Time passed within Everchange; three months, to be exact. News did not arrive until the second month, when two ponies returned to the Nightday Circus in a flash of light. The Queens seized them immediately and they were ushered to the Fall Kingdom. The royal guards kept onlookers from the circus, tightening security once the two ponies were taken in, preventing any prying eyes from finding out something they shouldn't.
For Everchange, all that had passed was time. Time that did not line up with the travelers, who had, to their knowledge, been only gone for a few weeks. Within Below the party was welcomed by the Queen and King, despite varying degrees of warmth between the two. Solstice, unable to teleport anyone back, remained within the castle with his troop, however he had been whisked away to the throne room shortly after his awakening. The travelers were offered housing within the castle as the rulers of Below and Abraham spoke to Solstice, with an occasional living pony summoned to the throne room for questioning and further explanation.
Eventually, after long nights of worry and nerves, Solstice returned to his group and retold the tale he had been given. It was time to go, he said, but they wouldn't be leaving by themselves. No, they were going to return back with the rulers. It was time for the Queens of Everchange to meet the Queen and King of Below.
They returned at night in a great light, crashing into the basement of the haunted house that protected the still open door. Guards met them immediately, faltering at the two alicorns who rivaled the size of their Four Queens, who were disguised in various cloaks and cloths and transported to the Fall Kingdom alongside the tired mortals who had fought their way to find them.
Conspiracy theories flew, but none came close to the truth. None could expect that, in two months time, the group now known as the Brave Below would stand beside two beautiful alicorns and the Four Queens on a national broadcast. None were prepared for the truth.
"Thousands of years have passed since the living and the dead have crossed paths," Kore spoke, her face covering every television, stream, and phone within Everchange. "There was a time when the dead roamed freely on your earth, but you never saw them. We lived in harmony with your kind, sharing in your lives quietly as you chased after life. When you died you would join our side, and we welcomed you. We have always welcomed you, for your journey doesn't end after death. Below has been your second journey- your afterlife, as you call it. But there was a time you didn't have to say goodbye to the world of the living, either.
"And then- without warning or explanation- we began to fade. Not all of us, but enough of the dead still traversing your lands simply vanished into nothingness. Those within our home were safe, but not in yours. So we closed the gates; we called our people back and sealed every entry-- or we thought we had. One of us remained with you, spared from the vanishing but now trapped on your side as the last door was sealed. Perhaps that is why the door reopened after thousands of years had passed. Maybe it is he you have to thank.
Whatever the cause was, a door reopened. Below and your world were connected once more. Your Queens sent a carefully selected group into what you previously knew nothing about, and it is through them we once again meet. We are Kore and Haides; the rulers of the Below and afterlife, and we welcome Everchange as our ally-- as our sister in life. We know not why not only the door has reopened but you can see our kind, but we embrace the opportunity to walk the same plains together again. To be whole, as the world had intended long ago.
We welcome you, Everchange, and we are pleased to receive the same in return, even if your lands are smaller than we remembered."
The broadcast shook the world to its core as it abruptly turned off, and with that came the slow trickle of news. More and more doors had opened within the world, leading into the brilliant blue scape of Below. The Four Queens worked tirelessly with the Below rulers in establishing safer methods to travel within the unknown lands, with those who wished to traverse and explore Below given special charms to detour any life-claiming creatures that lurked within.
Below was not much different than Everchange; they had cities, deserts, forests, and more, all cloaked in various hues of blues and blacks and a fog of glitter. The dead welcomed the living, with some even reconnecting with their living descendants. The two realms melded seamlessly into one another, as Everchange also accepted the ghosts of Below into their world.
And now we come to the next biggest change within Everchange. As ponies explored Below in hopes of finding lost relatives it became clear not all dead souls traversed Below. Some had accepted their end and melded into the nothingness, moving on past life and death and back into the magic of Everchange.
And then there were the others -- the selected, who found themselves given another chance at life. To return to the world of the living in a body created to house and protect their soul, rebirthing them into someone else entirely. Gone were their memories and old bodies, replaced instead with one that did not usually resemble in any form their previous life. A different appearance, a different gender for some, a different life -- these few were chosen by Kore to begin anew, and they were named Banshee.
Banshees have since slowly been brought into the world at Kore's whim and descretion. Their soul is tethered to their body by their protective lantern embedded into their chest. Their new body is entirely a living one, created for their new life. Most Banshee won't even resemble their old form by a little, although some may have a few identifying traits. Their memories have entirely been wiped to make room for their new life, letting them start anew. Everchange has welcomed these few and created a system to safely implement the confused newlings, finalizing their full embracing of Below.
The world of Everchange and Below have become whole, and now a new story can be told.
