• Published 30th Jan 2015
  • 1,587 Views, 65 Comments

Equine Fall - ModMCdl



It's been six whole years since the Changeling war, and with the Elements missing, Princess Twilight Sparkle faces an ancient force bent on seeing the end of not only Equestria, but the whole universe.

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Replacement

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"If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
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Replacement
Location Unknown

"I have to Dash, it's the only way."

Two ponies and a dragon sat at the makeshift wooden table, set upon an unfinished stone foundation. Rainbow Dash, often considered the be the bravest and boldest of the three, was openly sobbing.

Rainbow glared at Twilight, pure anger and hurt flashing through her eyes. "I'm not going to let you kill yourself just to go talk to Princess Luna!" she cried, slamming a cyan hoof onto the table. "That's stupid!"

Twilight sighed. "Dash, this is the only way. I need to know more about this place, and how we can get out of it," she explained calmly. Dash refused to listen to her. "Please, Dashie! Besides, we already know that you can't truly die here!"

The pegasus let out a primal growl, one that caused Spike and Twilight to shrink back slightly in surprise and a little fear. "And how are you going to do it? Huh?" she screamed, her voice echoing around the forest around them, and drifting off the cliff. "And what if something goes wrong? What's going to happen then?" She jumped out of her seat and on top of the table, shoving her face into Twilight's. "You are the only pony here who can get us out of this mess, and if you die," she paused, taking a few, panting breaths. "And if you die, how the buck are going to get out of this mess."

Dash shrunk back, her gaze lowering, and voice seeming to melt with pure misery. "And how am I supposed to let my marefriend die?"

Twilight's heart broke at that comment. But, in the end, if she didn't do this, her emotions wouldn't even matter. Everything would be lost. The literal weight of the world was resting upon her back. The alicorn may not be able to easily stop the Equine Fall from coming, but she could at least spare Equestria the torture of having to deal with it alone.

"Listen to me, Rainbow Dash." Twilight leaned forward and rested her hooves on her marefriend's shoulders. "The entire universe will be destroyed if I cannot get back to Equestria, and mount up a sizable defense. Both you and I do not know what horrors await us when that day comes, and I'm positive all of the ponies in Equestria don't know." She gazed deep into Dash's watering, magenta eyes. "I have to do this."

A choked sob escaped from Rainbow's throat. "Isn't t-there any other way? C-can't you just, like, s-sleep and let Luna come into your d-dream?" she pleaded.

Twilight smiled softly. "Can you tell me the last time you had a dream, Dashie?" Rainbow paused, and her face contorted into one of confusion. "There are no dreams in this place. There haven't been any in Equestria. With Luna trapped in the magical plane, she is powerless to patrol the dreamscape." Her smile faded. "All that there are now are nightmares."

Rainbow Dash physically wilted, slumping back into her seat. Silent tears trickled down her muzzle, and all that she would let out were sullen whimpers.

Spike just sat there, silently watching the affair. He very little grasp of what the two were talking about. All he knew is that in order for Twilight to talk to Luna, something very bad would happen.

"Is this really that important?" Dash finally spoke.

Twilight nodded firmly. "Yes."

Rainbow let out a sigh. "Alright. Gimmie a sec... I have to..." she let out a shuddering sigh, her voice cracking. "Just give me a minute, will you?" She stood, and jumped off the foundation, heading over and taking a seat at the precipice.

"Twilight?" a small voice asked. Twilight turned and looked down at Spike. He looked very small and worried, gripping onto Twilight's tail as if her were a baby dragon again. "What's going to happen to you?"

"Oh, Spike," Twilight leaned down and wrapped her forelegs around her surrogate brother. "You remember where I told you Luna was?" He nodded. "Well, in order for me to get there, I have to let my... energy... leave my body and travel to that realm." She squeezed him a little tighter. "And the only way for me to do that, is well," she paused, not knowing exactly how to tell a child, and her oldest friend that she had to die. "I have to..." Twilight began to tear up. "I have to d-die," she told him bluntly.

Spike wrapped his arms around her neck, squeezing her for dear life. "Twilight..." he whimpered, tears rolling onto the soft, lavender fur. "No..."

"It's okay, Spike," she said, rubbing a hoof across his back as she began to cry as well. "I'll be alright in a few hours. This place heals you. You can't die here"

A heart-wrenching sob echoes across the clearing. Spike shook his head, his face brushing into the fur lining Twilight's neck. "No, you can't die Twilight!"

"I have to, Spike."

The two could only hold one another as they sobbed, until a shout rang out from the precipice behind them.

"TWILIGHT!" shouted Rainbow Dash.

Twilight turned around, separating from Spike. "Dash..."

Rainbow was standing up on her hind legs, and she stared deep into Twilight's eyes, a deep connection forming between them. "I love you, Twilight Sparkle."

Then, with little fanfare, the pegasus fell backwards off of the cliff, plummeting towards the lower ground.

"DAAAAAASH!" cried Twilight, rushing forward, and scrambling to look over the edge, only to see her lover crunch sickeningly into a thick, wooden limb, and then disappear into the lush canopy of the forest below.

