It was a calm day on the streets of Ponyville, a rare sight in the growing little city. Twilight looked up at the sky above, seeing only pale blue, with only the occasional white fluffiness shuffled about by various pegasi. The streets below were populated by ponies wandering to and fro, just going about their daily routine.
"Morning, Twilight," came a voice.
She turned to see a pony wave to her. "Good morning," she responded, passing by and continuing to trot down the road, head held high. She was on her way to visit Carousel Boutique. Her best friend, Rarity, needed some assistance with her latest collection; and like any good friend, she had offered to help.
Her trot picked up into a canter, as she continued down the street. Nothing could go wrong, this day, she thought.
Spike laid down in his bed, relaxing. It was almost midday. He hadn't started on any of his daily chores, but he didn't feel he needed to. It was one of those warm summer days where he didn't want to do anything, didn't feel he needed to, and felt good doing it.
His eyes scanned across the book he held above his head. A fascinating little coming-of-age story about two young foals falling in love. It was one of those things that just made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. He ended another chapter, where Plum Cake finally told Spring Showers how he felt about her, and Spike's hopeful heart was held aloft, so he decided to put a pin in the narrative. Just as the story started to build to an impressive climax, he thought this was the perfect time to take a break.
He pulled the bookmark from its previous position and placed it on the current page, before closing the book, and dropping it to his side. He was hungry.
Rolling out of bed, he quickly ran out his bedroom door. He had a plan. A plan involving sweets. Sugarcube Corner was the place he wanted to be.
"It's not that simple, Apple Bloom," Applejack explained.
"But why not?" her little sister replied.
Apple Bloom's mild tantrum was starting to annoy her sister. All Applejack wanted to do this day was finish up the harvest in the north field, before moving on to the next. And all that was actually happening was a pointless argument that she could not understand the necessity of.
"Because just planting more trees means more crowded leaves," the elder pony explained. "Meaning less sunlight will actually reach them, which means less fruit."
"Or, it'll mean less actual leaves will grow, meaning more fruit will grow in its place."
As she was listening to her sister's rebuttal, Applejack quickly bucked a nearby tree, allowing some of the last loose apples to fall. "Come on Mac," she interjected, gesturing to her elder brother only a few trees away. "Back me up on this."
"You just don't like any of my ideas," Apple Bloom continued. "Just because it's my idea, doesn't mean it's a bad one."
"Well, sugarcube, once you come up with an idea that'll actually work, I'll pay attention."
"You just don't care about me," she pouted, turning around and slouching on the grassy field.
"What was that!?" Applejack asked, slightly incensed.
Apple Bloom crossed her forehooves, with her back to her sister, as she attempted to give Applejack 'the silent treatment.'
The front door of Sugarcube Corner swung open as two young fillies exited the store, carrying their sarsaparillas, as they laughed away the day.
"Of course, that's when I decided, 'screw this, I'm going on my own,'" Scootaloo explained. Her story just about reaching its climax.
"Then what happened?" Sweetie Belle asked, taking a sip of her beverage.
"I fell!"
A small amount of the carbonated drink went up Sweetie Belle's nose.
"I fell off the cloud, onto another one," Scootaloo continued, coming to a stop as her best friend recovered. "Then I fell off that one, onto another one. Thankfully it wasn't the hardest impact I ever had, but still, it was pretty bad. I'm blaming Mercury on that one. I think she made the clouds extra hard to spite me." She proceeded to take another sip.
"Please," the young unicorn explained, bowling over. "Please don't do that again, not when I'm drinking."
"It's your fault," she explained. "You asked."
The two best friends shared another laugh, as they continued down the road.
In the skies above Ponyville, many pegasi were working hard.
"Sunny," came a voice from high above. "We're cutting it close with those rain clouds. They need to be at Sweet Apple Acres within the hour."
Sunny Skies was wrestling with a small cloud. She could tell something was wrong with it. "Sorry Rainbow Dash," she shouted to the skies above. "I think there's something wrong with this one. It doesn't feel very stable."
Her boss swooped down to her level. "It's a rain cloud, Sunny."
"Yeah, but feel it," she said, squeezing the firmament next to her. "They asked for a drizzle right? This feels more like a storm cloud."
Rainbow Dash placed her hooves on the cloud, and began squeezing. Noticing the subtleties in the fibres, she determined they were a bit too fragile. Bringing her hooves together within the structure, she felt a mild electric current running through. "You're right," she explained. "It's not a storm cloud, but the wrong kind of jolt could make it one." She pulled her hooves out. "I don't want us accidentally starting a fire over there. Applejack would kill me."
"So what do we do?" Sunny asked. "Should we just throw it out and grab a new one?"
Rainbow put a hoof to her chin. "We're already running thin enough as it is. I don't want to dispose of any clouds unless we have to. The next cloud shipment's not 'til next week."
Sunny paused for a second. "Can we fix it?" she asked.
"That's what I'm thinking, merge in some more stable cloud fibres." Rainbow's eyes scanned the immediate area. "Clear Skies, Open Skies," she shouted, waving her hoof. "Over here, bring those clouds!"
Everyone makes mistakes. It happens every day... everywhere. They can be tiny mistakes, like spilling a glass of juice, or big mistakes, like breaking an ancient sculpture. It is only natural. A slip of the finger, a careless word, or a misjudgment of one's strength. But no matter the scale, everyone wants to fix their mistakes. Clean up their messes. Fix the damage. But sometimes, a mistake cannot be fixed. A mistake cannot be corrected. Which is something that cannot be helped. But normally, the consequences of these do not spread far. Normally, the consequences of a mistake would not be felt by every living being across existence. The consequences would not cause death and pain on every planet in the universe.
