Yet it is in this loneliness that the deepest activities begin. It is here that you discover act without motion, labor that is profound repose, vision in obscurity, and, beyond all desire, a fulfillment whose limits extend to infinity. - Thomas Merton

A storm had come from nowhere to finally put out the fires that had been ravishing the town. The sound of the rain and the lightning had begun its own new symphony to the world. It was different from the raging fire and brought peace to the man's mind. Thankfully, his metal parts were waterproof as they still functioned perfectly in the rain.

He was still kneeling down in front of the sign. His mind was filled to the brim with questions about this strange place. He could tell, somehow, he was no longer on his world but on a different planet. The name of the town itself caused him to pause.

Everything about this world felt different, like this place wasn't even meant for his kind. There was something odd about this world that much he knew.

He shook himself and stood, remembering that he had to find the library. He continued to walk along the road in the direction the letter had told him. Everywhere he looked there was destruction and not a single living thing could be seen. The storm clouds had cast everything in a dark shadow that only helped to increase the loneliness of the world but flashes of white from above would illuminate everything for a solid second. A second of light to break the darkness. While he walked, his mechanical eye kept scanning for any kind of life be it friendly or not, as well as the library.

Finally, his eyes registered a sign that read "Golden Oaks Library" and as he took a closer look he realized that the library was, in fact, an oak tree. He gazed at it and thought it was kind of fitting and a little......ironic for a library to be in a tree. That a library full of books, made of pages that were no doubt crafted out of the wood of other trees, would be held inside a living tree. But he was just getting distracted again.

He walked closer to the library until he could see the amount of damage it had sustained. There were no leaves and most of the branches were burned yet there wasn't that much damage to it and the building itself seemed to be in an okay state. Some of the windows were broken and what used to be a balcony had fallen in front of the main entrance. He approached the door, having to step over a broken telescope, and wondered if he had the strength to move the fallen balcony. He reached down and grabbed the bottom of it and tested the weight. It wasn't as heavy as he thought which surprised him and with some effort managed to haul it away from the entrance. Now that it was clear, he stepped over the threshold.

There was no door, what was left of it was scattered over the wooden floor. He stepped inside and his vision adjusted to the dark interior. The sound of rain pelting the walls and the windows that were still there reverberated through the building. There were many leaks that dripped down through the tall roof. The drips and plinking sound from them were like some new instrument that had joined the symphonic ensemble of the storm outside. A single, lonely piano trying to make itself heard in the massive orchestra of the storm.

He looked around and was surprised by the amount of books that the library contained. Many of them were unscathed but scattered on the floor and shelves. Some were destroyed, reduced to ash or charred remains. Like bodies that were caught in a horrible massacre. Now they just laid there smoldering with their words burned off and their covers destroyed and melted. The sight caused a rush of sadness in the man, for somewhere in his mind where his memories were hidden behind a concrete wall that he could not break down, a crack appeared. And he remembered his love of books and how much he enjoyed them and to see this carnage almost made him cry.

He then noticed a glinting light and looked to see the remains of a glass case on a pedestal. There was a cushion inside with pieces of glass surrounding it. On the cushion was the imprints of what looked like pieces of jewelry. He counted six in total, five necklaces and he guessed the last one was some sort of crown.

He continued to look around when his eyes fell on a table in the middle of the room. On it he saw a large book with a familiar letter on top of it. He hurried over and grabbed the envelope to see his name in the same handwriting on it. He carefully opened it and took out the folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and began to read:

Hello again Elijah,
I take it you found the library without any problems. Hopefully, I managed to keep it from catching on fire again. I'm going to keep this letter short because I don't have much time. The book this letter will be on is about the history of this world. Everything you need to know about us and our world will be in it. I want you to read all of it so you know enough to not get lost. I must warn you, some of it may come as a shock but I need you to focus. This is very important Elijah. Once you've finished, there will be another letter on the very last page. In it I will tell you what to do next and finally reveal who I am. I just need you to keep trusting me Elijah. You will have your answers soon.

He folded the letter back up and put it in the envelope before sticking it in his coat with the other one. The book the letter had told him to read was a rather large tome and quite dusty. He picked it up and brushed away the dust to reveal its title.

He cocked his head when he read it. Equestria must be the name of this world. An odd name to say the least which meant things were just going to get stranger. As he opened the book his theory was proven correct as he read the large book and learned of the denizens of this world known as ponies. He was more than shocked at all of it: the Princesses, the Elements of Harmony that maintained peace in this world, Hearth's Warming Eve which was the event where all ponies came together in peace and harmony with each other, the Mare in the Moon who was the once moon princess that became jealous of her older sister, and Discord the God of Chaos. All of it was overwhelming and he feared he would blow his new machinery from taking it all in.

He focused more on learning about the ponies in particular. There were three kinds: Pegasus ponies with wings and the ability to control the weather, Unicorns with horns and access to actual magical abilities like telekinesis and teleportation, and finally the Earth ponies with neither wings nor horns but were stronger and were able to control the land better. Each pony had their own unique style of mane, tail, and color of coat. Lastly was the Cutie Marks, the symbols that would appear on a ponies flank to show what their special talent was. The very idea caused him to laugh a little.

