

Gone were Ponyville's quaint thatched cottages, the neatly cobbled roads, the thriving gardens, the bustling stores. Long hours of manual and magical labor had cleared fire-mangled rubble and laid the foundations for a new Ponyville, but no more. Most of its citizens still lived in their tents, or the royal pagoda that covered the town square. Some, however, had reconstructed enough of their homes to have a sturdy roof to sleep under.

Golden Oaks Library fell into the latter category. Sort of. It had no roof, per se, but a thin canopy of fresh leaves springing from half-grown trunks. Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Twilight and Equus had, once time allowed, spent an entire afternoon reviving the hollow stump where Twilight's home had been. Green shoots grew from burnt wood, flourished under Harmony's Elements, thickened to trunks, interwove, and became ... if not an oak, then a healthy parasite vine in the approximate form of an oak. Dawnlight crept through the gaps in its trunk, along its sparse shelves, up half-finished stairs, over a bin full of crumpled letters, the finished letter on the desk, and the ink-stained hooves of the ponies who'd written it.

Twilight Sparkle and Equus Nox had not fallen asleep at their desk. They, and Spike, had possessed the foresight to camp by it. Twilight's mattress was on one side, Equus's sleeping bag was on the other, and Spike's cot sat next to the wastepaper bin. He'd used some leftover letters as a pillow.

Nopony stirred. Leaves rustled in a cool morning breeze. Snores echoed off the walls. Golden Oaks Library was at peace. Then:

"Won't give up," Equus Nox moaned. "I'll never give up ..." She twisted to and fro. Her eyes flickered beneath their lids. The dreams held her in an inescapable embrace. She moaned louder. And licked her lips. "I'll eat the whole rutabaga cake." Her stomach growled assent. "Every last slice." She chewed her pillow. "Mmsogood ..."