Today was a normal day in Equestria. But that was about to end.
Applejack walked away from her sister. "If you're gonna sulk all morning, go sulk in the farmhouse," she explained. "Your brother and I are trying to work."
Apple Bloom didn't move. She wanted her sister to see just how upset she was.
"Mac," Applejack shouted. "Could you bring the wagon over?" She looked over in her brother's direction. Only to find he wasn't there. "Mac?" she wandered over to where he was, eyes scanning the area, "Macintosh!?"
Apple Bloom suddenly grew concerned. She twisted her upper body around. Applejack was right, her brother was missing.
Applejack proceeded to trot over to her little sister. "Apple Bloom? Where's your brother?"
It was at that moment, Apple Bloom saw something that would haunt her for life. As she watched her sister turn to ash, the fragments being caught in the air, drifting into the sky, and vanishing before her very eyes.
Shock permeated her soul. She instantly got to her hooves. "Applejack?" she cried. Running over to where her sister stood a moment earlier, she quickly started scanning the area. "Applejack!"
Was it a prank? Were they trying to fool her or something? Teach her some life lesson? She didn't much care, she just wanted her siblings. She wanted to see them, and have them tell her everything was alright.
She spun around, searching for some type of clue, something that would tell her what had just happened.
"Macintosh!?" she screamed. Desperate for some response. "Applejack!?"
Tears rolled down her face.
"MACINTOSH!"
Fear and pain possessed her.
"APPLEJACK!!!"
Rainbow shoved the new cloud pieces into the unstable cloud. Sunny, Open, and Clear all worked together, massaging the structure to ensure the cloud merge was complete.
"It's feeling a lot better," Sunny replied.
"Nearly..." Rainbow interjected. "Open Skies," she said, gesturing to the stallion across from her. "Pass me another tuft."
He reached behind him and tore another piece from the much stabler source cloud before tossing it across.
Rainbow Dash deftly caught it, and shoved it in a position very near the middle of the cloud. She immediately got back to carefully massaging the structure, and the others quickly joined her.
"Stop," their leader said. They all complied. Then, she quickly folded the whole thing in half, stomped on it a bit, and started rubbing it down into position. "Alright, go." They began massaging again, as per Rainbow's orders; stretching and kneading to ensure it was all evenly mixed. After around twenty seconds, Rainbow stopped, and so did they. She took out a small tuft, and began examining it. "I think we're done," she explained, before returning the tuft to its home.
The four of them collectively took a break, and began resting their forehooves on their completed work.
"Thank you so much, Rainbow Dash," Sunny Skies said. "I don't know what we'd do without you."
Rainbow began rubbing the back of her neck. "Aww," she replied, slightly embarrassed. "It's nothing, really."
Sunny Skies smiled at her boss, nay, friend. Grateful for her help. As she suddenly dissolved into dust.
The smile slowly faded from Rainbow Dash's face as she realized what she had just witnessed. She turned to the other two weatherponies.
"Where'd she go?" Clear Skies asked. Just before she disintegrated as well.
Open and Rainbow, suddenly panicked, quickly took their hooves off the finished rain cloud, before Rainbow Dash kicked it away.
"What was that!?" he screamed.
"I don't know!" Rainbow replied, panic and desperation in her voice. "I don't even know how it happened! It's a rain cloud! Not a volcano!"
Just then, they noticed they could hear screaming above them. Craning their necks, they looked to the skies, and saw that no pony was working, because many of them were too concerned with the fact that many more were turning to dust before their eyes.
Then, Rainbow realized. "I don't think it's because of the rain cloud."
Twilight stood by Rarity's work table. Her friend had already gone to the back room to retrieve the supplies they were going to work with. She wasn't sure exactly why Rarity needed the assistance, but when a friend asks for help, you gotta help a friend.
"Now," Rarity said, exiting the back room of the dress shoppe. "Twilight, I need you to understand something very important." She gestured to the roll of pure white fabric balanced on her back. "This fabric is very sensitive to magic, it does not react well."
"Okay," Twilight responded.
"This means no magical spells, no magical grips, no touching it with something that's in a magical grip, and no magic near it whatsoever."
Her friend's caution worried her somewhat. "Okay, why? What happens?"
Rarity grabbed the roll with her teeth, and slid it onto the work table. She let out a sigh, recovering from the gruelling labour she was not used to. "Do not concern yourself with that, darling," she said, before wandering over to her desk. "Just avoid the situation in the first place."
Twilight felt slightly uncomfortable. "Honestly, Rarity if it's so sensitive to magic, it's probably not a good idea to make a dress out of it. I mean, are you going to rely on everyone your customers encounter knowing the 'don't let magic touch my dress' rule?"
The pen holder shuffled around in Rarity's magic as she pulled out a small pen knife. "Oh darling, don't assume I'm naïve. Once the dress is complete, there's a special treatment that'll protect it from magic, and make it impervious."
Then Twilight realized. "Oh, it's dragonweave," she responded, as she started to rub the fabric, appreciating its soft texture.
"Yes, it's a very special order, that I honestly have to keep hush-hush about."
Rarity continued to examine all her tools, just to make sure she had all she needed. Measuring tape, pen knife, pen, and cut-out diagram. She examined the diagram quickly, so she could come up with a plan of attack. Finally satisfied she was ready, she gathered all her tools with her magic, and began trotting back to her work table.
As she heard her friend approach, her attention still fixed on the dragonweave, she wondered. "So, where exactly did you get this stuff? It's not exactly easy-"
A soft clatter rang out.
