"At the end of the game, the King and the Pawn go back into the same box."

In the land of Equestria, there are no differences, no heartache, no progress, no purpose. There is just life, and whatever comes after. Everypony is equal. Starlight Glimmer won, but she may have also lost.

She built the box, but the game is about to end.

Entry for EquestriaDaily's Writer's Training Grounds.

They're gone... and they're never coming back.

It was a spontaneous decision, one that I regret every waking moment. At the time, when I had to choose between my friends and all the alicorn magic in Equestria, I didn't answer the question fast enough.

They're dead now, and the worst part? I won.

Pre-read by randome284.
Edited by Dreams of Ponies.
Proofread by Nightmare Darkness and additional post-edits by AAIQU.
Cover art by dream--chan on Deviantart.
Now with an audio reading!
Side story by Dreams of Ponies.
Featured 7/15/17 - 7/18/17. Thanks guys!

Each night I’m trapped in the dark, immobilized. I hear whispers as they operate on me: they say I shouldn’t be alive. Twilight refuses to tell me about the operation. Sometimes she can’t look me in the eye. What did they do to me?

Nothing used to scare me: I kicked a dragon in the nose, defeated gods of chaos and hatred, and control the weather. Now I feel broken. My memories have shattered, I feel wrong, and I’m afraid to tell anypony how scared I am.

I can’t even do the rainboom anymore. Who am I? I’m no longer the best flyer in Equestria, yet everypony assures me I am. Why won’t they tell me the truth?
↓↓ Credits

Special Thanks:
Dreampaw the artist. Best cover art.
Editors:
ArgonMatrix - Fixed 128 errors in chapter one alone.
Animus - who is awesome and for hire.
BronyWriter - The only author to punch Celestia in the face, and live.
Jaestring - Artist, Editor, and Female all in one.
Abcron - European editor, which means his time zone and my actual sleep schedule are aligned perfectly!
The Parasprite. Need I say more?
Selbi - If your editor isn't German, you aren't trying hard enough.
OctaviaHarmony - His avatar is as sexy as his editing.
RenegadeTimelord - Doctor who?
Akumokagetsu - Awesomesauce.
(Wow, a lot of editors came and went.)