Vinyl Scratch, Octavia Philharmonica, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Erik Equineson and Raincloud
The Tower, Present Day
The air was unusually cold. Perhaps it was an omen, but they couldn’t think of things like that now. Not one pony said a word to another as they walked into the tower. The path was familiar, they walked, one-by-one, up to the fifth floor. The fifth floor was larger and more ornate than ever before. The walls appeared to be made of gold and seemed to extend infinitely into the heavens. Massive stained glass panels where spread across the walls, depicting wars and peace, death and life. In the center of it all nine ponies stood, an orb of light held above them by an invisible force.
None of those things were the most shocking though. Behind the nine figures was the most breathtaking scene that had ever been. The sun and the moon, engaging in a dance of power, were only a few meters away. They all watched in horror as the moon shifted and began to move away; the eclipse was ending. Octavia moved into position in front of Vinyl and Twilight, whose horns glowed. A beam of energy left the two and joined at Octavia’s back. The nine turned and watching in horror as the beams left Octavia, joined, and traveled for the nearest alicorn.
The beam hit him square in the chest, but the result was not as expected. He began laughing, the energy traveling over his skin in arcs. “Your magic does not work here,” a low growl came from his body. He turned back and focused on the orb of light once again.
The six stared in horror as a beam left the sun and grew in intensity to the point where they had to look away. Behind them they heard a loud thud. Standing at the back of the room was a massive stallion whose soul had been taken. Vinyl and Raincloud said his name together. “Soturi.”
The stallion charged at them full speed. They all jumped out of the way but he caught Octavia on the side, creating a large gash. Her eyes went white and she fell unconscious almost immediately. I’ve got to do something! Erik thought. He looked at the orb of light suspended in the middle of the nine. Maybe if I can get to that I can stop all of this.
Erik ran forward, past Soturi, straight toward the center of the nine. He never made it, though, as an arc of lightning shot out from the orb. The bolt of electricity went straight through his head, creating a hole that could be seen directly through. It seemed as though it had worked, though. The orb dimmed and the moon shot up in front of the sun again. The nine bowed their heads and Soturi collapsed. The alicorn that had spoken before turned around. “Equestria will burn, that is my promise. You, however, will never see that promise fulfilled, any of you. You will die here.”
His horn glowed and an arc of lightning shot out, striking Vinyl and knocking her back with a hole opened in her chest. “It is truly unfortunate that you resisted. I actually thought you would stay out of the way. Poor Vinyl and Octavia, the two joined by fate, but at least they die together.”
He turned toward Rainbow Dash. “You, who wanted to join the Wonderbolts so much. That was all time wasted. If you had practiced a bit harder instead of settling for your natural talent you might just have lived.” Another arc shot out, burning Rainbow’s wings until they were no more.
“Twilight Sparkle, the faithful student,” He said, turning to the purple unicorn who was struggling to rise. “Don’t bother trying anymore. Your teacher has failed you, all of you. You can die with the knowledge that your friends actually save you in the end.” A lightning bolt struck Twilight on her horn and smaller bolts exited all over her body as she collapsed.
“And finally, Raincloud,” He said with a hint of sadness in his voice. “I’m almost sorry to have to kill you; I actually kind of enjoyed your antics. You tried so hard to be good but you were so clearly cut out for evil.” A final arc shot out from his horn, striking Raincloud on the head.
He turned and walked to rejoin the other eight. “Let us begin, once again.”
The orb rose and began to flicker with light again. Then, just as quickly as it had begun to grow brighter, it shattered into a million billion pieces. The alicorn’s eyes grew wide in shock. “You will pay for your crimes,” a voice came from above them.
The nine looked up to see Luna and Celestia descending. “You murdered thousands of innocents,” The spoke in unison. “You brought harm to our land and rose up against our throne. For thse things you will face punishment.”
The alicorn smirked. “I see you regained your free will. It’s a shame, but Equestria will burn without you.”
“No, it will be the nine of you that will burn eternally, bound by the chains of our ancestors,” The princess’ horns began to glow brightly and flashed with a blinding light which filled the entire room. When the flash cleared, the princesses saw what they could have never dreamed would happen. Their ace-in-the-hole that they had reserved for just such an occasion had failed. A spell which could never let Equestria down had done just that.
The nine spoke in unison, their voices filled with hatred. “We are too powerful for you. You two thought that love and friendship would be an invincible defense against forces such as us, but you were wrong and now you and all of your subjects pay the price.” A pillar of fire shot up from the center of the nine and enveloped Celestia and Luna, turning them to ash.
“Now, let’s do that to this entire land,” the alicorn said.
* * *
What is destiny? Is it an invisible hand of a greater good or is it an evolutionary instinct? Does God exist? Do angels watch over us? It is the ultimate secret; the one that no one lives to tell. What about those of us that nearly die? Are our visions of heaven or hell just the final synapses of a desperate organism or are we really getting a preview of the greater things to come?
Maybe there is no fate, no driving force. Perhaps nothing happens for a reason and it really is all random. There’s no denying the facts. We are made of particles, which make up chemicals and tissues which make up organs which make up us. Why is it, though, that these facts can’t be pointing to something greater? It is our nature to stride forward and bear witness to new, amazing things. It is our purpose in this universe to figure out as much as we can.
But the question still remains: Is there more?
I don’t believe destiny is an evolutionary imperative or a plan from something transentient.
I believe destiny is what we choose for ourselves. Now, out of all of the options, I choose life over death. I choose to fight on and fulfill my purpose so that others may fulfill theirs. Today I choose my destiny to be the savior of everyone I love.
* * *
“Let’s start with Ponyville,” the alicorn said. The nine’s horns all glowed brightly in different colors, but then gave out as though they no longer could harness their energy. In fact, they couldn’t anymore.
None of them noticed the figure rising behind them, covered in her own blood and the blood of those she held close. None of them saw the aura that surrounded her. All they saw, for the rest of eternity, was darkness.
And there was darkness. Darkness accompanied by the pain and suffering of everypony in Equestria. It was all there. All of the pain, sadness, joy, excitement, suspense, and every other emotion and feeling were there. And there were particles and chemicals. There was indescribable energy and things which could not be seen.
Above it all, there was an invisible thread.