//------------------------------// // Hope and Loss // Story: Fate Worse Than Death. // by jayjaymcboogie //------------------------------// we left the next day, leaving Zecora to look after Scootaloo. after gathering some supplies we headed into town. Ponyville was different from what we had all remembered. although i had only seen Ponyville for a few minutes before being knocked out i knew that this was very different from what i had seen, and yet it was so familiar. i had seen towns like this across the cosmos on countless planets, but this was different. it was the first i had seen without my mask of prejudice or hate. the town was in ruins. everywhere i looked there was a thin layer of black grime. it was no doubt ash from fires or explosions. some parts of ponyvile was still in flames. i watched as the four ponies in front of me hung in sadness and despair. and once again i felt the guilt, but this time i made silent promise to myself. i swore that i would devote myself to returning the peace to whats left of Equestria or die trying. i may have terrorized hundreds of other civilizations but i wasn't going to let them do the same to this one. i was going to make it right. we passed a strange tree that grew right through the middle of town. it was the biggest tree i had ever seen. it had what seemed to be windows and doors. and on the inside i saw shelves and book cases. the leaves of the tree were almost all burnt and the trunk was black with soot. as we walked by we saw books spread on the ground with pages torn out and half burned. at the sight of this twilight started to tear up. spike ran over to her to comfort her and said, "don't worry twilight I'm sure Owlowiscious is fine". she looked at him with an unsure smile and hung her head and kept walking. i never did find out WHO Owlowiscious was. suddenly three human warriors came out of no were. in seeing them we dove behind a low wall of a ruined building. we peeked through a crack in the wall. luckily they hadn't seen us, but they were walking my way. suddenly spike started to panic quietly. "what are we gonna do?" he whispered. "hold on" i replied I've got an idea. play along. i stood up from behind the wall and then things got worse. we recognized each other. one of the guards i recognized. he was my cousin Robert. "Jason? is that you?" he yelled out. "Robert cuz. what happened?"i replied. "after you got zapped we took this town. were up on that mountain now were trying to take that castle up there. i guess the royalty is up there or something.what happened to you after you got zapped? we saw those ponies drag you into the forest.we thought they were holding you somewhere. you our something." "they did. but i got the better of them. there my prisoners. there just over there behind that wall." back behind the wall Rainbow dash heard this and retorted. "i told you we couldn't trust trust him. he just left us for dead." she tried to fly off to attack but twilight stopped her. "dash just wait. remember what he did for you. he killed one of his own. he wouldn't just do that to convince us. besides if he wanted to kill us he would have done it already." twilight responded. "fine but i still don't trust him." i lead Robert and the other soldier over to were the twilight and the rest of the ponies were."hey Jason why did you keep them alive? you know we don't take prisoners." Robert asked. "i know but when they tampered with my guns. now they won't fire. so i had to find someone who had a working rifle." i responded. "your rifle looks fine." "i think its the firing pin." "oh that's easy. let Steven here take a look at it." Robert said gesturing to the other soldier. Steven tried to grab my rifle. "wow. Robert you know i don't like others touching my guns." i responded. "i don't remember that." "well I've always been like that." "alright whatever you say". we reached the wall and i showed them to the ponies. "wow Jason these are the ponies we've bean looking for. good job cuz." he slapped me on the back in recognition. "okay who's first?" Robert said point his Rifle at the ponies. "i think you should let me do it Robert. after all i captured them." i quickly said afraid he would make the choice himself. Rainbow dash looked at twilight with a look that said seriously? twilight responded with a nervous smile. "okay Jay go ahead. you're right the kills are rightfully yours." Robert responded. he handed the gun over to me and i cocked it. i proceeded to aim at rainbow dash who gave me a look of anger so powerful that it surprised me. i knew she had no idea what my plan was. i quickly spun around and shot Steven in the head." i then proceeded to point the gun at my unarmed cousin. "Wow what are you doing Jay?" Robert said in panic. "I'm making this right" that shot was the hardest i had ever made. the bullet passed right by his head. he fell back in relief and fainted.i tied him up and waited for him to wake up. "wha... whats going on?" he said as he came to. he was startled as he saw the faces of the four ponies standing over him. he tried to stand run but hit his head on a pipe above his head. i gestured at twilight to perform the spell. she stepped forward and pressed her horn against his head as he tried to squirm away. her horn began