I land at the edge of White Tail Wood just as dawn breaks over the eastern mountains. There's a little stream flowing out of a spring in a hillside, and the early morning light glitters on its surface. The dark green moss under my hooves is almost thick enough to sleep on. I feel a light wind in my mane, and the limbs of the nearest birches give a long sigh as they wave to and fro. I lay on my back and gaze straight up. The sky is a cloudless dome, the colour of a robin's egg.
I wonder how long it will take to destroy this world.
"Hello."
Oh—company. The last thing I want. I turn my head to see the speaker: a wide-eyed unicorn filly with a slightly messy blond mane.
"My name's Dinky," she says. "What's yours?"
Are children allowed to talk to strangers in this world? Or is this one dimmer than the rest?
"You look sad, mister."
Sad? Why should I be? I don't know anyone from here—not really. We're not even the same species. They just altered my shape and gave me a lot of false memories. I'm not sad.
The filly sits down beside me. "Mommy says it's good to have somepony to talk to when you're sad."
I turn back toward the sky and close my eyes. Maybe she'll go away.
The breeze is soothing, and I begin to doze. Since these are my last hours, I decide to spend them dreaming of happy memories—real ones, from long before the war: spending boyhood summers on the farm; reading pulps and funnybooks before bed; going with my parents to the pictures...
Before I can stop it, the face of the Moloch from the cinema appears in my mind, its mouth full of fire and huge metal pistons. Of course, the real thing will be worse.
I open my eyes and shake my head to clear it. I notice Dinky is still here. She's watching a ladybug crawl along a blade of grass. Her eyes are full of wonder.
I was that young once. At that age, everything is so fresh and new, even the smallest things seem like miracles. There's none of the indifference that comes with familiarity. There's only...
"Innocence. Happiness."
This tiny girl has no idea what will happen today.
She doesn't know...
"Ten thousand children, or one hundred thousand adults."
Bile threatens to rise in my throat. What have I done?
I sit up and try to think. Is it too late? Maybe. But if it isn't, is there some edge I might have, that no one else does? Moloch and Pazu are outsiders. So am I. What do I know about outsiders?
"Creatures native to this world are beholden to the laws of its magic... But outsiders are unconstrained by such laws." Celestia said that, just a few days ago. But I can fly and do magic now too, just like a native. Wait...
"...Unconstrained by such laws."
I have an idea. It's crazy. I would be an idiot to try it.
I rise to my hooves, flex my wings, and turn to the filly. "Listen, I... there's something I want to say."
She turns to me, eyes wide with expectation. There's no time to think about the exact right words, so I say what I feel.
"Life is short, you know. Too short to waste on boredom, or feeling bad, or hurting people."
She tilts her head a bit. I don't know if she completely understands, but there's no time to make sure.
I look into the distance, back toward the village. "If you're still alive tomorrow, live the rest of it as the best person you can be. Act out of love for others, and for yourself. And... and remember to appreciate life as long as you still have it. Goodbye, friend."
I take off, heading back the way I came.
* * *
I smell Moloch before I see it. As I get closer to the castle, I struggle to breathe a stench that's like burning pitch, rotting meat, and swamp water all in one.
It reminds me of the war.
Blood pounds in my ears, and my body prepares itself to fight. But as I round the last of the steep hills beyond the village, I'm shocked by what is now there.
I knew it would be horrible when I saw the real Moloch with my own eyes. But nothing could prepare me for this. The hulking brute is taller than Twilight's castle, and almost as broad. Its shapeless grey form pulsates weirdly as it creeps forward. It does not walk, or crawl, or slither, but rips through the land as it moves. In its wake, the corroded ground is coated in reddish slime. Wormlike appendages stick out from its mass at odd angles, writhing and waving... and at their ends, lipless mouths snap at the air. The closest thing it has to an identifiable front is a tooth-lined maw, large enough to swallow ten grown stallions at once, that hangs open and drips black fluid from its edges. The rows of shark-like teeth stretch farther back than I can see.
This is not an evil creature. This is evil itself.
It's nearing the village's edge now. I can see ponies running from their homes, fleeing in every direction away from the source of their doom—a panicked rout that will make no difference in the end. But there are nine, standing shoulder-to-shoulder just beyond the river, directly in the behemoth's path. It’s the last hopeless stand.
With a burst of speed, I fly to intercept the thing, stopping when I'm sure my voice will carry far enough.
"MOLOCH!" I've never screamed so loud in my life. "Here I am, Moloch! Look!"
The thing pauses, and its surface quivers a bit. I can't believe it. Did I really get its attention?
"You're missing one!" I'm yelling so loud, my voice almost breaks. "Get ready! Here I come!"
With the mad, cackling laugh of the doomed, I wheel and dive like a kamikaze, aiming straight for the thing’s maw. I ignite my horn, and angle my head to cut through the air. I know alicorn magic. They taught me in their false memories. It has rules alicorns aren't able to break. But I'm not an alicorn. Not really.
Time seems to slow as I charge through the air toward oblivion. During periods of great emotional stress, the body is capable of amazing feats of strength, but is badly damaged in the process. If I’m right, equine magic is the same way.
As I close the distance, a sickening vibration and prickling heat overtakes my body. Almost there now. My timing is perfect; I'll burst just as I hit. They'll all find out what happens when matter and energy from three realities collides at blistering speed. I'm only sorry I won't be here to see it.
Moloch's hideous shape fills my vision. Does this have even the slightest chance of working? Maybe not, but it makes no difference now. At least I've made this choice myself, knowing their deceptions. It’s almost funny how much effort they wasted by lying.
Never mind. I'm not doing this for them.
There is a blinding flash.
Finis