"Mother? Why can't we go outside anymore?"
"You know why little one, now come and eat."
"ɆȺŧ?"
"Oh, no. Honey bumkin, come with me."
"Where are we going mama?"
"We're going into the basement. Now hurry dear."
"Ƀᵾŧ mȺmȺ, wɇ wȺnŧ ŧø sŧȺɏ."
"No."
"Ɏɇs."
"NO!"
"Ɏɇs."
"Ɏ...Ɏɇs?"
"..."
"Ǥᵾmmɏ ɃɇȺɍs."
Darkness. That's all there is these days. Just darkness, enveloped around the world like a neat packaging. The sun hadn't shown in weeks, and when it did show, it burned the land like fire. And when the sun didn't shine, the land froze, killing all plant life. The world was charred and frozen, a wasteland, where life was but a mystery to the living. Twilight knew this as she charged the batteries of her Photon Surger. She stood in a run down orphanage with a group of survivors, several of which were foals. Her one good eye scanned over them counting to make sure they were all there. She held up her radio and spoke in a stern whisper.
"Pie. This is Sparkle. What happened to Gem and Rare? Over." a few seconds went by until the dulled voice of Pinkie Pie spoke back.
"Gem was caught, Rare went back to get her. Over." Twilight sighed and sucked down the pain she felt in her stomach. First Rainbow, then Flash, and now both Gem and Rarity. When would it end? How could it end?
"Apple, I want to rendezvous at the Toystore, I have several survivors and they need medical attention. Is Red with you? Over."
"This is Apple. Yes, Ah have Red with me. We'll set up an extraction point and send in a few officers. Over and out." Twilight responded and put away the radio. Now all she had to do wait. Looking over at the survivors she could read fear on their faces. She couldn't blame them of course, they were terrified and had every right to be, they had just trekked through the darkness only to be surrounded by more darkness, and they didn't even know yet what they still had to do. Better late then never.
Twilight stood up in front of the remaining ponies and spoke loud enough for them to hear, "Fellow survivors, we have an extraction being put in place for our behalf, for those of you who don't already know, I am Twilight Sparkle, you will call me Sparkle. When I say, we are going to walk out the front door and head for the Toystore down the road silently. There we will get medical attention and protection." No one said anything for a short moment except for one green coated stallion.
"Why should we listen to you!? This place looks perfectly safe! I'm sure we'd be fine if we--" His sentence was abruptly stopped as magic enveloped around his neck, causing him to gasp for air.
Sparkle spoke in a quiet whisper that resounded and echoed through each and every ponies mind, "If you want to stay and wait for her then be my guest, but keep your voice low. I'm heading to the rendezvous point and I'm taking every foal here with me, whether you or the parents say otherwise. I will not let one more foal die in my presence when I can save them." She dropped the stallion and spoke slightly softer, "Now if no one else feels the need to draw attention to themselves, then I suggest we get ready."
No one drew attention to themself.
Twilight began helping the injured with what little medical knowledge she had. I really should have payed more attention to those medical journals she thought. The mare who's leg she was wrapping tensed up every now and then from the rough work. It wasn't perfect but at least it would help the wound heal faster.
Twilight stood and looked out the window, across the street she could see the figures of ponies in the darkness. All of them doing their best to be silent.
If only our world didn't have to be this way she thought. One mistake and the world turned to ash and death.
"Miss Sparkle?" a voice asked from behind her. Twilight turned around to address the pony, but what she saw made her blood run cold. It was the green coated stallion from before, and in his hoof he held a bright blue...
"Ǥᵾmmɏ ɃɇȺɍ." a chill ran through the crowd as Twilight grabbed the sweet collection of sugary vitamins and incinerated it.
"Everyone, we're leaving right now! Grab a partner and stay behind me!" She ordered. They did so as fast as possible. Twilight bucked down the front door and put her radio to her ear, "Apple, we don't have time, she's found us."
"..."
"Apple?"
"Đøn'ŧ ɍᵾn fɍøm ħɇɍ Ŧwɨłɨǥħŧ."
oh no "Pie, are you there!?"
"Øf ȼøᵾɍsɇ Ɨ Ⱥm!"
No, not you too! Twilight along with her small group galloped through the streets as fast as they could. Every now and then, one would stop and disappear into the darkness. Twilight could do nothing for them.
"Ŧwɨłɨǥħŧ."
The lavender unicorn stopped dead in her tracks. There in front of her was the cause for all the evil and decimation that had riddled Equestria: Fluttershy.
"Everyone, get ba--" warned only to realize she was alone.
"Øħ, Ŧwɨłɨǥħŧ, đøn'ŧ ɏøᵾ wȺnŧ ŧø sɇɇ mɇ?"