Twilight looked up. Rarity wasn't there.
"Rarity?" she asked. Her head turned every which way it was capable of, as she quickly scanned the room for her friend. "Rarity?"
Turning her attention to the space in front of the desk, she noticed what caused the clatter. The tools Rarity was carrying earlier were now scattered on the floor.
"Rarity?"
Twilight then noticed something else; something quite suspect. For above the small scattering of equipment, she could see a loose cloud of particles, like flakes of ash, floating in the air.
"Rarity!?"
She ran over to the cloud, and saw it fading away.
A thought sneaked through her head. Was she just being paranoid? That cloud... that couldn't have been... How?
"Rarity!?"
She ran into the back room.
"RARITY!?"
No sign.
She spotted the spiral stairs leading to the second floor.
She ran to them.
"RARITY!?" she cried to the upper level.
No response.
Panic was starting to properly set in, now.
In one of Ponyville's many public squares, ponies from all over town were milling about. Some were wandering through, on their way to other parts of town. Others were visiting some of the many storefronts, shopping for supplies, looking for entertainment, or browsing for fun. And even more were just chatting to friends they'd unexpectedly encountered on the way. And observing all this, sitting on a bench on the edge of the square, were two young fillies, still nursing their sarsaparillas.
"You know," Scootaloo said. "I think someone should tell ponies that if you're going to dress up... probably pretend you're actually going somewhere."
Sweetie Belle followed her friend's gaze, and saw a stallion in a very nice jacket-shirt-and-tie combo, wandering about... looking around. He walked from one end of the square to the other, looking at the store signs, then walked back. He shuffled around a bit, looking at every sign he could, before returning to the other side of the square. He was clearly lost.
The two fillies had a private giggle.
Sweetie Belle's eyes landed on the nearby café, off to her left. There were a few ponies there, dining on pastries and coffee, in the outside dining area. But two unicorn ponies caught her eye.
"See those two?" she asked.
Scootaloo turned to look, a straw sitting in her mouth as she took a sip of her beverage.
"What do you think?"
"Hmmmm..." she moaned pensively, releasing the straw. "First date?"
"Unlikely," Sweetie Belle explained. "Look at him, happy, enjoying himself, loves to just be around her."
Scootaloo watched, and her friend was right. The smile on the stallion's face was plastered there. Even when he was eating his danish, or drinking his coffee, the upturned corners of his mouth indicated that it wasn't just an act he was dropping when his face was covered. He was his most happy at this moment.
"But the mare," she continued. "She's laughing, she's smiling; but notice, she looks down."
Scootaloo observed, and her friend was right... again.
"Smile drops, she takes a sip of her coffee, and only when she looks up does she start smiling again."
"Ooooo..." Scootaloo replied. "What does that mean?"
"Best guess? He's really into her. She has to let him down gently," Sweetie Belle explained. "What you're looking at there is a 'breakup lunch'."
Scootaloo grimaced. "Kinda feel sorry for him," she said, before quickly slurping down the last of the sarsaparilla. She examined the now-empty bottle, and quickly tossed it into the trashcan beside her.
Suddenly, a bit of commotion occurred to their right. The two girls turned their heads, assuming whatever it was would be more interesting in the immediate than just watching two ponies who might break up later have a sedate lunch now. And what they saw may have been more interesting. But they would've described it as confusing and horrifying.
Two stallions were standing at the edge of the square. Obviously, they were friends, intending to just talk about their day. But at this moment, rather than talk, one of them was too busy staring at his hoof as it started to disintegrate before his eyes.
His companion backed away in fear, before tripping over and falling on his rump, as he watched some type of corruption creep down his friend's foreleg, and across the rest of his body, turning the stallion into dust.
"What the--!?" Scootaloo exclaimed.
Over at the café, more commotion. They turned to see the sorta-happy couple, as their lunch came to an end. Not because of the breakup, but because the young mare's body was being transformed into ash before her frightened coltfriend's eyes.
The business-suited stallion stood in the road, still looking for his destination. But it was all rendered unnecessary when he dissolved into a scattering of dust.
Panic began to set in across the square. A unicorn ran across, carrying her shopping bags in magical grips above her head. But suddenly... her bags fell to the ground, their contents scattering across the street, as her ashy remains blew through the air.
Sweetie Belle got to her hooves. Standing on the bench, her drink levitating next to her, she was suddenly in a panic. She didn't understand what was going on or why, or even what to do about it. She knew she had to do something. But she was paralyzed with fear, and overcome with shock. She wasn't prepared for this.
"Sweetie Belle... What's happening?"
She continued to watch as more ponies across the square started turning to dust. Unsure of anything, and unsure of herself, she just stood there in a frozen daze.
"Um... Sweetie Belle..."
She turned to look at her best friend, Scootaloo. The friend she knew would always be there for her. With the two of them, plus Apple Bloom, Cutie Mark Crusaders forever, nothing would ever come between them. Nothing would ever separate them.
She watched her friend... as she lifted her hooves... staring as they crumbled before her.
"Oh no..." Scootaloo lamented.
"Scootaloo!?" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, shocked and scared at the scene before her.
"It doesn't hurt..." she said, with a melancholic smile.
"Scootaloo!" the unicorn tried to grab her best friend by the forelegs, but all they did was crumble to dust the moment she touched them.
Scootaloo looked at her companion. "Sweetie Belle, it's okay, it's fine. You're my best friend, I love you..."
Her body continued to crumble, like a wave creeping across her flesh...
"... be happy..."
... flowing across her chest, up her neck...
