//------------------------------// // What... // Story: A World Unknown // by Phoenix Nebula //------------------------------// What… She stirred with a dull-burning sensation across her body. Her mind swirled with the motion of whirlpool. Her sight blurred as if she was looking through thick black glass. Where was she? Why did she feel like this? After what could be perceived as an eternity to her tired mind the feelings subsided and new feelings took the place of the old ones. The burning sensation became that of a warm hug of light beating down on her fur. The whirling became the calmness of a pond. Her vision became crystal and the world came into focus. The mare blinked her eyes rapidly to clear the last of the fog from her sight. Grass as green as aquamarine and trees of sunset orange and red surrounded her stationary form. A groan escaped her lips as she rolled onto her stomach. The cool soil sent a shiver through her body like a lightning bolt. Her head swiveled around to gain a better understanding of her surroundings. “Where.. am I?” She asked to nopony. Then she felt it or rather didn’t feel anything, not a single one, not a single soul, not a single pony. She scrambled to her hooves in a panic reaching out with her magic. Nothing. “Wh-where is every pony?” She asked hoping for a response from someone, anyone. There was no response. The mare was now very afraid. ‘What happened? Where is everypony and why can't I sense them?’She tried to recall from before she awoke. The last memory she could recall felt… distant… like it was long, long ago. Smiling faces, her friends, her student, Spike…. She was with them, they were all happy. They were all sitting at a table… in Canterlot. The day was just right, warm, but not hot, a few clouds but not overcast, a gentle breeze but not distracting. It was… perfect… It suddenly became dark, cold…. Sad. The smiles were gone, replaced by fear and distress… then pain. Faces of those she cared most about were frozen in unforgiving, unrelenting pain. Her cheeks were a cliff the stream of tears from her eyes made into a waterfall. Her mind empty, unwilling to believe the memory that seemed so long ago. Soon her mind felt a tug. It was far away. Looking in the direction of the sensation she could see a blinding light… the sun… it was calling for her…. Command… Behind her she felt another tug also far away but not as far, it was below the horizon, the moon was also calling… Without a thought as if it were instinct she let her magic flow. The sun began to move. It moved below the horizon while behind her the moon rose above it. Stars began to fill the sky as the days light faded below the horizon. The landscape became bathed in the soft glow of the moon… her moon… The dam that was her tear ducts broke and a tourent broke forth. Her cheeks were once more a raging waterfall. Her mind, this time, was a typhoon of sorrow and denial. A wail of sadness escaped her throat as she fell to the cold soil once more. Gone… they were all gone, she was alone. She did not want to accept it, but her mind told her it was true. She wished so badly that this was just some nightmare... It was not… this was real. She could not deny it… she wished she was ignorant and for the first time in her life, she cursed her own intellect. They were all dead… Celestia, Luna, her friends, her brother and his wife… her niece, her student, and Spike. All of them gone… they were no more… all of equestria was gone, no her entire world gone. More memories flooded back. The ground ripped apart like paper, the air was thick with sulfur and grew hot. Winds ripped past her as ponies dropped dead around her. Some choked or suffocated from the ash and sulfur, others fell to their doom, some were crushed under buildings. The world was falling apart and she could only watch helplessly as countless lives were lost. Many pleaded for her help, but she could do nothing. One pony was missing half their body… they asked for her to kill them… to end their suffering. Many more followed asking the same. “Kill us… please,” ‘Kill us’ the voices echoed in her mind over and over again. They suffered and asked for her to stop the suffering… and she did nothing…. Once more she broke into tears. The ground beneath her head became muddy, but she didn't care… she could not… because it did not matter anymore. She was alone… Soon her exhaustion overtook her and she drifted off into a dreamless, sorrowful sleep. A tug once again pulled at her mind. Arousing her from her sleep. Once her vision was crystal she sat up. Her cheeks were stained with her tears but they no longer flowed for she had no more tears left to cry. Her mind once more felt the tug. The sun was requesting to rise… her sun. Turning to the horizon which the moon had risen before she allowed her magic to flow. Once again it all felt instinctual. The stars fade from the sky as the moon fell below the horizon. Soon the sun bathed the world in its life giving light. Life… she looked around her. It was everywhere… if equestria was gone… then what was all of this? Her mind was drawn to a glint of light in the dirt to her left. Getting to her hooves she went to examine the reflected light. A gasp escaped her mouth as she came across a strange necklace… with six different colored gems. An amethyst colored six-pointed star rested in the middle surrounded by the other five gems, a red lightning bolt, a pink butterfly, a blue balloon, an orange apple, and a purple diamond. The elements of harmony… the survived. Taking the necklace in her magic Twilight lifted it above her head and slid it down around her neck where it rested against her bearal. A single tear ran down her muzzle… but no more followed. Once more she looked around to get a better understanding of her surroundings. Her mind was still a torrent. She needed to find some semblance of certainty to calm her mind. Further ahead of her she could see the shimmer of a lake. Suddenly her mouth felt dry, very dry. ‘When was the last time she drank anything or ate anything for that matter?’ She did not know. She made her way to the lake in long slow strides… She felt taller… she did not know why…. She made it the lake. Once again she gasped this time at her reflection. It took her some time to recognize the mare staring back at her. It was herself, but she looked like her old mentor… Her coat was lavender and her mane had the same bangs she always remembered having… But she was indeed taller, her horn was longer and her muzzle was more like that of a mature alicorn. Turning to look at her side to gaze at her wings as she extended them out. They were huge. Turning her attention back to the lake and her reflection. She stood there for several more moments lost in her thoughts… The dryness of her mouth reminded her of her dehydration. Bringing her head down she greedily drank from the lake. The sun was almost at peak when she brought her head up to stare across the lake. Her thoughts had finally calmed and now one thought plagued her mind; “What now?”