> The collection > by Loud_Taffy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The Beginning and the End > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gone Everything is gone. Bleak Desolate Barren Nothing as far as the eye could see. Hills of dark grey ash lay motionless under an empty sky. The sun is gone. The moon is gone. Having dissolved into dust over the millennia, their keepers along with them. All that is left is the silence of the universe come to a close. I am the observer, the watcher if you will. The last bit of life here to witness the end. As I roam this world of ash and silence, I cannot help but sigh. All of it, the beginning, the end, the ages after. All my fault. Naturally it wasn’t always this way. This world lived, it lived in a incorruptible state of piece and harmony. its rulers just and kind, it thrived off of the love and dedication of all its inhabitance. As did countless others in the cosmos. Eventually, they all grew dark and disappeared. Everything does in the end. But not this world. This world lingered on far past the time it should have faded away. I made it so. I endeavored to keep this world in the realm of existence as a testament to the power that ravaged it so long ago. A power that still radiates from my very essence. it was hard at first, watching those who I loved grow old and die. there was a time when I refused to accept this. No pony can bring back the dead. Believe me, I have tried. All of the souls that once resided here have long since moved on. But I linger. I linger in the hope that I may forgive myself for the events of that day. The day it all ended, and the day it all began. When the crust of the planet was seared clean in an instant. When the sun and the moon, so stricken with grief, faded into oblivion. When love was lost to despair. When chaos could no longer tip the broken scale. Madness became a fleeting dream. Sanity was a white hot blade to the heart. And yet I linger. I linger not as punishment, nor as victory. I linger to be, to learn, to toil, to exist. I preserved this world so that I could witness the end, and the beginning. It grows close, I can feel it. I write this now with the hope that it may be seen in the next. A small chance, I know. But a chance none the less. Everything around me, the ash, the dust, the silence. It’s all that’s left of the world I call home. I have circled this globe many times. Never stopping, never resting, until now. I have watched the universe die from my little marble. The stars are gone now. I watched as they blinked out over time. One by one they disappeared. The force that binds everything (It was once called magic) is now converging on the last remaining thing in its universe, my world. I can feel the end drawing closer, and the beginning. It’s my fault. The world died before its time I now know what I did wrong, what caused the spark. It matters little though; it could not have been avoided. Or perhaps it could have. I guess I shall never really know. The memories of my life flow faster now. My family, my friends. The joy, the tears, the friendships. Forever gone. Destroyed by one foalish enough to tame the universe, or as least try to. But I am not sad. For as I tell this story, the end draws near, and so does the beginning. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is the story of how I destroyed the world. > Rarity finds a cliché and loves it > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- On one particularly calm evening Rarity found herself immensely lacking in things to do. She had finished all of the dress orders for the week, cleaned the show room, Opal was at Fluttershy's for a weekly grooming, and Sweetybell was staying the night at Sweet Apple Acers with Applebloom. Tapping a hoof to her cheek, she remembered that twilight had asked her if she had any spare gems she could use for an experiment. Something about magic infusion. With a shrug Rarity grabbed her bag of mismatched gems and headed for the castle. Upon arriving at the castle, she calmly knocked on the door. When Spike answered, he froze for a second as a dreamy smile crept across his face. He welcomed her inside and went to fetch Twilight, leaving Rarity alone for a bit. She noticed that Spike had left his record collection out in the map/throne room. Curious as to what dragons listen too (and a little tired of the same Sapphire Shores songs being played over and over) she floated up the closest album. "Metallonca" she read, "The Beak album". She slipped the record out of its sheath and placed it on the player. She was hooked on the first toll of the bell. Twilight entered the room and quickly covered her ears. She had expected Spike to have more sense than to leave his music playing. What she did not expect was to find Rarity swaying back and fourth in front of the record player. She cleared her throat. Rarity stopped swaying, slowly her head turned to face Twilight. Her eyes were huge and full of sparkles, and she had an immense smile on her face. "Twilight, I bucking love this!" > Silent Fractures > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This world has always known magic. Since the first creatures of sentience walked the planet it has been used in every way imaginable. Whether it be archaic, spiritual, or divine, magic has had many forms. In fact there was one instance when its inner workings were almost unraveled. At the time it was called science. But do not think that magic is just some kind of energy that can be