//------------------------------// // Answer. // Story: Desolance // by The Shade //------------------------------// Twilight trotted towards the dune of sand, the large figure imposing the otherwise flat ground like an ugly boil on ones face. Yet, it didn't bother her, in fact, she liked it. This was the one place she would always remember, when the incident happened, this was the last place to be struck, the Crystal Mountains, the magic radiating from within them had been enough to stall the destruction for years, but in the end, even they withered away. Reaching the top, she looked out over the fallen kingdom, the only relic she had ever found was a tree, it was lone and out of place, yet it didn't wither. It stood on the dune, as if mocking her with it's ability to not care. "Hey," she said "do you mind listening to me rant again today?" the tree blew slightly in the wind. "Let's see... I found a rock formed like an Alicorn, I remember it being a gift from him to me, yet I can't seem to move it." She snorted. "Don't be jealous, I won't replace you with a rock, I just... Wish you could talk to me, is all," she lied down on the ground next to the tree, slowly lowering the sun and bringing the moon. "I'm going to nap here, is that okay?" not waiting for a response, Twilight let her body hit the soft sand, her head resting at the base of the tree, if she had been fully alert, or paying attention, she would have noticed the very faint passing wind, almost carrying words from far away, "It's okay." Twilight woke up to something prodding her, waking up she saw that she somehow had rolled down to the bottom of the dune, yawning loudly she felt her wing twitch, prodding her side. Stretching her wings, she took to the air and planned to sit next to the tree. Only, when she landed and looked for it, she saw the man, the same man she had seen all those years ago, he who had finally given her some resemblance of closure. Despite the time passed, not a single thing was different about him, the same white cloak, the same blonde hair and the same brown eyes, piercing into the distance as if asking a question. Then, she saw it. A sword was held in his hand as he sat on the dune, it seemed to be ildly moving, and yet, nothing was different. In fact, she couldn't remember whether or not he had a sword last time. And yet, she was comforted by it, comforted by the feeling that if anything happened, he would be there. "I don't like this place" she said finally. "I don't like the desolation it presents, yet I find myself powerless to change it, I've tried every spell and nothing happens, it's as if there's no magic left." Silence. "Have you ever wondered... If there's something larger you're meant to do?" the man shook his head. "No? Strange, with powers such as yours, surely you must've thought of something." another shake. "I guess you've been busy..." She was only met with utter silence, the wind had stopped blowing and his cloak had stopped moving. Then, he moved. He got up from the ground and started walking, the ground crunching beneath his heavy boots as black leather met yellow sand. In the distance, there was nothing but darkness, the moon was gone from the sky and all that existed was complete and utter darkness. Yet Twilight could see clear as day. The walk lasted for hours, nothing out of place for the Alicorn, she had been walking pretty much non-stop since he left her last time. Inside the depths of darkness they had approached, Twilight saw time itself, she saw the universe and how it was made, then it was gone, before she could even comprehend what she was seeing. She looked around, and he was gone. "Who is he even?" Twilight continued walking, she left the comforting sand and entered the frozen tundra, what was once dragon territory of volcanoes, hot temperatures and lava was now a flat, frozen piece of land stretching on for miles. Yet, Twilight did not freeze under the onslaught , the cloak kept her warm. "To think that I caused this," she said, looking on the ground. "But, what could I have done differently? Perhaps alerted the princesses earlier about my mistake, or simply asked Discord to rewoke it, but I never thought it was such a big deal." It didn't matter, it was too late now. As she stepped on the cracked and frozen stone, he was there. Out of nowhere he had appeared, his brown eyes locked with hers, and on he walked. The tundra didn't seem to faze the man as he trudged along, the ice didn't seem to hinder him as his feet never slipped, and the winds didn't seem to exist as his cloak remained still. Eventually, they reached a small hill and sat down. "Can you help me?" she asked, her voice as dead and tired as the land around her. The man said nothing. "Just, please... Give me the strength, just... Just somehow, I want to set things right, if I have to rebuild the world from scratch, so be it." He looked at her, she looked at him. He smiled. Twilight realized, as her purple eyes connected with his, that she had never seen him smile before, her blue hair blowing gently, the violet and pink stripes in it barely distracted either of them, then he spoke. "You know how." Twilight was the one to be silent this time, as she suddenly realized how to fix everything. "Thank you, Grue." she ran off. Grue? he thought It's as good of a name as any, I guess.