The End of the World as we Know it

Pinkie’s hoof smacked against the door of Golden Oaks Library, but she couldn’t hear it because of all the noise around her. There were panicked screams echoing the streets, the occasional boom of a Sonic Rainboom, blaring music from Vinyl Scratch’s house, and the crying of mothers holding their newborn foals. This all seemed like a bad nightmare.

Princess Celestia had informed everypony that today was their last day. She hadn't given much detail; all she had said was that the world was ending today and she couldn't do anything. Of course, the six friends had known long before the announcement because Twilight Sparkle was helping the princesses try to save the world, but they had been forbidden to say anything. They didn't want to spread panic until it was absolutely necessary.

There was a loud thud in the library. “Come in!” a familiar voice called. Pinkie slowly swung open the door, not sure what she would find inside. What she found was the largest pile of books she had ever seen with a purple unicorn mare sitting inside it. Books of various sizes were strewn across the floor, every lamp was turned on, and notes supported by the unicorn’s magic floated in the air. The only things that didn't seem to have books on them were the shelves. The thud was presumably caused by a book about the size of an average pony that was now lying open on top of the pile, right in front of the unicorn.

“Oh, hi Pinkie.” The purple mare didn't look up, she just kept reading at record speed. Above her a quill scribbled on the notes, writing the words so quickly it would be a wonder if anypony could read them.

“Hiya Twilight.” Pinkie walked over the books, careful not to rip too many pages. When she was at her friend’s side, she asked, “Whatcha doin’? I thought you were done trying to find out how to save everypony.”

“I am.” Twilight replied, still not looking up from her giant book. “We tried everything, but there is just no way to save us. So I’m trying to bring as much knowledge as I can to the afterlife.”

With worry, Pinkie noticed Twilight’s mane was in a bit of a tangle. She recognized this from the many other times Twilight had gotten this crazy. “Twilight, maybe you should stop. You’re just stressing-”

“STOP?!” Twilight kicked her book away and turned to the party pony. “STOP?! How can I stop? I need as much time as I can to fill my head with everything I possibly can! I spent my entire life trying to learn as much as I can, and I’m not stopping now.” She grabbed the book again, pulled up to her face, and continued reading.

“But…” Pinkie trailed off, sighing. Maybe she would go visit another friend. She turned and trotted through the piles of books and out the door, out into the chaos again. The first thing she noticed was another loud boom and a circle of many colors spreading across the sky. The thirteenth Sonic Rainboom that day.

“Rainbow Dash!” she shouted up into the sky. It was obvious that the cyan-and-rainbow blur didn't hear her as it whipped past at the speed of sound. “Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie raced after her friend, weaving through the crowds of crying and panicked ponies. Of to the side, she saw a low-hanging cloud. She didn't even stop running. She turned to the right and did a complete circle, grabbing the cloud as she went by.

She held the cloud tightly, and waited. Another loud boom, and another circle of rainbow light flew out. She watched the cyan blur as it flew in her direction. When it got close enough, she jumped in front of it, using the cloud for protection.

“OOF!” Pinkie and the cloud were both sent flying backwards, but the earth pony had succeeded in what was trying to do; stop Rainbow Dash. The pegasus thudded onto the ground, all her momentum transferred to Pinkie.

“Hey! What’s the big deal, Pinks?” Rainbow asked, standing and shaking dust off.

“What are you doing?” Pinkie asked, tossing the cloud aside. She should have been hurt, as she had just been hit directly by a pegasus going the speed of sound, but, being Pinkie, she was fine.

“I need to do as many Sonic Rainbooms as I can.” Rainbow sat on the ground, trying to hide the fact that she was panting and exhausted. “I can’t die knowing that Spitfire’s done more Sonic Flamebooms than I've done Sonic Rainbooms!”

Pinkie frowned. Rainbow Dash had become a Wonderbolt a year ago, and she still couldn't help trying to outmatch Spitfire. She had recently found out Spitfire had done her signature move, the Sonic Flameboom, than she had done a Sonic Rainboom. “But Dashie, you’re all tired! Should you really-” Pinkie stopped speaking when she realized the pegasus had disappeared. She looked up and saw a cyan and rainbow blur flying up into the sky.

Pinkie sighed and walked down the street, heading towards Carousel Boutique. When she reached the dressmaker’s shop, she found the door ajar. She poked her nose in and peered inside. After her experience with Rainbow and Twilight, she was surprised to not find the shop in a complete mess. She thrust her entire head inside, and saw Rarity sitting in a corner. She was lying on a couch crying softly and holding Sweetie Belle in a tight embrace, Opal lying across them both and making unhappy ‘merow’ noises.

Pinkie decided to leave the two grieving sisters alone and head for Sweet Apple Acres. It took longer than normal for her to get there, as if the suffering of her friends had weakened her. She trudged along the dirt road, every Sonic Rainboom she heard making her feel worse. When she finally saw the familiar farm house in the distance, she raced towards it.

She stopped when she heard the sound of crying. She creeped up to the window and peered inside. She saw Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, Applejack, and Apple Bloom in a group hug, all crying softly. Pinkie was unbelievably surprised; it was so rare anypony ever saw Applejack cry. True, she wasn't crying as hard as Big Macintosh, but still. She left them alone as well, deciding to head to the house of her last friend.

It didn't take her as long to get to Fluttershy’s Cottage. It was much quieter out here, and she was thankful for it. She walked through the bright grass towards the cottage. However, when she knocked on the door, she heard a soft voice call, “I’m in the back.”