"No, Fluttershy, I don't. You're destroying this land. You're destroying Equestria!"
"Nø Ŧwɨłɨǥħŧ, Ɨ'm ɍɇføɍmɨnǥ ɆꝗᵾɇsŧɍɨȺ..."
"You're sick and twisted! Those...things, changed you."
"WħȺŧ ŧħɨnǥs?"
"The Gummy Be--" Twilight stopped, but it was too late, she'd said the fateful words. She'd given access to sickness. It was over now, over for her and her friends. There was no turning back, now she would become one of them. Why fight at this point.
"ŦħȺŧ's Ⱥ ǥøøđ ꝗᵾɇsŧɨøn."
Not now Pinkie. (ahem) as I was saying, Twilight had no choice but to succumb to the forces that be. The forces that made her inevitable demise possible.
"No. Ɨŧ can't ɇnđ ŧħɨs way." Twilight looked Fluttershy dead in the eye, which was twitching at the moment, "I wøn'ŧ łɇŧ you nøɍ anyone ɇłsɇ ɨn ŧħɨs world ŧȺꝁɇ ȺwȺɏ MY HOME!" Fluttershy's wide smile began to slowly turn to confusion, and from confusion to surprise. Twilight charged her horn, using every ounce of her very being to summon a spell.
"Øħ ᵽłɇȺsɇ Ŧwɨłɨ…"
"No!" Twilight interrupted her whilst the spell made her entire body glow translucently, "I ɍɇfᵾsɇ to mince words with ɏøᵾ demon! You won't, nor ever will, take over Equestria as long as I breathe." her horn charged violently, lifting her off the ground. The entire street rumbled, the mist and fog that layed over the land slowly began to thicken and swirl around creating a storm.
Fluttershy's face turned to anger as she thrust a hoof forward. From behind her, Pinkie launched herself towards Twilight at an unbelievable speed. Her eyes were completely gone from her face, as if they hadn't ever been there, only leaving her mouth, smiling with stitches keeping it shut. Twilight shut her eyes, knowing that she had to concentrate on the spell completely. Pinkie's interruption would put that to a halt.
Time passed and Twilight opened her eyes. Instead of the face of a pink demon, she saw Pinkie lying on the floor, face blue from some sort of contact. In front of her was Applejack, missing an ear. Her face was bandaged but she was standing between Fluttershy and Twilight. Applejack turned to Twilight grinning in pain. "Hurry, Twi! Ah don't know how long I can hold off the rest of her little critters."
The lavender unicorn nodded went back to concentrating on the spell. As she did, the concrete began cracking, and windows started exploding around them. The entire city seemed to be shaking. Applejack stood her ground but looking back she saw every one of her soldiers and survivors running towards her, each one more horribly mutilated than the last. With them were Fluttershy's animals. The farm mare bucked, punched, and bushwhacked, but they continued to come. It was as if the entire world had come here for the purpose of beating the tar out of her. They finally pinned her down, and continued to beat and hit her. Turning she looked at Twilight, a single tear falling from the unicorns eye.
They both smiled and Applejack spoke, "Partners until the end, sugarcube." before the mob had completely enveloped her and she disappeared from Twilight's view. Twilight released the spell.
The world slowed down as Fluttershy and the entire group of creatures approached. The entire world was slowing slower and slower until it stopped completely. Twilight blinked, and then it began inching backwards, the group of ponies backed away, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, the wind itself was moving backwards. Time began to speed up as the entire nation began to speed through the previous days, ponies rushing by, buildings slowly growing back up, plant life returning.
Twilight blacked out.
"Hey, Twilight!"
"Ahh!" Twilight Sparkle fell out of her bed in shock. Wait...my bed? she questioned in her mind. Looking around she could confirm, she was most definitely in her room once more. The curtains were not torn, the door was not scratched, everything was back to normal. Recalling it to her mind, she remembered this very day.
"Twilight, are you alright? You took a nasty fall." Spike asked worriedly. Twilight jumped up and ran out the door.
"Uh...okay then...um...see you tonight for the Nightmare Night Bash...I guess. Weird."
Pinkie Pie held out a bag to Fluttershy, containing colorful little creatures, that would rid the world of peace. As Fluttershy began glancing inside a purple aura appeared around the bag before it lit on fire and turned into ash. The two ponies glanced at the lavender unicorn now standing next to them, both very confused.
"Uh, Twilight? Why...?" Fluttershy never got to finish that question.
"Shush. Not now. Just remember to flee whenever someon...I mean somepony offers you a gummy bear." She turned to Pinkie, "Never sell them in your store, no matter how popular they get. I'll run your business into the ground if you do."
And with that, the entire world was saved.
...well, that is until Celestia runs out of cake. But that's another story.