My little Short Stories

by Paradise Oasis

Paradise Lost

Archivist's note; the following text is set in the aftermath of the events of the destruction of Paradise estate, chronicled in "Twilight then, Twilight now". This text is not recommended for the faint of heart, or the weak of stomach.

Tornado Firehooves

Paradise Lost

I can see nothing at first, as the darkness around me melts away...

As I return to consciousness, I hear the soft crackle of flames coming from behind me. Pain shoots through my entire body as I return to the waking world, and I can taste my own blood in my mouth. Wearily, I open my eyes, and it is only slowly that my blurred vision adjusts to the dim light around me.

"Ohhhh....." I let out a small groan, as I try and pull myself back to my hooves. As I stand, I feel several cracked ribs in my chest, and a broken wing drags lifeless at my side. I have never felt pain like this before, as it feels as if my whole body is on fire. But in spite of the pain, I press on, determined not to fall prey to my agony.

"Oh my Horsemaster...." I gasp out breathlessly, looking at the carnage around me for the first time. Paradise Estate is in ruins, the walls reduced to rubble, the ceiling collapsed in on itself. The once happy mansion where my friends and I all dwelled, has been reduced to a pile of still-burning ash.

"What-what happen-" I wonder aloud, and it all comes back to me in a rush- the goblin and strydon attack, the ponies running and fleeing in terror. My eyes go wide in a panic, as my thoughts immediately turn to my friends.

"IS ANYBODY OUT THERE?!?" I cry out desperately, dragging myself along on my three still-functioning legs. I can feel all of the slashes and scratches on my once-lovely white coat, my palm tree cutie mark scarred beyond recognition. I search frantically around for any sign of life.... but I quickly wished I had not done so.

"NO! LOFTYYYYYYY!" I shriek, sobbing as my eyes settled on the motionless body of Lofty. The corpse is so charred and mangled, I can only identify her by the sight of her hot air balloon cutie mark. The cruel monsters even sheared her wings off before putting her out of her misery.

"Oh, Lofty.... why..." I weep, remembering the dear friend I used to fly the skies of Ponyland with. "C'mon, ya slowpoke, Try ta keep up! Aw, can't you fly any faster than that?" I weep bitterly, despairing at the though that I would never see this kind, gentle pony fly through the skies ever again. The thought of what those monsters had done to her, is more than this mare can bare. Realizing there might be other survivors who need help, I look away, and close my heart to the pain and sorrow that threatens to overtake it.

How could we have been so foolish, to think we were safe out here? When Truly led us all away from Dream Castle, all of us ponies thought we were staking out a new claim of freedom here! A new home, away from the Tryrannical rule of queen Majesty! Little did we realize we had left ourselves vulnerable.

"Is there anyone there?!?" I call out desperately, my eyes scanning the wreckage for any sign of life. "Anyone at all?!?"

But no answer comes, save for the howling wind. There's no one out here... this place is only filled with death.

This wasn't supposed to happen, my mind reasons. In all the fairy tales I've read, the hero always manages to save the innocents at precisely the right moment, and thus bring about a right and proper happy ending. The villains aren't supposed to come in, and slaughter the innocent villagers! That's what the heroes in fairy tales existed to prevent!

Yet no hero came forth when Paradise Estate needed it the most, no champion with a white knight on his back came galloping to our rescue. The villains won the day, and we were the losers. It seems all of those ponies who called me gullible and laughed at me had a point. And yet, even after all that has happened, I still have not given up believing in fairy tales. Perhaps, it's just a weakness of my cutie mark.

I continue limping around, and trying to ignore the blood trickling down in my face. To my right, I ignore the lifeless form of Magic Star, the earth pony's body stuck with more sharp arrows than a pin cushion. And to my left, I avert my gaze from Cupcake, whom the Troggles must have gutted like a fish. I want to scream my sorrows to the wind.... I want to fall to my knees, and cry for the dear friends I have lost forever.

But there may be Troggles lurking around here still, and I'd bet Ali Baba and all of his forty thieves that they'd still love to skewer any pony they could find. No, best to wait until it was safe to weep for the dead, and get myself as far away from here as possible.

I stumble out past the swimming pool, now all filled with rubble, and remember all the fun times we had swimming there. I pass what was once the kitchen, and wince at the memory of helping Cupcake baking a cake to take to the Flutterponies. And as I limp past what had once been the living room, I can recall reading the baby ponies bedtimes stories from my favorite books.

How did it all go so wrong? The question will not let my mind go, as I try to pull myself out of this death trap. All I can think about are the angry sentiments, that first led us out here....