to glow and his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the ground in convulsions. she had performed the same spell she had on me that had made me realize my wrongs. he started to foam out his mouth and rolled around in the dirt as if he was given cyanide. i couldn't help but think if this is what i looked like. somehow twilight new what i was thinking and responded to my question. "no. i think he's endured more evil than you. that's why he's i more pain.more pain? how could there be anymore pain than what i had endured? i didn't want to think about it. he soon came to and with tears in his eyes he crawled over to twilight and begged for mercy. when she didn't respond he crawled over to me. "cuz. i kn... know why you did it. please for... forgive me. ill do any thi... thing."he shuddered with tears in his eyes he grabbed my foot and rolled into the fetal position. i knelt down and put a hand on his back and he looked up at me as if he was a young child looking for redemption. i smiled and reassured him. "Robert. i know how you feel. you must understand we aren't evil. we've just bean corrupted by our lust for resources and power." "please help me. i don't want to feel this anymore. all those ponies in pain. our entire species dead. please end me now." he responded and gestured towards his rifle. "that's not the way Robert. we can still change what you saw and felt. it hasn't happened yet. you just have to trust me. fight with me on behalf of this world." "anything anything to stop it from happening." i reached around and and untied his wrists. he stood up and thanked me with a hug. "i pledge allegiance to you and to this universe.. i pledge allegiance to the ponies. i will fight for you and if i must give my life for them." he said sniffling and then saluted me and the ponies. he ad-libed the pledge from the one we recited when we joined the military. rarity and applejack chuckled at this and i couldn't help but smile myself. "okay cousin lets just take this one step at a time." i reassured him. "wha... what now?" he said wiping the tears out of his eyes. "were gonna need some help getting into the castle." i responded "i think i have an idea." twilight suddenly said. "are you sure this will work?" Robert said nervously. "i'm positive" spike replied. "i do this all the time. first time with something living though." "wait what?" Robert shouted worriedly. Robert sat inside a large container with me twilight rainbow dash and rarity. the plan was to use spike as a sort of portal device. twilight said that spike could send packages to the princess by just breathing fire on them. i had seen him conjure a letter from his breath but i hadn't seen him send one. we all sat in a crate of which spike would blow fire on to send us via magic directly to the princess. i was nervous. i mean i didn't like using our human portal based off science but this. none of us liked the idea of a dragon breathing fire on us but it was our only hope. if we tried to get to the princess directly we would have bean caught immediately. and even if we got passed the human army we wouldn't be able to get passed the magical barrier without compromising the princess. like it or not we had to do this. still it was strange seeing Robert afraid. he usually would be the first to accept a challenge but now he seemed shy afraid of his own shadow. i guess the sight of all that pain changed him. i wondered if it had changed me the way it did to him. i didn't have to think long for the answer. "ready?" spike shouted "yeah" i responded and shut the lid to the crate. suddenly it got very hot in the box, but it wasn't painful. it was as if i could sense the pain but couldn't recognize the feeling. inside the crate rarity and applejack were hugging tightly as if to protect each other from the flames, or maybe to say good bye. Rainbowdash was huddled in the corner grinding her teeth with her eyes shut. twilight stared intently at the side of the crate almost wondering what would happen next. suddenly the side of the crate burst into flames and twilight looked at me as if to say it will be alright. i looked back at the wall but there was no longer a wall. instead a wall of green flame. it swirled around me in almost a mini tornado. i looked around for my companions but they were no were to be found. suddenly i felt something fall off my side. i looked down at my hip but amazingly it wasn't there. large chunks of my body were falling off and joining the green swirling mass. i was aware of my body it felt like it was still there but it was gone. i looked at my hands as they too flew off one finger at a time into green flame. by then i was nearly completely gone. i began to panic. i tried to yell out but before i could what was left of me was sucked into the green mass. i felt my mind stop. i no longer existed. i knew nothing. i had no conciseness. i had no thoughts. i can't explain how it felt because it didn't feel like anything. i don't know how long i was like that but when it was over an even stranger feeling over came me. i suddenly existed again. my body the crate my friends all reappeared from the fire that had engulfed us. i felt one thought at a time re enter my mind. it pieced itself together and then once again i was