A flash.
He landed on a smooth, hard surface, gasping for air.
As he looked up, he saw the same laboratory again, except now notes were scribbled on the walls, and parts of machinery were scattered all over the ground.
"Finally. Finally it's done! It's finally done!"
He turned to face the voice, and saw a slightly younger version of himself standing in front of the huge machine in the centre of the lab.
"Stop it! He's trying to kill us all! Stop it!"
The other pony from the last vision was calling out to the rest of Ponyville, the rest of Equestria, to run for their lives.
“No! I'm going to save you. I'm going to save you all! Don't you try to stop me! I will create a new era!”
“But we must! We’ll all be killed!”
“Maybe you should have thought about it before, when you abandoned me. Nothing can get in the way of progress, especially progress this important!”
“Synd! Stop this immediately!”
All went quiet.
Everypony turned.
There, standing in the reinforced doorway of the laboratory, was Princess Celestia.
The younger scientist was silent.
Then, slowly, a faint, deep noise came from his throat.
He was chuckling.
The chuckle gained volume and vigour, until it could only be described as maniacal laughter, echoing around the smooth walls.
“Oh, my dear Princess. It’s been quite a long time since you've called me by that name.”
The older scientist was trying to plead with his younger self, but to no avail. It seemed that no-one could hear or even see him.
“Synd, cease this deadly endeavour, or I will be forced to destroy this machine.”
Another echoing laugh.
“My, my, princess. So demanding! I was hoping this could be settled easily, but you have just made it so much harder for everypony. I will not, despite all your petty threats, stop this. This is the future incarnate!”
“Then, as princess and defender of Equestria, I must retaliate.”
As she said this, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony gathered behind her.
“Oh, no!” the scientist cried mockingly, “The greatest aids of the whole kingdom are against me! Whatever shall I do?”
He started to dramatically stagger backward, clutching a hoof to his chest.
“Is there anything I can even do?”
He leaned on the nearest console, covered in buttons and switches.
“What about... this?”
With that, he pulled levers and pressed buttons, causing something in the ground to move, causing seven huge claws to break through the concrete floor, sending rubble and dust everywhere.
“Quickly, the Elements!” Celestia cried out to the six mares with her.
As they got into formation, a strange glow permeated all the corners of the room, and each of their eyes started to glow a brilliant white.
“Sorry, but that isn’t going to happen. Ever. Goodbye, ponies!”
With that, the mechanical arms shot toward the Elements.
The generous Rarity.
The kind Fluttershy.
The honest Applejack.
The laughing Pinkie Pie.
The loyal Rainbow Dash.
And the magical Twilight Sparkle.
As the claws of the machine struck forward, the Elements’ lives, their friendships, and their power, were lost forever.
Except for one.
The arms shot back, with blood and feathers coating them all.
Except for one.
Twilight Sparkle, who had managed to cast a protective spell before the metal hit, opened her eyes.
The spell had only had time to protect her, leaving her friends to the merciless arms of the machine.
“NO!”
She drew on all of her power, recalling every healing and regenerative spell she had ever learned.
But there was next to nothing to heal, and the life had already drained from the corpses.
Now, with her power spent and her friends slain, she mourned.
Letting her tears fall to the ground, she violently shook in sorrow, harsh sobs wracking her body.
“Oh, poor Twilight,” the scientist mockingly sighed.
“You were always the favourite student. I suppose that now even fate has favoured you.”
Any pity that may have been in his voice shrivelled up and died.
“But who am I to let fate dictate one’s future?”
And with that, the final Element of Harmony perished, lying in her friend’s blood, her body savagely mauled by the claws.
Crowds gathered around the laboratory screamed, yelling for mercy and an end to the violence.
The blood-soaked feathers rained down.
The pools of red liquid seeped towards both scientists’ hooves, staining the grey-brown fur.
The older scientist gasped as his visions matched up, sending his mind reeling into the darkness once more.
I've regained a small memory
Came to my head just like that suddenly
I think I've gotten a clue
Something tells me this is worse than what I knew