//------------------------------//
// Blowout 
// Story: Randomzied 
// by BlazingAngel 
//------------------------------//

The moon was full, but despite its light, the stars were bright. Yes, it was poetic. But poetry wasn't on young Shining Armor's mind. Power was on his mind. And his mind was full of power. From the time he'd first stared at the sky, he'd used his mind to tear apart the clouds. He'd made leaves fall from trees, and icicles plunge from rooftop gutters. He'd once caused a bird to drop from the air, but that had seemed wrong, so he concentrated on things that didn't walk or crawl or swim or fly.

Now Shining Armor was ready for something grander than clouds or leaves. "Watch this." He told his younger sister, Twilight. "You'll be amazed." He aimed his finger at a star and blew out a sharp burst of air, as if he'd been struck full force in the stomach.

The star flickered faster than before, dimmed for a moment, then it returned to normal.

"Cute," Twilight said. "But not amazing."

"Wait," Shining Armor said before Twilight could walk away. "I'd almost got it."

He puffed again, changing the forces to subtle ways. This time, the star vanished as if someone had splashed a blot of ink across it. The star itself, and all the light it cast, no longer existed.

"Gone," Shining Armor said. "Snuffed for good." He gave Twilight a dark smile, then pointed toward another star, brighter than the first.

"Stop," Twilight said. "You're always ruining things."

"There are countless stars," he said. "Nobody will miss this one."

"But what about Princess Luna? Surely that she will notice that the star is gone."

"Who care? It not like she will have the time to look at these stars anyway." He puffed it away.

"Or that one." He pointed toward the eastern horizon.

As he puffed, Twilight put her hoof in front of his mouth.

"Doesn't matter," Shining said as the star vanished. "It's like an X-ray, or a powerful thought. Nothing can block it."

He walked over to a large maple tree on their front lawn, put his face an inch from the trunk, and puffed right through it, erasing another star.

"Stop it," Twilight said. "Please."

Shining laughed and faced the west, turning his back on Twilight. "No. It makes me feel strong. I feel like I'll outlast the universe. Oh, there's a pretty one, all red and twinkly." He pointed toward the sky and drew in a breath.

"No!" Twilight tackled him. He was older and taller, but Twilight was motivated and she understood leverage.

Shining went down hard, with Twilight shoulder on his back. "Oof!" he puffed as his body struck the ground. The blast from his lips parted the grass.

Something changed.

Twilight rolled off her brother, wondering why the stars were suddenly so much brighter and the world around her suddenly so much darker.

All was black except for the stars.

"The moon," Twilight whispered. It was gone.

"How-?" Shining said.

Twilight pointed where the moon should have been, all full and bright. "I don't know. You didn't aim that way."

Another thought hit her, striking with more force than a tackle. "The moon doesn't make its own light."

They looked down at the ground. Twilight imagined the path of Shining's power. It had shot through the earth, just as easily as it had passed through her hoof or the tree. And it had struck a star on the other side. A star that warmed the earth and lit the moon.

Shining had snuffed the sun.

"Oh boy." Twilight said as she face-planted herself. "We're doomed."

"Hey, at least we give Nightmare Moon a favor." Shining said. He knew he'll regret this.

The stars overhead twinkled in an endless night. On Earth, the air grew cold. Shining outlasted the sun by several hours, but he didn't come close to outlasting the universe.