//------------------------------//
// Shift 
// Story: Shift 
// by Odd_Sarge 
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Once upon a time, Equestria was the shining pillar of the world, the light in darkness.

And then that pillar grew black with shadow.

Eons ago, griffons were the tactical geniuses of the world. Sometimes, I wish I were born a griffon, blessed with the ability to end conflict with the least amount of bloodshed, or in the best cases, without the need for blood at all. If we were an empire of griffons, we would have surrendered before this war had started, and we would have been taken from the darkness and cleansed without senseless conflict. If we were an empire of griffons, the darkness would not have been an end to a world, but the next step in our story.

But we are ponies, and we are destined to die in darkness.

Long ago, we sat stagnant, waiting for the opportunity to truly prove to the world that we were worthy of the gifts of Harmony; the six pillars of the light, the six artifacts of Harmony. We’ve done such horrible things with our knowledge of the light’s weaknesses, and abused our power to incapacitate the races of the Earth in anticipation for the second return of Harmony. But the truth is, Harmony was never with this empire from the start; her light’s willingness to leave us pacifist was the reason she disappeared, as not everypony was content to be so kind. Harmony disappeared long ago, and with her came the death of the Princesses of Equestria.

I can’t remember the last time the town criers were out about the Canterlot Capitol disseminating their demonic interpretation of Harmony. All I hear now from these blind, dark beasts, are the rumbling echoes of distant conflict, of the enemy warships above the stratosphere, of the artillery shells fired from continents away, of the countless bases lost in moments. We could have prevented the world from falling to the decay of total war, but we came out bearing arms, borne down by our urge to fight against all under the light’s banner. I was born a pony… but we are nothing like our ancestors. Equestria has become the darkness it once fought so long ago… and we are witness to the harbingers of death from the stars. The old Harmony is nothing but a scab upon this evil empire, a grim reminder to ponykind that we were once weak when we were light… but those who believe that the darkness is what made us strong are truly blind.

This is not the Equestria my family founded our values around. It is not the one worth fighting for. The Apples went from an honest people, to idolized patriots, and now… empty despots. Our family once represented one of the six pillars of light, and now, we are nothing like the first Applejack. When Equestria turned to the Apples to lead a nation in the midst of mourning, we settled into the role given to us by fate. We saw ourselves surrounded by the light, our nation plagued by darkness. The action of the rogue assassin among us had shattered the core of our beliefs, and as such, we lost sight of what it meant to be a pony. Blinded and delusional, we saw the fragments of Harmony’s light left behind by the princesses as a comforting darkness. We grew to resent the prideful light of nations outside Equestria, blaming it as the reason our leaders had been killed. Harmony’s darkness, shed from the loss of alicornkind, became our ally, and under its shadow, we united the world under the rule of the Apple Council, fully entrenched in the belief that a world shrouded in darkness would bring Harmony back.

But Equestria was never meant to become the capital of a global empire, we were meant to be a model nation for the world… a model for the power of friendship... a model for friendship’s ability to burn away darkness. We are an antithesis to friendship. We are hated, we are burdened, we are darkened. We persevere under the belief that the darkness strengthens us, and that is why we have been able to conquer the world.

This despicable empire is not what the princesses so long ago would have wanted. I weep for them so; everyday I do, I truly do, hoping that their light will one day graze me and attempt to pull me from the thrall of this dark bloodline. Alas, I know I would never truly be saved. For an Apple killed the princesses, and all I can ask for is a candle to ward away my familial sins.

I cannot be saved. We cannot be saved. We are the crepid shadow monsters, puppeted by an order made oh so long ago.

Us Apples were quick to drive Equestria’s descent into darkness. We argued that exacerbating our friendship with the nations outside had killed our princesses, for the other nations had been jealous of our inherent ability to wield Harmony’s elements. We pointed our hooves and cried out that every nation was against us, and that we were the only remaining light in the world, and the death of our princesses was their attempt at snuffing us out. I… I am the only Apple left that is able to speak honestly, and I say that we are not the light, we are not the moral minority of the Earth. Nopony is kind, nopony is generous, nopony is laughing... nopony is honest. We are a militaristic regime that has poured the elements of loyalty and magic into our ferociously efficient war machine, discarding the less manipulatable elements of light that made Harmony what it was; a source of power to use in the fight against the corruption of darkness. Through blood, sweat, and tears, we conquered our fellow races, all accused of being harbored by darkness, and now we pay the price in our own flesh; our dark, sinful souls. This is the end of Equestria. This is the end of the world. But it is not the end of Harmony. No… Harmony has long since been dead. And forever so she will remain dead. There is no hope for this truly god-forsaken earth.

We, the darkness, have snuffed out our light, and now the reckoning has come to cleanse our empire.

I suppose everypony was too consumed by building up our empire to care about my work. I was always different from the others, and that meant the herd rejected me; independence was a loathed trait in a society of consensus culture. The spectrometer project was my magnum opus, and it confirmed a centuries-old theory proposed in a time of sanity; something was rapidly approaching our solar system. The first pieces of data from my hoofcrafted spectrometer were shoddy and riddled with inaccuracy, but it was evidence enough. Over several years, I managed to cherry pick the most accurate results and presented them to the council for review. I was eager to begin a revolution in our ideology and forge a path back to the green years of the Earth… the long-forgotten Friendship Era.

Nopony believed me. They called my device a useless hunk of junk, a ‘monstrosity of a telescope,’ and my data worthless and dismissable. Sure, my readings weren’t accurate, but what was I supposed to do, build an entire observatory out of nothing but hopes and dreams? I was the only Apple on the council that recognized that we are not the light, but in fact the darkness; how was I to secure funding and labor when I was shunned by my own brothers and sisters, even my own citizens, who seemed to have lost what it meant to be creatures of the light? I was banished from the council, and they believed that dismissal would be enough to forgo the apocalypse and retribution of Harmony.

Now, they bang upon my door, fully convinced that I was right, and that the prospects of alien visitors was real. I’ve listened to the drumming for days now, and I reflect on the frequency of the banging; it reminds me of the waves from my testing, the knocks corresponding to the shrinking period of my graphs and the oncoming day of judgement, exponentially growing closer and closer. The banging intensifies, but I don’t flinch; the newly casted runes holding the door are bound to my life-force, and I know I will die in this room by my hooves alone. The prospect of dying no longer feels scary as I realize that the purge will free my light from this world, and the darkness beyond the door will be removed from the universe. I feel my muscles relax. These fools brought this upon all of us. And I’m glad.

There’s a prickle by my ear and the sound of soft chimes fills my room.

I shut my eyes and smile, knowing that one last messenger of Harmony will be saved from darkness.

And my world shifts.