"... please don't cry..."
The last of Scootaloo's body vanished, her remains caught by a slight breeze in the air.
Sweetie Belle's still half-full bottle dropped next to the young unicorn, bounced off the edge of the wooden bench, and shattered on the street below.
A few seconds ago, she thought she was panicking. A few seconds ago, she thought she was afraid. No. What she felt earlier was merely white noise. Now she knew panic. Now she knew fear.
"Scootaloo!?" Sweetie Belle cried. "SCOOTALOO!?"
She waved her hooves through the space her best friend had previously sat.
In a panic, she scanned the area.
"This isn't funny!"
Tears flooded her eyes.
"SCOOTALOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
Spike sat in Sugarcube Corner, eating another Rainbow Cupcake. They were Pinkie Pie's specialty, and his favourite sweet from the bakery.
"Heya, Spike!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, as she entered the shoppe front with a tray of doughnuts bouncing on her head. "Enjoying your cupcake!?"
"Really good," Spike stated with a mouthful of pastry.
"I assumed so, it's your sixth one of the day."
His eyes widened. "Is it?" he asked, slightly embarrassed.
Her head popped up from behind the counter. "Uh huuuuh!" she said, before slipping the tray of treats off her head, allowing them to slide into the counter display case.
He swallowed. "Guess I should pace myself," he said.
"Oh come on, Spike," Pinkie said, racing over to give the growing dragon a big hug. "You don't need to worry about that."
"I don't?" Spike asked, from somewhere beneath Pinkie's chest.
"No," she cried, putting him at foreleg's length. "You're brilliant, just the way you are."
A slight rosiness appeared on his cheeks. "Thanks Pinkie."
"I mean, you are getting a little chubby, but that's nothing a bit of exercise can't fix." She turned around and hopped into the back of the store, singing a merry tune, leaving Spike alone with the awkwardness that followed.
Spike picked up the remaining half of his cupcake. His mind was conflicted. Was his waistline bad enough that he had to worry about it? Or should he just relax and finish his treat? He spent several seconds staring at the pastry, his mind wavering back and forth. Unsure of what to do.
But as he was lost in thought, his concentration was broken. Broken by a noise on the street outside. Broken by a scream.
"AHHHHHHH!!!"
He looked up, and shifted his gaze to the window outside. At first he was surprised to see nothing unusual out there. No nasty virus-bugs, no giant monsters, no mad ponies trying to take over the town, and no evil spirits conniving to shroud the land in darkness. But after a few seconds, he saw exactly what all the fuss was about, and in Spike's view, it was more frightening than all those things put together. What he saw were ponies, in the street, instantly turning to dust.
A young colt, still of school age, ran down the road, only to collapse in a pile of ash.
In the skies above, he saw weather ponies, flying around in a panic, as many of their numbers crumbled before his eyes.
Across the road, two ponies sat, observing the carnage around them, in shock and horror, until they too collapsed into dust.
"PINKIE!?" Spike screamed. "Something's happening!"
"Spike?" Pinkie's voice had shifted. It was not the usual cheery tone that it was a mere minute ago. It was much more sombre... much more nervous... much more scared.
He turned around to see Pinkie Pie stumble into the room, a look of sadness and concern on her face.
"Spike," the baker said, as she stumbled in front of the counter. "I don't feel so good."
She collapsed in the centre of the shoppe.
Spike acted quickly, jumping off his chair, he went straight to his friend, and helped her lean her back against the shoppe counter.
Putting a claw on her chest, he found her heartbeat. It was racing. She was panicked. She was scared.
But most jarringly, now that she was up close, Spike could clearly see pink flakes come off her body. He realized, whatever was happening outside, was happening to her.
"Spike..." Pinkie said, her voice shaking. "I'm scared..."
"It's okay, Pinkie," he replied, in the most reassuring tone he could manage. "You'll be fine, you're gonna be okay, you'll be fine."
"Spike," she replied, bringing a hoof to the side of his face. "Friends don't lie."
The tears he was holding back were suddenly let loose. "I think you're dying!" he sobbed, anguished and afraid.
Pinkie nodded, turning her gaze forward, preparing to accept her fate.
Then Spike realized: she wasn't gone yet. His tears began to ebb. "Pinkie, you're fighting this. Keep fighting it! Don't give up!"
She shook her head. "I'm not gonna win this one."
"No... no no no..."
She then turned to her best friend. "Spike," she said, preparing for her final request.
He looked up.
"Pinkie Promise me..."
"Anything... ANYTHING!!!"
"Find who did this... make them pa---"
Pinkie's body dissolved into ash. Spike fell through, as his hand hit the floor where she just was.
The tears continued to flow.
"No..."
He cried.
"Pinkie... please... no..."
Twilight trotted out Carousel Boutique's front door. The screams of terror outside suddenly made her realize something else was going on. Then she saw it; ponies falling into dust all around her.
A young mother, with a tiny stroller, became lost in the wind, leaving her infant child alone.
An elderly couple sat, as they realized what was happening, holding each other in their forelegs. When suddenly the elderly mare vanished into dust.
Off in the distance, she could see two young foals, one colt, one filly, running around, chasing each other, playing and having fun, oblivious to the pain around them. Until one of them dissolved into a cloud of ash. Leaving her friend, alone, confused, afraid, and saddened.
Twilight didn't understand. What was happening? Why was it happening!? And what could she do to stop it?
"Twilight!" a voice came. A soft voice... a sweet voice... a beautiful voice... an innocent voice... a pure voice. The voice of her best friend...
"Fluttershy," Twilight said with a smile, finally finding happiness in the world.