Pinkie walked around the house to find a yellow pegasus, surrounded by hundreds of animals, laying with her mane covering most of her face. In front of her was many rows and rows of perfectly placed stones. Pinkie, realizing what this was, walked softly through the grass over to her friend.

“I wonder…” Fluttershy whispered, her voice making it clear she was crying, “If I’ll *sniff* see any of my animals friends in the afterlife. *sniff*” Pinkie looked down at the stones. They were gravestones, all with names of animals Fluttershy had cared for until their dying day. There were many; not because Fluttershy was bad at taking care of animals, but because she had been taking care of many animals with short life spans over years and years. “But what… *sniff* what if there are no animals in the afterlife? W-what if I never see my animal friends again? I don’t want to leave them behind, Pinkie. I don’t…”

After a long moment of silence, Pinkie made a decision. “Fluttershy, get up.” Fluttershy looked up at the party pony in surprise, but did what she was told. “Bring all your animal friends to the town square, and tell any ponies you meet to join them there. I want every pony and animal in Ponyville in the square.”

“Oh… okay.” Fluttershy nodded, and started gathering up her animal friends. Pinkie turned and trotted away to go get her various friends.

“I don’t want to spend my last hours sitting in town square!” a pony cried out in annoyance.

“I just wanna go home and cry…” another pony whimpered.

Pinkie Pie sat in a podium in the center. She saw a crowd of ponies looking up at her expectantly, including all her friends. She took a breath and started speaking. “Is this what you all really want? Do you all want to die like this? Crying and moping, or working yourself to the bone? Is it worth it to spend your last moments unhappy?" the crowd didn't seem to be moved. "Years after all of us die, what we do won't matter at all. Nopony remembers the fastest pegasus that lived before Equestria was made, because it doesn't matter anymore. She didn't effect history, so there's no need. How do you think future ponies would think of us? I doubt they would remember us at all. Not to mention that the world is ending, so every trace of us will be gone." Pinkie looked out at the crowd, where several ponies had started crying again and others were muttering. "What I'm saying is, we had a good life. We've all had fun, but now it's coming to an end. We don't need to die like this, we can die just being happy that we've lived, not sad because we didn't live longer.

"We just all need to be happy. With a smile smile smile, everything seems brighter."

"I believe Pinkie is right." Rarity called out, Sweetie Belle sitting on her back. "We've lived a good life, and there's nothing we can do to keep living. We're all just crying over spilled milk."

There were shouts of agreement throughout the crowd. Pinkie smiled widely, happy they got her idea, and started singing.

“That’s great; it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, a rainboom
Rainbow Dash is not afraid.
Eye of a hurricane
Just stand dance and turn
The world serves its own needs
Smiles should be all you need
Feedin’ on a cake
Sing talk and have strength
The ladder starts to clatter with your fear of height
But you fight
Wire in a fire
We’re playin’ all the games
And royal guards for hire
And a combat site
We’re goin’ left of west
And goin’ in a hurry
With fear breathing
On your neck!”

Pinkie took a deep breath and motioned for the whole crowd to join in.

“It’s the end of the world as we know it,
It’s the end of the world as we know it,
It’s the end of the world as we know it,
And we’re havin’ a good tiiiiiime!”

All around them, the entire world seemed a much more bright and happy place. They all sang the tongue-tying-ly fast song, most ponies stumbling over their own words but just laughing it off before joining back in. Everypony sung the loudest at the chorus:

“It’s the end of the world as we know it,
It’s the end of the world as we know it,
It’s the end of the world as we know it,
and we’re havin’ a good tiiiiiime!”

Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy leaped up on the stage and sang along with Pinkie, louder than the rest of the crowd. Even Fluttershy was singing much louder than usual, her voice somehow perfectly fitting the song and she never stumbled over a word once despite the fact this was the first time any of them had heard the song.

The next time they started the chorus, all of the six friends except Pinkie sang in the background,

“And I’m glad I won’t spend it alone
And I’m glad I won’t spend it alone
And I’m glad I won’t spend it alone.”

“It’s the end of the world as we know it! (And I’m glad I won’t spend it alone)
It’s the end of the world as we know it! (And I’m glad I won’t spend it alone)
It’s the end of the world as we know it! (And I’m glad I won’t spend it alone)
And we’re havin’ a good tiiiiiime!”

Then the crowd quieted and the six friends sang slower, with Pinkie the loudest.

“It’s the end of the world as we know it
It’s the end of the world as we know it
It’s the end of the world as we know it (And I’m glad I won’t spend it alone)
And we’re havin’ a good tiiiime.”

The crowd joined in again, and the song continued. Everypony had a smile on their face, and those without a family were being hugged by their friends. Nopony was sad, and they didn't even notice as the day grew brighter and brighter. It grew blindingly bright, but everypony ignored it. They didn't care. They were having fun.

When everything grew too bright to see, Pinkie knew it was coming. She didn't stop her song, even though the end stood mere centimeters away. At the last moment, right before the end, she whispered, “Nothing should end with anything less than a smile.”

The End

Author's Note:

I'm terrible at parodying. I ended up skipping all except the first bit and the chorus. The song is "It's the End of the World" by REM, for the maybe two people in the world that don't know it.

Anyway, inspired by the fact that today is the 21st. I hope it gets approved and goes up while it's still the 21st, but I doubt it.

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