• Published 25th Jan 2015
  • 1,293 Views, 76 Comments

Obsolution - not plu



At one time, the Elements of Harmony were needed to wield powerful magic in order to bring order to Equestria. Luckily, they've become obsolete.

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1: The Night in Lonesome October

...I know this news may be hard to swallow, but you must keep in mind that this was not a decision, but simply a fact. This change in duties in no way reflects how I feel about you or your adequacy. You have all made many great sacrifices for Equestria, and you will be immortalized in the hearts of every pony for that...


To say that Applejack was uncomfortable with her self image would definitely be an overstatement. That was one of the main reasons she usually clashed with Rarity: the farmpony generally just didn’t care about her appearance.

But when each hoofstep echoes back to you a million times louder than you’re used to, and any direction you glance shows a distorted image of your face, with the splattering of freckles you never liked, and your perpetually-messy mane, self-confidence is... tricky.

Even the floor was reflective enough to make Applejack uncomfortable, so she affixed her gaze decidedly ahead and marched onwards.

I’ll get used to it.

Her peripheral vision spotted hundreds of Applejacks, walking in perfect time, their hooves thunderous.

I’ll have to. We’ll be spending a lot of time here.

The castle was beautiful. And it did provide a meeting place better than what was basically Twilight’s living room. But it certainly was intimidating. And strangely designed, to have this never-ending hallway right at the front, forcing a mare to ponder her fate and herself as she marched dutifully onward...

Finally, the hallway ended. Applejack pushed open the door slowly (like everything in this castle, it was ridiculously heavy) to see twelve eyes immediately turn to look at her. Twelve eyes filled with all the same feelings she had.

Twilight rushed over to her, Spike following dutifully behind, his grip on the scroll in his hand seemingly viselike.

“Thank Celestia you’re here. We’ve all been waiting.”

“I noticed. I’m sorry I’m late.”

Twilight attempted a small smile and walked Applejack forward.

As Applejack sat down in her throne (the idea of which she was still getting used to), she glanced around at the other Elements.

Something was definitely up. Another understatement, but notable nonetheless.

Well, she’d gathered that from the urgent message calling her to the castle, and she was used to Twilight freaking out over anything and everything. But Dash was already hovering in the air. And Fluttershy was desperately trying to hide behind her mane. And Rarity was picking at the seams of her dress. And Pinkie was actually silent.

It has to be a serious threat to Equestria again. That’s why we’re here. It’s our jobs, after all.

Twilight looked around, took a deep, audible breath (well, anything was audible in this room), and nodded to Spike.

He opened up the aforementioned scroll carefully and cleared his throat.

Later, upon reflection, everypony in the room would find this moment definitive.


“So... that’s it then? We’re done?”

Rainbow Dash slowly lowered herself back down into her throne.

Twilight nodded, her eyes glued to the floor, choosing to ignore the slight air of condescension behind Rainbow’s words.

“Even if we’re unhappy, we can’t change anything about this. The tree of harmony has... replaced our function, and that’s a fact.”

Her voice was flat and just as hopeless as each mare felt.

Mostly unnoticed, Spike left, not sure quite how to handle the situation he had just thrust upon the mares.

And then there was silence again. The six elements (could they still be considered elements?) sat quietly, attempting to digest what they had just been read.

Pinkie’s mane was slowly, almost imperceptibly deflating.

“What now?” Fluttershy whispered, though the sound was more than adequately amplified by the room.

Twilight’s eyes suddenly became less glazed as she snapped into the perky princess persona the others had learned to tolerate.

She smiled.

“We do whatever we want, of course. Celestia said this doesn’t have to be a bad thing, and it won’t if we make the best of it. We’ll be... less stressed, and have more free time and everything! Like... Dash! You can finally join the Wonderbolts, right?”

Dash’s eyes lit up, at least slightly, reassuring Twilight, who smiled brighter.

“Come on... we won’t stop being friends without an official purpose. There will always be magic behind our friendship. Right? We’ll still keep in touch. We’ll still have our letters. Right?”

Everypony nodded. Then silently, they unanimously decided to go their separate ways and slowly filed out, the door finally closing with a heavy thud.

As the five ponies made their way down that infinitely long hallway, ten eyes were multiplied to thousands in the walls, none making eye contact.

Twenty hooves rhythmically boomed against the floor, the only sound to break the silence.

Still in the throne room, Twilight choked back tears she didn’t understand.


That night, Twilight dreamt she was standing at the base of the Tree of Harmony. She took a deep breath and began to cast a spell. The luminescent colours around her slowly grew more and more intense, threatening to break her concentration, until finally she could look no longer lest it burn, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, all she could see was the pale moonlight illuminating her bedroom.

In her fluffy cloud bed, Rainbow Dash was falling. Her wings were fighting as hard as they could but she had no control over them, not that she wanted it. No, she almost felt tranquil and at peace as the pillars of Cloudsdale moved further and further away, her eyes tearing up from the air rushing past. As usual, she was awake before the impact.

Rarity tossed and turned all night, slipping in and out of pure lavishness, complete with champagne fountains perfect platters stacked high with truffles. Yet any time she reached for one, millions of eyes would immediately be on her, their judgement seeping into her muscles and freezing them. And every time she awoke, she prayed for a different dream. Of course, it was always exactly the same.

In her dream, Fluttershy wandered through the Everfree forest. She knew she was there seeking something, but she couldn’t place what that was. Nonetheless, she continued onwards, the faint moonlight assisting her in her journey. Her mind began to wander, letting her hooves take her through. Until she looked up and realized she had no idea where she was. The usually comforting sounds of the forest steadily grew louder until Fluttershy's screams woke her up.

Applejack's dream took her to her childhood, specifically the day she returned home after getting her cutie mark. She was surrounded by her loved ones, and everything was the kind of perfect that can only exist in dreams. But Applejack didn't realize this. She was happy again. At least until the ponies opened their mouths to speak and the blood came pouring out. And then it was all over.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie had always been awake.


Author's Note:

So this is related to This Isn't a Sad Letter. A lot of people asked for me to write something explaining that, so look, here it is!

Just a clarification: this story is in no way related to the more most dangerous game. Just coincidence of timing.

It's going to be a long, wild ride, folks.