She turned and saw the mare gallop toward her, clearly in distress.
No matter what, Twilight knew she would protect her.
As she approached, Twilight opened her forelegs, ready to give her friend a big hug... a comforting hug.
"Twilight," Fluttershy asked. "What's going o---"
Suddenly, Twilight saw up close exactly what was happening, as the remnants blew through her. She observed the particles get caught on the breeze, and break apart again... further... even further... and further... until she could no longer see them anymore. The individual elements were now microscopic. And Twilight had no reason to doubt that they weren't dividing further... even further... and further... until they were nothing more than individual atoms floating in the air.
Twilight would've found the whole thing extremely fascinating, and worthy of much research. Save for the fact that she just watched her best friend die.
A tremor went through her body.
"No..."
She collapsed into a heap.
"NO..."
Pain, anguish and despair, were all she had left...
"NO!"
She screamed...
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
Spike stumbled out of Sugarcube Corner. His head torn apart. His heart in tatters. He had nothing. No energy. If whatever took Pinkie was about to take him, he was okay, he was ready. There was nothing left.
"SPIKE!!!"
Hope.
He turned.
A young, cream, adorable unicorn filly galloped toward him. Her haste justified.
He caught Sweetie Belle in his claws. Her face brushed against his chest. He could feel the moisture from her tears on his scales.
"SPIKE!" she screamed. She turned her gaze upward to look the young dragon in the eye. "Scootaloo!" she cried between sobs. "I just saw her--- She disappeared--- we were just sitting there--- she was gone---"
Spike looked her in the eye, refusing to hide the anguish in his eyes, as tears continued to stream down. "I---" He gestured to the store. "Pinkie--- she--- I held her--- She made me promise---"
"It's happening everywhere!" She cried. Fear and pain in her voice.
"I know..." he replied. Sadness and despair in his.
"Are you next?" She whispered, afraid and sorrowful.
He answered honestly, "I don't know..."
She looked at him with sorrow and pain. "Am I?"
The tears grew in his eyes. "Please no..."
He held her close.
"Don't go."
They collapsed on the street, holding each other close, each begging the other to not leave... to never leave...
Rainbow Dash was incensed. What was happening!? How could this happen!? She flew above Ponyville, watching the streets below... witnessing the ashes flow.
She didn't know who was dusted, and she didn't much care. She just wanted it to stop, before everypony in town joined them. She could mourn the dead later. She had to save the living.
She flew as fast as her wings could carry her. Downtown. Through the city streets. At the speeds she was going, the height she was travelling, Rainbow Dash knew that it could kill her. She had absolutely no time to react to any changes in the environment.
But she didn't care.
If she died, it didn't matter. Because she was probably going to die anyway.
What she had to do was too important to worry about dying.
She scanned the streets, looking for her target. Only one pony could help. If she hadn't yet turned to ash.
Turning a corner she examined a square. The fountain in the middle; A small earth pony climbed on it, trying to get some height to scan the area. But it didn't much matter. For as she looked around, her body dissolved.
A young filly, running with her mother, panic in their faces. But no matter the speed they travelled, no one could be saved, as the child collapsed into dust.
Off in a corner, near Carousel Boutique, a purple lump had collapsed in a heap. Hair draped across. Hair of a darker shade of purple, with lighter streaks within.
She found her target.
"TWILIGHT!" Rainbow screamed. She accelerated, straight toward her friend.
Twilight raised her head, looked up to see her best friend charging right for her.
She recoiled slightly as the brash weathermare approached. But before Rainbow Dash made contact, she spread her wings wide, as her hind hooves hit the ground.
Skidding for several meters, she raised her hooves. And just as she was about to make contact with the young princess, Rainbow Dash grabbed her by the shoulders, and braced against her to complete her ferocious braking manoeuvre.
"TWILIGHT!" she screamed. "What's going on!?"
"I--- I..." Twilight stammered.
Rainbow could see it in her friend's eyes. Red. Bloodshot. Her face, soaked with tears.
"Twilight!" she explained, going slightly calmer. "I need you to get it together. What's going on?"
"I... it..." she looked at the ground below. "Fluttershy..."
Rainbow looked. She could see a slight discoloration on the ground. She understood. Fluttershy was dead. But that didn't matter now.
"Yes, I get it, Twilight." Rainbow explained, in a vain attempt to reassure her friend. "I'm sure you did everything you could. But I need you to focus."
She looked up at her friend.
"Twilight, what's going on?"
She stammered silently.
"Twilight, what's happening? Why is this happening?"
"I... I... I..."
"Twilight! What do we do!?"
"I don't know."
Rainbow stood with shock. Fear in her eyes. Twilight was her only hope. That hope was gone.
"There's nothing we can do..." she continued. "There's nothing we can do..."
Rainbow immediately punched her best friend in the face.
"SNAP OUT OF IT!!!" she screamed. "Look! I get it! Fluttershy's gone. And she's not coming back. You just watched her die. I understand that's awful for you, but I just watched a large chunk of my team dissolve into clouds of ash. Dozens of ponies, all gone. Dead. And I would love to be able to mourn my best friend, and all the others who I just saw die, but we don't have that luxury. Now I don't know how many are gone. But all I know is that the rest of us still need help. We need to stop this happening to us. So don't tell me 'there's nothing we can do.' We're still alive, Twilight."
Twilight rubbed the side of her face, still in shock from Rainbow Dash's actions. But the words she heard stuck. Her eyes crossed the ground, where a portion of Fluttershy's remains lay.
