Twilight laid there in the pitched tent thinking deeply about the past few days, as she thought she could hear an ominous sound of gunfire and a series of low Concussions. The darkness inside the tent engulfed her and she plunged into a nightmare of visions that were implanted into her brain, and still remained. She greeted the darkness as it comforted her, slowly tormenting her. Her visions slowly creeping upon her bombarded her conscious all the ponies dead and all she could do was turn around and flee. The sound of silence deafened her and she lost all hearing. Flashing back to a digger launcher shell that had blown up in her face panicking she tackled fluttershy to the fox whole as another digger shell winded over them. These visions in her head still remained, and they continued to bombard her like the gunfire in Canterlot. She felt as if she walked alone, she could see in her tent streets paved with stone and broken bones. When all of the sudden her eyes were blinded by the flash of a lancer that split the night. In the naked light she saw a hundred or so ponies stacked on top of each other angles carrying them away to oblivion. She sees ponies talking without speaking, their mouths sown shut buy the horrors witnessed in Canterlot. Ponies hearing without listening, their ears muffled by the exploding rounds and the screams, the awful screams. Ponies singing songs and their voices never change no emotions so much hate. Death growing like cancer, Peace declining like the living. She hears words that might be true, "everything is fine" what a lie. She spoke back but her words like silent raindrops fell, "all is well". The ponies bowed and prayed to a god whisked away in the darkness. And as the lancers flashed out their warnings, a thousand priest fell down into the dark oblivion were their god of darkness lurked and crept, in the depths. This was the beginning of many nights twilight would cry herself to sleep. She held out her hooves in hopes that somepony would reach back. And darkness began its slow and breathtaking embrace.
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The dawn of the new day was not welcoming the echoes of fear could be heard in the mountains and the gears well, they could not do anything about it they were forced to ignore the cries of the hopeless and the damned. Nopony slept that night and Fluttershy was the only one that did not cry, her fellow gears feared for her, she was holding something back. They sat down for a group session to assess their situation.
"There must be some kind of way out of here, send a chopper to the peak" dash said
"We are the only ones left no god damn signal to base were all alone in this ponies" twilight exclaimed
*Pinkie pie downed some cider* "so what is it twilight were fucked"
"not quite pinkie" said twilight "here look what i was able to salvage before we fled" *twilight pulled out a map "here she said i heard Celestia mention it before it’s called Outland a long distance from Canterlot sure but hell it’s got to be our best shot, i guarantee that's were survivors would go"
"So then we have our heading we push through the horde and into Outland, sounds too easy" said dash while snatching Pinkies cider and pounding it down.
"What about Celestia" said applejack
"She knows what we have to do i am sure she can accept that" replied twilight
"Right then we must prepare" said rarity
*there was a pause* when all of the suddenly there was a realization is Fluttershy?
They found her quite in a clearing. Gazing at a picture of what she left behind and then she began to tear up the old world was gone and it seemed she was the only one who could not accept that.
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They had a way there, Outland i believe is what they called it. they all walked with retribution each their own scores to settle each their own amends to make, and now they were going to walk back to the place they were so quick to leave, so quick to abandon. Back in the old world they had hearts but morality it seems has been overthrown. And they’re not sleeping now the darkness devouring them with haunted visions is too hard to resist as it extends its cold embrace. The gears could hear the howling of wolves in the distance they were being watched, stalked, hunted until they were finally cornered the wolves paced around them preparing for the right time to strike. As one jumped at twilight she quickly struck a flare to a tree and stabbed it into the wolf searing into its skin melting it to a wax. Reacting quickly Pinkie shot multiple rounds in the air scaring away the pack.
"What the hell was that" yelled apple jack
"Not sure but there is no way they could have smelt us these winds are to fierce the cold is to wet" twilight replied
"Look said rainbow dash"
rainbow dash did indeed see something a blood trail across the snow none the less leading directly to fluttershy it seems her way of coping with loss is to simply let the liquid sadness from her body, this was more than the old world she missed, she had loved and lost she had given without taken and how does life pay her back by taking away everything what a pity site to see. The world had changed her and so she would change the world simply by not saving it.
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they had made it down from the summit the wolves no longer followed they decided to call it a day even though they knew they could not sleep, because of the fact that they couldn't and they knew if they did their dreams would not let them return to the real world, who could blame them. That night there were tears, there were sighs, there was darkness beginning its slow embrace.. Twilight had sneaked into fluttershys tent and slept beside her this was the beginning of many more nights together as friends as sisters in arms, many nights with no more tears. And so it was four ponies against the world and against all odds, saving a world never worth saving, saving a world damned from the start. Friendship has a funny way of blinding everypony though.
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The city of Canterlot was dead, people engulfed in ash were frozen in time for the fortunate to look at, a monument to what the war of peace. I guess the ones turned to ash though were the lucky ones others became savage disfigured forms of their former selves. The lambent is what they called them. It had the strange ability to manifest itself inside the carcasses of the dead. Something troubled twilight she left spike behind. There was no time to save anypony and the only remaining piece of him she had left was a gemstone she was going to give to him, it had the most regal appearance according to rarity. No tears twilight, no tears you must move forward you mustn't look back for if you do, you will never leave. A shudder was felt beneath their hooves and then from the ground bursted a staggering spine, and from it several lambent ponies emerged
"LAMBENT!!!" yelled twilight to which apple jack replied "GET BEHIND COVER!!" they got behind stable cover firing blindly into the lambent one at a time their once caring friends and family of Equestria were gunned down by the gears. After several shots were fired the spine Disappear and after its decent came a rise of a gigantic lambent one the likes nopony has seen it ran towards the gears knocking into the ponies engulfed in dust, just dust in the wind. It knocked into their cover launching them into the air. It was immensely powerful. Fluttershy rose up walking slowly towards it, she proceeded to rev up her lancer
The lambent gave off a loud deep chuckle. Fluttershy sliced at the lambents legs, it fell to its knees bleeding profusely a vile greenish bile. Fluttershy then took a grenade from her belt and punched it clear into its chest cooking the grenade in his chest cavity, when it exploded from the inside its guts flew about the area dousing the gears in a horrible smelling goop. Fluttershy walked out of the smoke from the explosion fanning and blowing on her hand.