whole. suddenly i was back in the box with the ponies and my cousin. applejack and rarity stopped embracing each other and gave each other a thankful look. Rainbowdash breathed a sigh of relief. twilight looked at me and smiled. Robert hadn't quite come to yet but suddenly he burst into screams and burst out of the box. suddenly he stopped in his tracks chocked up by something."um Jason you might wanna get out here" he called down to me. i stood up out of the box and realized what had made him choke up from his episode so quick. the same thing stopped me. two spears with blood on the tips hung under my chin in the air. a blueish glow surrounded them. i looked up and saw two male ponies in golden armor with unicorn horns standing angrily in front of me. there was the same blueish glow around there horns that there were on the spears. i knew that this was the same thing that twilight had done to the bullet. twilight and the rest of the ponies i was traveling with popped up from inside the crate to. "looks like they got some pony prisoners." one of the guards said. "i think we should liberate them" the other one responded. and simultaneously they brought the spears back and then flung them forward again aiming for our throats. but just as we were about to be impaled a voice came from behind. it was soft and kind but had kind of power to it that could only come from someone in a point of leadership. somehow i knew who this was without seeing. i looked up and saw a majesty greater than any i had seen before. she was plane but stood taller than any other pony i had seen yet. she had both unicorn horn and wings of a Pegasus. as she drew near i could feel her power coursing through me as it did when twilight hit me with the bolt of magic. i was in awe. i fell in love with her instantly. i was confused. i didn't understand how i could be attracted to a pony. another race. i didn't care. i knew right there that i would do anything for her. i would defend her and everything she stood for. i looked around and realized that all the ponies were bowing in her presence. even Robert keeled down. but i was left standing awe struck by her beauty. it was then that i realized that she was limping. she stood about the same height as me and it wasn't until she approached me that i bowed. as i knelt there i looked up she understood how i felt for her i think. she said something to me alone. not with words but with her mind. her eyes spoke of a magic greater than her own. i couldn't see that there was any but i understood that i had to find it. then we all stood back up and she gave us all a look of sadness and then collapsed. i looked in horror as blood pored from her side. the humans had breached the field. i hit my knees and lifted her head. i had tears in my eyes but she was smiling almost cruelly. she touched her horn to my chest and i felt a spark as power surged through me. i looked down at my hands and saw a yellowish glow surrounding them. similar to the glow of the unicorns horn. she said said with one last breathe a word i will never forget. harmony. her head hung limp in my hands and i turned around tears in my eyes. the ponies had just discovered that her sister Luna was also dead. the all cried. even Robert teared up. i looked up to see who was the culprit. standing in the giant doorway was an entire army of humans. ready to attack. in the front was the general who had spoken on behalf of us earlier. his name was General Martin Robinwood. My father. his pistol at his side smoking. he saw me and smiled and waved me and Robert over to the ranks. i was insulted. i was enraged. i felt Celestia's powers surge through me and i wanted revenge. i stood up and i grabbed my rifle and yelled out in anger. i turned my rifle towards my father and he gave me a look of extreme confusion. i pulled the trigger and he jumped aside. i sprayed the men with all the ammo in my magazine. they were firing back but i didn't notice and i didn't care. all of the bullets seemed to deflect away from me anyway. when i was out of ammo i used my pistol when i was out of ammo with that i pulled out my knife. and was about to head for them directly but before i could Robert pulled me back and we got into the crate. suddenly the green flames returned and we were swept back to were we had came. i don't remember getting out of the crate i just remember waking up back at zecoras. rarity was in a panic."but a alicorn is the only one who can use the elements of harmony by themselves" she cried out. "now calm down sugar cube i'm sure we can find a way to use them ourselves." responded applejack. "how when pinkie and flutershy are gone?" she said in a panic. suddenly twilight came in with a book. wait wait. "it says here that when an alicorn dies they can transfer there power to the last person they touched before they died." "yeah so? rainbowdash interrupted. "well Celestia touched Jason last before she died. that means he can use the elements of harmony." twilight finished. "so now we have to trust this human. great." rainbowdash said angrily and stomped away. "now i know you don't like it dash but i think him and his friend have more than proven themselves. and although we suffered the loss of the princess we still have hope with Jason"