The alicorn sat there, unable to move or note anything around her except for the small, dark gap in the leaves where Rainbow Dash disappeared. Time passed around her, but Twilight remained frozen in it, her brain not able to focus on anything else.

It was The Day The Sun Set all over again.

---

Six separate piles of charred ash lay on the scorched ground around her. Each one held a jeweled element loving in their grasp, cradling it until it could be received by its new caretaker. Twilight was down on her knees, hurt and loss reigning a hold on her heart. Her eyes managed to remain focused on the crippled skeleton of Queen Chrysalis that lay before her, yet she somehow knew that not one of her six friends had survived. Not one of them was left standing from this pyrrhic victory.

Ponies soon gathered around the circle, staring at the aftermath of Equestria's victory. Nopony spoke, dared to make a move as they looked on with varying emotions. Some faces showed complete and utter shock, while others showed pity. Some displayed sadness. Many just showed a pony in complete disbelief that victory could come at such a cost.

Tears streaked through the ash coating Twilight's face, clearing away the grime of a battle fought. She shakily stood, her eyes still locked on the dark, empty holes of the Changeling Queen's skull. Slowly, she gazed up into the sky, a fired a single, lavender beam up into the sky.

Everypony watched on in solemn silence. Then, one by one, the unicorns among them did likewise, aiming towards the endless sky and firing beams of their own aura into the sky.

A rainbow erupted off of the planet, an array of colors shooting off to all ends of the universe. Their beams would not end, continuing onward eternally. Forevermore they would represent what great loss Equestria had suffered on this day.

One by one, in a like manner to how it started, the beams disappeared, their owners stepping back away from the carnage. This continued until Twilight was once again the only pony remaining. Then, she too cut off her own beam, and leveled her vision.

The alicorn finally looked at all the remained of her friends, taking each one in as if in silent prayer. Then, she turned her attention to the gathered crowd.

"We have won this fight!" she cried into the masses. "Equestria is again victorious among all of its threats. Let this show all those who dare to challenge us that we will stand victorious among them." Twilight's voice rose in power and volume. "Let this show them that we will suffer the greatest of losses to win, to make sure that our citizens will forever have the freedom that they hold dear!" She paused, looking around the gathered crowd of ponies around her. When she spoke again, her tone was softer and more caring. "But lest we forget the great sacrifices that we make to keep it that way!" Her voice raised one again, with power and authority. "Never shall we forget the cost of our freedom! Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and the hundreds, the thousands of others who have gave their life in these last few days to defend Equestria."

Twilight Sparkle, the sole Princess of Equestria, took to the air, her voice as loud as the trumpets that sounded her coronation, reaching to all ends of the world. "From this point forwards... for the rest of history, let this day be known as The Day The Sun Set!"

Her command was shrouded by the endless, twilight sky, it's crepuscular haze an eternal testimony to the devastating events that took place on that day.

The alicorn set back down onto the charred earth, looking at the devastation around her. Then, one by one, she went to each ash pile and collected the elements, stopping at the last one that remained. A pure, blue sapphire encased in a flawless, gold circlet.

Her eyes once again teared up, as she gazed at the remains of the pony she cared for most. The pony who she loved, but had never had the chance to tell.

A silent, final tear rolled down her cheek as she spoke her love's name for the last time. "Dash..."

In the years to come, Twilight Sparkle would slowly learn to live on her own, the memories of her friends staying with her forever. She would attend the yearly Memorium of the Sunset. She would fulfill her duty as the leader of Equestria. Until, one day, a dragon gave her an idea. An idea that would formulate a plan to get back her friends. A plan to get back her love.

---

Finally, as the Elysium Sun began to set, normal time began to flow around Twilight, and she drifted back into reality. A steady wind flowed around her as she sat on the precipice. She tore her eyes away from the spot where Rainbow Dash had disappeared, and rose to her hooves. She wiped her muzzle with a fetlock, before turning and walking away from the cliff face, nearly tripping over a sleeping Spike.

She smiled to herself, gently shaking him awake. "Spike," she whispered into his ear. "Spike, wake up."

The dragon stirred, and cracked open his eyes. Upon finding Twilight's face in the dim light of the sunset, his eyes immediately began to well up with tears again. "T-twilght," he said, crying. "D-dash-"

Twilight silenced him with a gentle "shhhhh" as she placed him on her back. She did not know where her sudden resolve and strength came from. She knew that there was no real danger of anypony dying in this place, but the fact that she had just watched her lover die had certainty shocked her. Yet, here she was, somewhat alright, and able to continue on.

Perhaps it was the knowledge that this wouldn't be like last time. The knowledge that Rainbow Dash would come back to her again. That pegasi's loyalty somehow managed to span time and space; her Dash would always fly home to her, no matter what.

"It's alright Spike," she said softly. "She'll be awake in the morning."

And the two headed towards the lean-to to rest for the night.

Author's Note:

*Gasp*

What will happen to our heroes next? Will Dash wake up? Will Equestria be restored to peace and tranquility? Will Twilight be able to defend her home against Equine Fall?

Stay tuned for more!