"Twilight," Rainbow continued. Grabbing her friend's chin, she turned Twilight's head to look in her direction. "We can mourn the dead later. Right now, the rest of us need help. So I'll ask you one last time: What do we do?"
Twilight stared into her friend's eyes. Still nursing her bruised cheek. She couldn't speak. She could barely think. How to stop it... how to save them... she had no idea. But then she realized, that's not what Rainbow was asking. 'We're still alive.' She was asking what they do now.
"I think..." Twilight began, lowering her gaze. "We could, we should probably find out who's still alive."
Rainbow smiled her nervous smile. The only kind of smile she could muster at that moment. "Right... see..." she responded. "That's a start."
Her eyes scanned the area, Carousel Boutique was right behind Twilight.
"Rarity," Rainbow began. "Maybe--"
"She's gone," Twilight interrupted.
"Oh... okay," she stammered nervously. Not because she didn't expect it, but because she didn't want to believe it. But it didn't matter, she knew she had to move on. "Well, we have other friends, Twilight. I'm sure they're okay."
The young princess looked up.
"Sugarcube Corner's not far from here," Rainbow continued. "I say we go there next."
Twilight merely nodded.
"Are you coming with me?"
She nodded again.
"Okay," she released her best friend, and started to turn around. But Rainbow was immediately interrupted by a massive hug from Twilight Sparkle, who held her best friend close to her.
She whispered in her ear, "Please, don't ever leave me alone."
Rainbow responded in kind, hugging Twilight as tight as she could, before whispering, "Never ever."
Apple Bloom wandered through the orchard. It didn't take long for her to accept it. Applejack and Macintosh were gone. Gone forever. And they were not coming back. She didn't know how this was possible. How two ponies could, out of nowhere, just vanish into clouds of ash. But it didn't really matter, because that was exactly what happened. There was no denying what she saw. And there was no denying what she knew.
Applejack and Big Macintosh were dead.
"Honk honk honk!"
She looked to the sky.
"Honk honk honk!"
Apple Bloom peaked between the trees, to see the source of the noise. What was it?
"Honk honk honk!"
Moving around, to try to get a good view, she eventually spotted her prize: A flock of Crystal Empire Geese, flying above, in a V-formation. She learned about them in school; how the geese would actually fly their annual migratory patterns all on their own, without the help of any pegasi. But the V-formation was the most fascinating. By flying in a 'V', they actually save energy. The bird at the front does most of the work, but the ones directly behind actually have an easier time, because of a slipstream behind the first bird that pulls them through. It was remarkably clever of the birds, and without the assistance of any pegasi.
But what she saw next made the whole exercise worth it. Suddenly, as they were flying through the sky, it happened. Scattered throughout the flock, several of the geese just began to disintegrate. There was no pattern. There was no design. It was just a random selection of geese that simply vanished, like her sister and brother before them.
The remaining birds immediately saw this, and went into a panic.
"Honk honk honk honk honk honk honk!" They cried.
"Honk-honk-honk-honk honk-honk-honk!" They screamed.
They flew around in circles, trying to find those they lost.
But eventually, it was only a matter of time before they needed to move on. It took less than a minute. They rebuilt their formation, with a new leader, like nothing had ever happened. They had a journey to make. And despite everything, it still had to be made.
But as Apple Bloom observed all this, and understood the lesson they presented to her, there was one crucial piece of information they imparted to her. It was very important. The one piece of information no other pony yet had.
"Half..." she said. "Exactly half..."
Apple Bloom immediately turned around, and ran straight back in the direction she came from, toward the farmhouse. But she was not going to the farmhouse, she was heading for the road into Ponyville. She had to tell somepony... anypony. But that was assuming the right ponies were still alive.
As fast as her hooves could take her, she ran.
not bad.
Ooooh That was so painful to read!
I really can't wait to see what happens next.
9835975
Already written, just waiting for my editor to get back to me.
Tracking beacon activated.
9835975
If you want a quick preview, I'll give you a hint: In my mind, Thanos wasn't simply wrong, morally, but practically. He was naive.
Pinkie, NO!
Holy cow, this was intense. And the rest of the concept is fantastic; will Twilight get to interact with Iron Man? How will Captain America and Dash get along (I was thinking Applejack and Captain America, but considering... ) Well...
Please, more whenever you can! I really can't wait to see how this plays out.
9836023
Well, I do have certain plans, and the hard part will be getting them to interact with Iron Man. Because during the five year gap, it was implied he was no longer active. But I do want Rainbow and Stark to actually meet, for various reasons.
Jeez. Even now, it still hurts.
Though Pinkie asking Spike to make Thanos pay seems OOC.
I'm really liking it so far. I wonder what happened to the other characters. I'm looking forward to see more chapters.
9836067
Little bit. I had a joke planned for the final chapter where [Obvious Avengers: Endgame spoilers] she says 'no silly, I wanted you to make him party! Hee hee! No I'm kidding, I wanted you to make him pay, seriously, he killed me, you should rip his heart out!' And she would say it all with a smile, which is creepier.
In my mind, Pinkie was really recognizing her own mortality, which is something she never really did before. And while she's normally not a vengeful pony, you can't get much more personal than someone murdering you. And she also had a bit of time to think about it. And she didn't want to die, so she was a bit angry. Asking Spike to do it was a bit selfish, and would put a significant burden on him, but she wasn't thinking about that, she was too busy dying.
Unlike Scootaloo, who was thinking about how Sweetie Belle would handle this, and ensured her final words would give her friend happiness, not grief. Not 100 per cent effective, but she tried.
exciting! 1. Was the break up lunch a reference to the Snap victims support group where Russo says he was on a date when it happened? 2. I don't think Scootaloo is that mature yet. Other than that two thumbs up. 3. What is the Equestria drinking law?
