//------------------------------// // Downfall // Story: Equine Fall // by ModMCdl //------------------------------// --- If you want to shine like a sun, first burn like a sun. - A.P.J. Abdul Kalam --- Downfall Location Unknown Twilight and Spike sat at the rickety, makeshift picnic table. Both were silently contemplating the chess board between them. Twilight, was of course, winning, and her draconian assistant was desperately trying to fight back and gain the upper hand. With a resigned sigh, Spike eventually pushed one of his last pawns a step further, only to have his last rook taken by Twilight's bishop. The board itself was made up of a large piece of tree bark, stripped off the tree. A checkered pattern was carved into it, giving the illusion of white and black places. Each piece was composed of either white or grey stone, magically carved away into vaguely chess-like features. But, when you're stuck in the middle of Elysium, there was only so much you could do. "Checkmate," said Twilight dully, knocking over Spike's king with her own rook. The little dragon let out another, long sigh, having now been beaten three times in a row. "Aw, don't get that upset, Spike," the purple alicorn said softly. "You're getting much, much better! This last game took almost 20 minutes, which means you put up a much better fight!" Spike merely let out another sigh, and leaned back, lying down on the wooden bench. He gazed up into the pristine, blue sky, his eyes locking on the leaves of a tree above him. "Do you want to play another game?" she asked, chuckling at Spike's exasperated groan at the suggestion of more chess. "I'll take that as a no." She lifted the board and pieces with her magic, and placed them into the crude, wooden box that had also been carved. "When is Rainbow Dash going to be back?" the dragon asked, still laying back and gazing towards the sky. The alicorn sighed. "I don't know. All I know is that she will be back," she replied. 'She has to be...' Twilight suddenly felt very sullen. She hadn't been worried about Dash before, which was strange, but now she was. What if this place didn't always work like how Luna said it did? What if ponies could die here? That's Spike suddenly noticed something very odd. "Twilight," he said, trying to attract her attention. But the former unicorn was just staring at the wood of the table, a distant look across her face. "Twilight!" he said again, this time a little bit louder. Still no reaction. With a groan, Spike stood on the bench, and climbed up onto the table. He waved a claw in her face. "Twilight! Snap out of it!" Twilight started, looking quickly at the dragon frantically trying to get her attention. "What Spike?" "There's no wind." The lavender alicorn froze, and her eyes darted around quickly. Indeed, Spike was right. There was no wind. Not even a gentle breeze rustled through the leaves. Curious, Twilight stood up from the bench and walked slowly towards the cliff's edge. She stared out over the expanse of land that stretched out below them. Everything was still. There was no reason for it. Hell, there wasn't a reason why it should even happen. Twilight's equine mind raced, trying to figure out what was going on, and why. No matter how hard she thought, staring out into the expanse, she could not come up with a logical explanation. The wind was just... gone. Then, her eyes picked out something peculiar. A butterfly... frozen in time, about forty hooves out from the cliff's edge. A butterfly, in a land that should hold no living creature. It just hung there, suspended. It was alone in the world, and it was wrong. So, so wrong. Something was very, very wrong. Twilight just stared at it, trying desperately to figure out what this meant. Various thoughts and theories crossed her mind. She rooted out the impossible, and then moved to the improbable. Hallucination? Improbable, but possible. Temporal loop? Probably not, but not impossible. As these ideas shifted through her mind, she picked out yet another peculiar occurance. There was a faint cry in the distance. The lavender alicorn's ears flicked towards the sound. The cry came again, stronger and louder than before, but still too quiet to be heard clearly. All that could be made out was the noise of somepony crying. It repeated itself over again, and Twilight strained her ears, focusing on trying to hear the voice more clearly. It barely helped. Wait a second. That wasn't a butterfly, it was a pony! And it was flying right for the cliff! She stepped closer to the edge, desperately trying to hear the voice, and finally... "Twilight!" With the volume of a hoarse whisper, the distant cry finally reached her ears. "Brace yourself!" Luna. The voice belonged to Luna! Twilight smiled for a moment, welcoming the return of an old friend, before her face quickly flipped into a frown. 'Wait, brace myself for wh-' Then the sun exploded. END OF PART TWO.