From The Ashes

by Horizon Sunrise

Chapter 2: The Rise of The Terrible

Astral sat on his chair. Looking at the human who gave him the lines to say.

“But they don’t even rhyme!” He said. “Horizon Sunrise, you can’t be serious!”

I waved him off.

“Stupid writers… never making any sense!” he muttered under his breath.

-

“She’s waking up!” I opened my eyes again, expecting the horrid terrain the last time I was awake, but I was resting on a soft bed in what looks like a medical ward.

“Hello there,” The pony in front of me said. “My name is Doctor Scalpel. You were a bit… out there if you just charged into No Mare’s land alone… without a rifle, or battle gear… but you’re safe now. Luckily the wire in you didn’t contaminated your blood stream.”

“Where’s Spike?”

“Your dragon is in the next ward, but his condition is rather critical, although not fatal… I suggest you let him be for 2 to 3 days.” The doctor looked at his check list. “Nurse Fluttershy will be taking care of you. Be nice to her.”

Fluttershy?! Now I couldn’t wait for this talk to end!

Once the doctor left, a yellow pegasus entered the room with some trays. Once she saw me, her eyes opened wide.

“Twilight!” She screamed and hugged me. “When I saw your name on the checklist, I couldn’t believe my eyes! Now it is practically confirmed! You are still alive!”

“Listen Flu-”

“After this check-up, I’m going to tell the girls about this!”

“Flutter-”

“How did you survive? Did she display a fake head? Ho-”

“FLUTTERSHY!” At least she is more active in this timeline. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but I’m not the same Twilight Sparkle you knew. I’m from a different timeline.”

“Oh…” A tear leaked out of her eye.

“Fluttershy, mind if I ask, but what happened? Ponies in deep and long holes, ‘rifles’ and No Mare’s Land. And where are the girls?”

“It’s a long story…”

“I think I can fix this.” I looked at her with my willful eyes. “But first I need to know what to fix.”

“O...ok then.”

-

After we got the new crystal castle, we sat on the cutie map together and a table appeared. Twilight’s cutie mark glowed and she was sent to “our town”.

I don’t know what happened at “our town” but words from the tyrant herself, Twilight arrived at the town, and her cutie mark was forced from her. She rebelled but eventually she was… permanently dealt with. Before she was gone however, she revealed the battle plans of Equestria. The tyrant built up an army and new technology we have never seen before and marched up to Ponyville.

“Your princess is DEAD!” Those were the exact words she used when she stuck Twilight’s head on a pole at the middle of Ponyville. All of us cried. We couldn’t believe that Twilight is dead.

She said either given into her ideology or suffer the consequences. We didn’t know the consequences so we rebelled.

Then she declared war on the Crystal Empire, Equestria, the Griffon Kingdom and the Changlings. We had to adapt to their technology, and thus, we dug trenches, invented new rifles. And the worst of all, used artillery rain to decimate the enemy. Barbed wire was lain down in an area called ‘No Mare’s Land’. The landscape became more red and black as forests burnt down and houses were reduced to rubble. Millions of ponies, changlings and griffons died trying to repel her army, but more just kept coming. This fighting dragged on for 10 years… and counting.

We never wanted war, but the tyrant was cold-blooded. We tried to surrender, but she wanted total rule over all of Equestria to implement her cruel ideology.

I still remember the last words the tyrant said before this pointless war started.

“All will bow to the enforcer of friendship! Starlight Glimmer!”

-

“So… I’m dead?” I asked.

“Yup…” Fluttershy looked down. “Um… Twilight? Tomorrow you will be dispatched from the hospital, so… maybe you could come with me and meet the girls. I think they will be delighted to see you again, um… if that’s ok for you.”

“Of course! I would definately go with you!” With that said, Fluttershy gave me my medicine and I spent the rest of my day thinking about this timeline.

Equestria… working with changlings and griffons, to fight a pointless and costly war that Starlight started. Starlight was never like that. I saw her past. She was a troubled child who needed friends, why would she start a war for total conquest?

Why would she kill me?