9836204
You know, I only included the breakup lunch because I wanted some dialogue of them talking and acting as if this is a normal day, and that felt like it fit. But funnily enough, I already wrote the next chapter, and that does actually tie in. I decided to have Rainbow lead a support group, and one of the members mentions he was the one at the 'breakup lunch'. But that wasn't the original intention.
Originally, I wrote Scootaloo's death to just happen like all the others, with her not noticing. But then I thought I needed to change it up a bit more, and have one where they could react and give their final words. I already had that with Pinkie, but I felt I needed another, in a different style. As for Scootaloo acting unusually mature, and handling it better than one would expect? The way I see it, she had a few seconds to process the situation, before she noticed it was happening to her, so she wasn't too shocked. She probably could've panicked, but to be honest, I just didn't think any other reaction would really work, especially without traumatizing Sweetie Belle more than she already was. And I didn't really want to make that worse. So I'll admit it was mostly narrative convenience.
I think, if Scootaloo was alone, she probably would've panicked. But then she thought about how her friend would handle this. She likes to put on a strong front, as does Rainbow Dash.
Sarsaparilla isn't alcoholic. It's just a soda, basically. From what I read, it's similar to coke, and like most of those things, was originally medicinal.
9836238
Oh Okay. I just remember Tony Dinozo from NCIS drinking it, and he's not known for making smart choices. Like his stick figure girl.
This is definitely the best Infinity War/Endgame MLP crossovers I've read and it's not a oneshot!
The anticipation to know what's going to happen next, uwu, so much death and tragedy for the characters to deal with.
My only hope is that you don't have a time skip next chapter, I want to see reunions between characters and how they react to finding half the population gone. Will they go and try to find family, will the Princesses be effected?
Can't wait to find out, have a like and putting this in my tracking.
Finally, an Infinity War crossover that doesn’t kill Spike!
Uuuugghh, I’m having the same old feelings I had in Infinity War...and of course Pinkie was the one who breaks the fourth and did Peter’s line TT_TT.
I am excited and sadly anticipating the next chapter. :S (even my emojis are getting mixed from being sad or happy)
9836680
Wasn't really 'breaking the fourth wall' but I'm glad someone pointed it out. The reason I replicated Peter's death through Pinkie was because of the reason he reacted that way. It's because they both have that sixth sense, Pinkie through her 'Pinkie Sense' and Spider-Man has his 'Peter Tingle'.
Amma follow this. Great job portraying the desperation and terror everyone was experiencing!
Oh, it's just Thanos again... *goes up into space. Punches Thanos. Thanos dies instantly.* Yeah, still just one.
Alondro = Saitama
9836132
I think it's also arguable that Pinkie had some level of awareness/intuition that she was far from being the only one to be going through that (which would also feed into the anger).
It is a bit out of character, but that gives it some weight, IMO, since it's Pinkie being dead serious.
9836527
Yeah, Twilight really needs to not lose him for once, on top of everything else. She needs her little brother.
Aaaaaa, the feels. And the only reason I know i'm gonna be able to follow this, is cause, well, [Endgame spoilers] I know they're all gonna come back. Least, if your story follows the movie plot at least. *wiggles* I look forward to the survivors meeting the Avengers, and what part they might play in fixing everything in this one.
9836704
I’m so glad we’re calling it the Peter Tingle now :) its meaning could go both ways
Good start building up how horrifying it would be. Now... What happens next?
You have my upvote and favorite.
And what's next?
They magically and conveniently plotwise create space ship to travel to Avengers?
9836013
IIRC, having half of the Earth's population die would only take us back about forty years in headcount, yeah.
So how did you decide who lived and who died?
Hmm, an interesting premise. I don't think I've seen any other story where what remains of the Mane 6 travel outside of their home planet in order to find out what happened.
I look forward to their reaction when they find the origin, and when they meet the Avengers.
Rainbow Dash is gonna break down into an emotional mess when she finds out about what happened to Scootaloo. I can see that Spike could end up snapping and becoming like Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, if he sees another one of his friends be killed off, especially if it was like how he watched Pinkie die or if it’s Twilight Sparkle that he loses.
9837231
No, that's not actually correct. You can't just flatten the population growth from the world population down into a single ratio. The current Earth population count is just a sum of all the populations of every country on Earth, most with very different circumstances and birth rates.
9837188
Magically? Yes. It's Equestria. Conveniently? Not so much. They don't even know where to look yet, I should point out.
9837231
I heard it was 50.
How did I choose? Well, I didn't flip a coin. I know someone did that. Basically, whomever I wanted. The ones I saved are the heroes of the story.
I created two lists for the Ponyville region. And every time I add a pony to one of the lists, I have to add a pony to the other. And if I want to change the list, It has to be a trade. I also had to make sure it wasn't off balance when it came to age or first initial, which seems like a weird thing to compensate for, but I had to do it. At first, too many names came before 'F'.
9837298
Yeah, that's one she doesn't handle well. But she's also trying to be the emotional rock, particularly during that first day. Putting on a brave face.
9837440
No, but the point is, when it came to overpopulation, Thano's snap wouldn't solve the problem, at least long-term. Maybe it'll take longer than 40 or 50 years, but eventually our population will double. And yeah, birth rates are different in different areas. Still... the result will be earth's population up to 7 billion once again. All Thanos did was delay things.