"That kind of hurt" she remarked
"Well I’ll be damned fluttershy you actually did something" said applejack
They soon made it out of Canterlot and with that cleaned themselves in a nearby stream. They had a fire that night with marshmallows thanks to none other but pinkie pie. This would be the first night of few that they would get more than an hour of sleep. There were no tears, no sighs, only snores.
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They made their way into the desert, as they walked through the landscape the blistering hot sun scorched there body’s and burnt their hooves it was dangerous to walk in the desert there were myths of gigantic spiders that crept under the sand and preyed on little ponies such as themselves. They had no idea what they were going to find an oasis full of life or just more body’s buried in the sands of time. They had pieced and torn off most of their armor to stay cool though that did little to protect them from the sun. Fluttershy collapsed to the ground. Dash got her to her feet gazing into her eyes she was gone she no longer was fluttershy her sole evaporated by the sun. There was a brief moment of connection between the too, something deeper than friendship. But that soon faded away they mustn’t stop for if they do they will join the others, on second thought that might not be a bad thing.
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In the distance they could see the place foretold as outland or possibly just a mirage. As they approached the city it seemed desolate and lifeless much like a ghost town. When they approached the iron gates they heard a deep voice
“Who goes their”
“Holy shit your gears”
“Thanks for pointing that out captain obvious” said dash
“Hurry in fast there’s someone here that needs to see you”
The iron gates opened making a deafening screech. When they opened the gears entered. It was a horrid site ponies in wards everywhere the ones that could be saved on the right, the ones that could not on the left. They attempted to close their eyes but the echoes of death daunted them, so this is how it is huh. Inside the walls they were greeted by Celestia who was able to retreat.
“Thank god you’re alive” she said
“I need to talk to twilight the rest of you go to the medic tents”
*Twilight approaches Celestia with fear of the news she is about to receive*
“Many died many lived twilight some I could save others I could not” Celestia said
Twilight instantly understood what she was implying and tilted her head down towards Celestia
“He’s in a better place now” she said
They had little time to prepare every second wasted put more pony’s lives in jeopardy, so they mounted up on whatever supplies they had, they prepared for a suicide mission but the truth is were all dead ponies walking. They had a cargo plane that could easily hold and transport the ponies into combat, they had enough weapons to supply enough warriors and enough stupid to take on this challenge. Fluttershy and rainbow dash piloted the plane that apple jack and rarity would dive out of with a squad of other ponies, and Celestia would be on the ground directing the troops with twilight, and so it began, the beginning of the end.
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“Drop zone in minus 2 minutes” dash said
“You ready Fluttershy”
“Fluttershy?”
She did not speak dash could not make out why but simply ignored it, she felt for Fluttershy and in a way felt like in there time together, in war, in harmony they have become more than just friends. Dash shook her head
“Stay focused” she muttered to herself.
“Ten seconds” she yelled
“Kiss your sorry flanks goodbye, and good fucking luck!”
One by one ponies dropped from the sky Pegasus’s flew overhead preforming bombing runs while the rest used there available talents to fight off the lambent. Many ponies fell bleeding and retreated to buildings were they could cover fire, the lambent were stronger in numbers but far weaker. There only weakness, the lambent is there ability to feel no pain they have no care of life or death and because of this they drop easy, but equally come back up in greater numbers. Fighting back and forth the ponies began to take more land and marched into victory, but then ground emerged of what seemed as the king of all lambents. Larger than the one fluttershy had previously killed, much larger. The ponies bullets were useless the lambent simply ran into it and fused themselves into it and it grew greater in size and power. Nothing could stop it not even Celestia, she attempted to defeat it only to be bashed down bleeding profusely, the gears on the ground rushed to her aid.
“Fluttershy, Dash we need you” yelled twilight into her MIC
The tyrant beast lashed at the plane taking out an engine, the plane instantaneously caught fire
“Damn were going down” exclaimed dash
Fluttershy gazed into her eyes
“Go” she said
“GET THE HELL OFF” she yelled
“No, were in this together” said dash
“Don’t make me do it dash” said fluttershy
They had a passionate moment together Fluttershy pulled out a pocket blade and quickly kissed dash and while she was distracted fluttershy cut open the fuse to the bottom of dashes seat activating the ejection dash flew out the top of the plane.
“Funny, how it ends like this” said fluttershy
“Don’t get in my way get out of there”
“Fluttershy what the fuck are you doing” yelled twilight
“JUST GET OUT OF THERE!” she yelled back
The plane could be seen like a meteor descending down time slowed.
“Fluttershy NOOOOOO!” yelled dash
But it was too late the plane hit the tyrant lambent exploding in a fierce fireball of smolder and ash engulfed the ponies and consumed the lambent. She had given her life for harmony for the world, which really shows she did care. And out of the silence you could her dash whisper solemnly
“I love you”
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At fluttershys funeral there were no tears and the raindrops fell silent, one pony gave her life for the sake of millions. She became a hero in the eyes of the ponies of Equestria. She had a statue in the castle gardens as she did a mural in the castle itself. Dash threw a rose down in the shallow grave
“Goodbye old friend”.