"It's settled than!" A voice snorted in a southern accent. "We need ta lead the Mares away from this heyah castle, so that the heard cain live free o' tyranny!"

"But wait, can't we all just talk to the queen, Truly?" A reluctant Lofty whinnied hopefully. "Surely, she will listen to our grievances, and-"

"Haven't you been listening, you featherbrain?" Magic Star snorted. "You can't reason with a tyrant! We need to flee from this oppression!"

"Oh, but why do we have to leave Twilight, Firefly, and all of the others here?" Cupcake asked sadly, thinking of her friends. "I shall miss than all so!"

"They're all stooges of the queen, and would turn on us at the swish of ah Tail!" Truly relied angrily. "Only bah leavin' the dead weight behind, cain we trot onward tah freedom!"

Oh, how I wish I could go back and smack that old nag for that! I cannot believe I supported her traitorous actions, and all for having the estate named after me! As I trot out past the now mangled gate, I see the mutilated carcass of a beheaded mare strung high over what had once been the entrance.

"Good riddance, Truly!" I yell up at the mangled form. "My only regret is you had to take so many ponies with you into your madness!" I spit at the remains, before trotting out and away from the estate for the last time.

Still, I cannot say all of my time at Paradise Estate were all bad. There were many fond memories there, many happy memories. I will always cherish the laughter, the friendships, and the memories I experienced behind those pink gates. And even though the estate that bears my name will from this day forward be but a fond nostalgic memory, I will cherish those times, throughout all the days of my life!

As I trot onward, I can feel the red life fluid draining more and more out of my fragile frame. When I had been running from the beasts that had invaded our home, I jumped out a broken window to escape. The shards of glass are still embedded in my stomach, and every movement I make seems to bury them in deeper.

Though the pain and the blood, I can feel my mind becoming hazier and hazier. The tears I lets the tears flow for dear friends, whose brutal deaths seems so meaningless, so pointless! Oh, how I wish I could go back ,and stop my friends from being tricked by Truly's words, and leaving the safe haven of Dream Castle's walls, to find their own destruction! Oh, my queen, I am so sorry we betrayed you! Even up until the end, when you sent Galaxy and the others to bring us home, I still rejected your forgiveness, in favor of my stubborn pride!

I can feel a gradual weakness creeping over me, as the blood loss is finally getting to my ravaged body. I am only several hundred yards away from the ruins, when I collapse by the flowing waters of a clear stream. As I gaze upon my refection, I remember another time, when everything was so much simpler. I was only a little filly then...

"Twilight, come quick!" I yelled, galloping into her room. "My mom gave me a new fairy tale to read!"

"Really?" My pink unicorn friend asked me, levitating the book out of my satchel. "What is it this time? The Swan Princess? Jack and the beanstalk?"

"It's about a little colt and filly, who get lost in a woods, where and evil witch wants to gobble them up!" I tell her excitedly. The two of us sprawled out on her bed together, and started reading the book.

Twilight Shine... my best and dearest friend in all of the world. We were so very close, as my special talent was reading, writing and telling fairy stories, and hers was magic through wishing. We loved whiling away the hours, reading about handsome princes and magical spells. We always dreamed of the day a stallion in shining armor would sweep each of us off of our hooves. But we were only little fillies then, and adulthood only brought us pain...

"No... please don't leave me..." Twilight begged me, tears in her eyes. "We've always been friends, you're like my sister!"

"Oh yeah? Was I like your sister when you stopped spending time with me, and started hanging out with your 'harmony bearer' friends?!?" I snorted angrily. "Was I like your sister when you went and married that unicorn stallion, without even discussing it with your best friend? He's no handsome prince, Twilight! His face looks like a mule stomped on it!"

"Please... please don't go with Truly!" she pleaded one final time. "Stay here at the castle, where you'll be safe!"

"Go flank yourself, Twilight!" I spat, galloping away from Dream Castle's drawbridge. "If you think we ever were friends, then you really were living in a fairy tale!"

Twilight... my sister in all but blood. I would take back those mean words I spoke at the drawbridge that day, and try my best to make up for the way I acted. How I wished I had stayed there at the castle with you, where we could be sitting and reading all the fairy tales in the library still. As I lay here, the life ebbing away from me, I hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive me somehow. I hope one day you will read all the fairy takes we shared, to your own little filly.

The wind is getting cold now, and it's getting harder and harder for me to form a coherent thought anymore. I can't feel the pain from the shards of broken glass that cut me open anymore, and I close my tried eyes as a warm light washes over me. As the world around me fades away, I swear I can hear the sound of wings and Pegasus guard armor approaching the spot where I lay All I know is, the future looks so filled with light ...