9836063
Actually I can see Dash pairing up with Barton better then with Tony. The whole "going underground killing bad guys ´cause I failed my family" have a really strong (abide, twisted) Loyalty vibe to it. I can see Dash having a very emotional talk with Barton ´bout letting those you love down, and how you need to put your show together to fix things up again, just like she did with Twilight in the first chapter.
Overall, Sir, you have my fully attention...great introduction, very well done.
9837188
There are lots of great ideas to that. You have the whole mirror portal thing to work with. One idea I would love to see is an alien space ship asking for help in Equestria, due to having half of its crew dissapearing, anf Twilight and Co. learning from the aliens that all the whole Universe lost half of its population. And, then, frindships kicks in, and the pair up with the aliens to go to a remote place where rumours says the final battle against Thanos happened. A forgotten planet called "Earth".
9837710
9837638
I think the better way to do this is, some years, months later, after the snap when Captain Marvel travels, guards and patrols galaxy she finds this planet and etc.
9837715
Carol interacting with poneys !?!?
I DEMAND IT....NOW !
I’ve got to say, this has been a really traumatic read. Good job! The way you were able to capture the feelings of loss, panic and despair was masterful.
So looking forward to see how this turns out!
Well, for once Spike survived the Decimation. Now the question which of the princesses made it through, cause usually one if not both of them end up dusted.
I'm liking this so far. Though will Discord make an appearance? He seems like a character that could add some interesting elements to the story.
Very clever Apple Bloom! Need team work to bring down Thantos.
Also I'd like Lightning Dust and Trixie to have survived...a lot of opportunity for why them as well as a chance to create new friendships in the light of tragedy.
9836013
I mean, and you're being very polite to Thanos, shall we say.
For a start, given different species reproduce at different rates, it would have mostly have meant the species - ironically - best position for over-abuse of resources through population explosions would have got their biggest leg-up ever.
Also apparently Thanos had never heard of mass extinctions, either...
(And on a personal level, one assumes all the Undead would be LAUGHING (okay maybe not that inferior breed that actually need mortal to feed off, but frack those guys anyway). Especially any groups in positions of national, global or galactic power. Wipe out 50% of all the competition at a fell stroke for no losses? Neat!)
I could go on for hours as to why Thanos' plan Teh Stupids, but that's not really why we're here.
...
Actually, no, now I really want to see Twilight giving the full lecture of why his plan was bad as should feel bad, as ponies and Avengers collectively kick his arse. I'm sure Carol and Celestia can hold him still long enough to give him the Full Twilight...
9837707
I... really like that idea. But my plan for the Tony-Rainbow interaction is actually Rainbow tearing him a new one. They wouldn't get on. She'd scream at him, tell him he's not a hero because heroes don't give up. Then, a few days later, just as the group is about to leave Earth, Tony shows up at Avengers headquarters to see them off, and tells Rainbow that she's probably right. So he gives her a gift, because she deserves it more than him, and it's a multicoloured nanotech Iron Mare suit.
9837710
9837715
While Carol visiting Equestria could make a lot of sense, I'm thinking of something a lot more proactive.
9837802
Discord... see I'm on the fence about him, I don't know whether or not he survives. I have been killing off a lot of characters, so Discord surviving would adjust the balance. But he might be more of a nuisance. With Flutter's dusted, he could have little to lose. He might want to go with Twilight and the gang on their journey, and just... no. He's not allowed. If he's alive, he's staying on Equestria. So I don't know yet.
9838580
Man, give Tony a break. He didn't just give up, he gave so much to the human race only to fail. He deserved those 5 years of happiness with his daughter and wife. He gave up so much, he is a true hero. There was no clear option of what to do before Antman came back, what was he supposed to do? Keep slowly killing himself for others, only then is he a true hero? The idea of someone dressing him down just because he wants to spend time with his family is just... gross. I can get behind Rainbow getting a suit maybe, but Tony giving it away because he feels he doesn't deserve it is terrible reasoning. He saved the world so many times, put the work into building the thing, it's his. He earned it a thousand times over. Giving up the suit is just... antithetical to his whole character.
9838628
Oh, no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I would agree with her. I'm just saying that's how she would see the situation. Especially after he refuses to help them. That's my point, I'm still working on the set up.
9838657
I don't see Tony going along with it though, he protected the shit out of his suits. He only gave one to Pepper I don't see how you could justify him falling for what she's saying and giving up what he's poured so much time and effort into. Especially to someone he only met recently.
I don't think he would go along with the theoretical dressing down either. Your core reasoning is that he thinks this random alien deserves what he poured most of his life into more than him, and I just can't see that.
9838667
Well, thanks for that. I'm working on it though.
9838669
I hope you do. I like the story so far.
Man, this really...hit me hard for several reasons:
1. Scootaloo is like a mini-Rainbow Dash: she acts harsh and tough. Yet, faced with certain death, she drops the brash and instead offers her kindness.
2. No child should have to lose a friend in such a terrible way.
Cue, muffled “Dear Mr. Fantasy” playing in the infinite of space.
Man thats pretty good
9837963
To be fair, the original (comic) Thanos made the most sense between the two.
MCU Thanos: I will bring balance to the universe and then die.
Comic Thanos: I will kill a quarter of the universe so that Death will fuck me, and then I will spend my days killing people to make her wet.
Movie Thanos was a joke.
9840219
Oh please, really?
So, why do you want to wipe out half of existence?
Movie Thanos: This'll fix overpopulation, and save the universe.
Comic Thanos: MUGH! I want to get my leg over!
Comic Thanos is just sad. He's like Elliot Rodger. He's a joke. I know it probably makes sense in comic books, but to most people, he would just seem pathetic.