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Alive and Wubbing It777 words
Between Adventures753 words
Futility637 words
Gone Fishing696 words
On Your Wavelength295 words
Left Behind630 words
Mornings721 words
Silent Gestures750 words

Futility

It was impossible.

After how far they’d come, after how long they’d planned and plotted and sacrificed, they had failed. All the sleepless nights, all the harebrained schemes, every time they had survived by the skin of their teeth meant nothing now.

The Night would last forever.

A chuckle rolled sweetly over his ears and would have caused him to smile but for the mare that followed it through the crumbling stone portal - A latest and most violent addition to the room’s architecture.

“Nightmare -ung- Moon” He wheezed, each breath causing pain to lance through his chest. His left arm was broken, if the way it was twisted on the floor was any indication, along with several of his ribs. Given the force of the blow he was surprised his head had survived contact with the stone masonry.

“Indeed. And it is a pleasure to finally have to opportunity to formally make your acquaintance as well, Sunchaser. Yes I know you. I have been paying very special attention to your little group ever since your escape from the Isle of Shadows. Very impressive, especially for an Earth Pony such as yourself.”

Shock was plastered across Sunchaser face and his eyes darted around the room. After a moment of searching his gaze stilled and settled on the Nightmare. “You knew. Why?”

The Nightmare gave an indulgent smile and crouched down to better look Sunchaser in the eyes. “Why, for entertainment of course. Ruling with an iron hoof can become so dreadfully dull at times. I appreciate it when my precious little subjects take the time to amuse their queen.”

“Well then. I’ll be glad. To brighten up your day.” As the words left his lips a lance of golden fire slammed into the Nightmare and pinned her against the wall beneath a curtain of flame. Stones and mortar hissed and bubbled around the edges of the inferno, melting and beginning to run down the wall into puddles. “River Run.” Sunchaser said with a wide, painful, grin. “Had her by the ropes. Was no need to. To butt in.”

A turquoise unicorn slowly advanced to stand beside Sunchaser. A glowing, cloth wrapped tube attached to his saddle was emitting the unending torrent of flame over what remained of the hallway. “Now I couldn’t go and let you take all the glory. What would all the pretty mares do if they never learned about the dashing, young, eligible stallion who defeated the Lunar Tyrant?”

“Rejoice?”

“Perish the thought. But in all seriousness, we should all get out of here before the guards-”

Both ponies froze as an ominously familiar chuckle echoed down the hall and froze them in place. Darkness twisted around the flames all the way up to the glowing tube before scattering, tube and all, into an inky dark haze. “Leaving so soon? But we’ve hardly begun to know each other.”

“It can’t be” Sunchaser stuttered. “You… the sunfire-”

“Is a relic of a bygone age. Did you truly think such a tiny shard of light could hope to harm the Queen of the Night? In the heart of her domain?” The Nightmare was almost purring now, trotting delicately forward as her darkness began to snake around the two ponies. “I would ask how it was you managed to acquire such a potent weapon of light, but I am loath to spoil the next surprise.”

Blackness started to cloud Sunchaser’s vision. He could see his limbs changing to ebony marble as the Nightmare finished her work. “Alas though, time grows short and there are duties that must be attended to. Now you must sleep child, a place awaits you place in my Halls of the Fallen. It is not every day that ponies make such a delightfully interesting play.”

Author's Note:

So I didn’t like this one. I didn’t get much from the prompt, didn’t work on it for long, and didn’t like what I put out. Didn’t even get close to the word limit. (I get it’s a ‘limit’ but still. It’s the principal of the thing.)

As such I almost didn’t finish this, only got it out because I told myself if I didn’t I was a whiny little quitter face. And I still didn’t like it. (Must have spent half an hour watching a one minute clip of NM Moon trying to get the voice down and I still hated it. Too OOC.) So I put it out and waited for everyone to take a dump on it. I wanted them to dump on it and justify my feelings.

Lo and behold this esteemed group of writers, who I am proud to call myself one of, failed to live up to my pessimistic standards. I was both giddy and annoyed at the lack of negative feedback and generally positive (if middling) reviews.

Hats off to you. You make it hard to be disappointed in myself.

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