He read on to learn about a few more things. The Princesses ruled the land and were called Celestia and Luna and they controlled the sun and moon respectably. He learned about the Grand Galloping Gala which was a huge ball that all ponies attended to dance and have fun and the Crystal Empire that had disappeared for a thousand years but finally reappeared not too long ago and when he came to what he thought was the last page, he found it ripped out. In its place was a letter.

Everything about this letter seemed to be in check. His name was on it and it was carefully sealed. But as he opened it up he noticed something was wrong. The paper was crinkled in places like whoever had written it had trouble holding it. There were also places where a word had been written but then messily covered up by ink. But the one thing that alarmed him the most......were the tear stains. They started out small and few but near the end grew in size and amount. He steeled himself for what he was about to learn......and then began to read:

I hope that you actually read the book and didn't just skip to this letter. If you did skip then this will just confuse you. But if you did read it then you know by now that life here should be the opposite of what you now see. This town used to be beautiful and bustling with life and everyone was happy. I even found a home here and a place to find myself again. I suppose I should tell you who I am first..................................my name is Trixie. I'm a unicorn and I am the one who brought you here by means of magic. I know you are scared and alone but you won't have to be for long. You just have to find me; I need you to find me. When you woke up in that hospital and walked out to see the destruction, you must have had so many questions but no one to ask. Now I answer those questions, this world has been attacked by forces that came from the heavens. Due to our nature and because we thought they looked friendly at first, we attempted to communicate with then and offer peace. But they were not here for peace. They could not understand us nor did they want to. They had come for our world and our power. They began to destroy and kill. They-

At this point, several words had been written out but then crossed over and the tears had really begun to fall.

They murdered innocent ponies without care of who they were or how old they were. Whether they fought back or cowered in fear begging for mercy they did not care. They killed with weapons of massive scale and burned down homes with their own twisted form of magic. The scary thing was some of them looked a bit just like you though some were bigger or smaller. But they all wore dark and scary armor and carried deadly weapons. I saw my own friends slaughtered in front of me and barely escaped thanks to a pony who sacrificed himself to ensure I escaped. I ran and hid while others died. That was all we could do. I don't know if anyone is left besides me but I have to find out. After the carnage here they went to the capital and confronted our rulers, the Princesses. At first it seemed these Titans would have been defeated by our rulers who were powerful in magic. But then one stepped forward. I saw all of this from a place in the mountains. He wore a crown of white like a petrified tree and he overpowered Celestia and Luna and took them away. Now they are continuing their genocide of our world and I desperately searched for a way to stop them. I came back here to search for a spell when I found one to travel to distant worlds. I performed the spell and found myself in yours. I searched for a warrior and when none was found I prepared to travel again when I saw you. You were in an accident and had been changed in an attempt to fix you. I brought you here and finished the work that was performed to bring you back to life. Now you are here and I must ask of you, to beg of you to help us. You have the means to fight these Titans and to bring back Harmony. You must first find me. I will be traveling back to the capital. It is the city in the mountains that you should be able to see from the town. Head that way and if you do not run into me on the way there then look for me in the gardens when you reach the city. I will be wearing a dark cloak. Find me Elijah. I need you. Please help us.....help me......I'm so alone Elijah......if you can find it in yourself to help us then please.....bring back harmony. Save the world.

Having finished, his arm fell limply to his side and hit the floor. He was sitting down and leaning against the wall. His left eye was blurry with tears as he stared into nothing. While some answers had been given there were now more questions in his head then before. He wanted to know more about these Titans and why they looked like him. He wanted to know more about Trixie and especially about him and what happened to him. Was this accident why he was like this? Did Trixie do this to him?

He held his head in his hands as the tears began to fall and he just sat there and wept while the falling rain and the soft thundering of the storm echoed on. So many questions.....all he wanted was answers....

As if to save him from the wrath of despair, a noise sounded in his ears. A small noise but a familiar noise. He looked up and began to search the room. It was not a noise from the storm but one that life itself makes. It was the buzzing of a fly and his eyes found it flying around near the ceiling. The first sign of life and it was a fly. He did not complain for he was just glad that there was at least some life here in this lonely place. The fly flew down and landed on his shoulder thankful for a place to rest. While they were far apart on the evolutionary scale, both were grateful for each other’s company.

There was a bright flash and a bang of thunder that rumbled on for a long while and then the rain began to quiet down. Soon it was just a small amount falling down; the orchestra was finishing its song. The fly hid under the man's hood as he stood and tucked the letter in his pocket with the other ones. He then looked down at the book and wondered what to do with it. Knowing he couldn't take it with him, he put it back on the table right where he found it. Then turning back to the door, he walked slowly towards the outside. He stopped at the threshold and looked back at the destroyed library. His heart was heavy with a sadness to what this world had gone through.

He walked out into the rain and began to trek to the outskirts of the town until he could see it. There in the distance, nestled on the side of a great mountain, was the city the letter had spoken of. He knew he had a ways to go but he was determined to find her.

As he looked towards his destination, his mind registered a feeling and that feeling turned into words. And his mouth opened to say it, selecting a language at random to just try and say it, "Pour sauver le monde...."

He then walked forward but his foot stepped on something hard and when he looked down saw a glint of gold. He bent down to pick up the necklace and see the pennant that was attached to it....

The Ballad of Loneliness

by The Eccentric Mister E

Epistulas ex Amico