tapped into. No, it’s alive and it has evolved during its existence. As you can see for yourself the magic of today can manipulate even the cosmos. But there are some aspects of it that have never changed. One particular strain of magic found a way to preserve itself, by living in the higher planes of the subconscious realm. It is a powerful magic that has created a very real name for itself over the millennia. Whether it inflicts torcher, mercy, or bestows judgment, no being who has encountered it has ever truly escaped. ***** “I do not think I will ever understand your, how do they say, ‘randomness’ Discord. As interesting as a history of magic sounds this is neither the time nor the place for one.” The draconequus wore a hurt expression. “My dear princess Luna, you surprise me. Your academic thirst rivals that of princess pancake herself.” Luna looked at Discord with a small frown. “Thou are not amused,” he asked arching an eyebrow. They continued down the dirt path until they came across a very wet road. She gave him a small huff and marched across to the other side. She immediately noticed something odd about this road. It was black and very firm and it had strange yellow things in the center that stretched out in both directions. As Luna bent down to get a closer look at the raised yellow squares, Discord walked over to the guard rail. He looked out towards the forest and squinted a few times to make sure he was seeing things properly. “That shouldn't be there,” he said in a voice far too serious for his character. Luna sat down next to him and stared at the huge lake with wide eyes. There were a few small tufts of land in the middle and on the fare shore she could see lights. “That was not there the last time I was here,” she said quietly. Discord turned left and started walking down the road. Luna followed. “Discord, why did that lake suddenly appear? For that matter where did this road come from, or this mountainside,” she waved a hoof at the other side of the road. “What’s going on?” Discord continued to walk seemingly lost in thought. She continued following him waiting for a response. Finally he stopped and turned to look at her. “If my theory is correct my dear, then we are in big trouble. And not just you and I, but everything, all that has been and all that will ever be will go down this very rusty and rotted drain.” Now she was really confused, “all that just because a lake decided to appear in this world?” Discord rubbed his temples and continued walking, Luna followed. “You don’t understand. That lake hasn’t been a part of this world since…” he thought for a moment, “a very long time ago.” He grew quiet again, thinking. “It’s strange," she said. “This place, it doesn’t feel the same as before.” “How so, “Discord asked curiously. “The first time I was here was not of my own choice. It was … terrible,” she shuddered slightly. “Now that I have voluntarily returned it feels like,” she thought for a minute. “It feels like sneaking into a movie studio for some behind the scenes action,’ he finished for her. “Exactly,” she nodded. It started to rain. “Well that came out of nowhere,” he said shielding his face with a paw. He snapped his fingers. When nothing happened Luna smirked. He snapped them again and again nothing happened. Luna chucked as he continued snapping his fingers growing more frustrated as he did so. Her horn glowed and a blue dome appeared over their heads. “Discord you are an astral form of yourself, you cannot do magic here.” He looked very put out. “Well excuse me for wanting to stay dry. But thanks for the assist anyway.” They continued walking in silence listening to the rain increase and decrease in intensity. Luna looked at Discord, “Yes?” He jumped a bit, “What?” “Did you say something,” she asked. He shook his head, “no.” She returned her focus to the road ahead, “oh, ok.” The rain slowed to a drizzle as they walked quietly. Suddenly Luna saw something run across the road. “What was that?!” Discord jumped about a foot in the air, “would you please stop that you’re going to give me a heart attack.” “Sorry.” She pointed her hoof, “I thought I saw something.” Discord’s eyes narrowed. “We need to hurry,” he looked back at her. “I think we’ve just been spotted, and if that’s the case then we need to act fa-“ Clang! As he turned, he smacked face first into a huge metal box. “owch,” he muttered rubbing his nose. “Now I know that wasn't there a second ago!” Luna looked at the box curiously. She noticed the wheels. It looked like some kind of vehicle. The front half was different, not so box shaped. Looking closer she saw a door. “I think it is some sort of transportation device,” she said to Discord who was still rubbing his face. She found what looked to be a door latch and after failing to squeeze her hoof into it she resorted to magic. Locked, typical. A breeze brushed past her mane. She heard a faint whisper. “Discord did you hear that?” he popped out from around the other side of the vehicle. “No, what did it sound like?” She strained her ears hearing it again, “it sounds like someone whispering a name.” He was about to say something when he heard a noise behind him. He turned just in time to see a road sign fall out of the bushes. As he walked over to it he heard Luna ask “who is this Travis?” he bent down picked it up and froze. “No,” he said in alarm. “What, what’s wrong,” Luna hurried over to him. He stared at the sign dumbfounded. “It’s not supposed to say that. I mean it’s not supposed to say that anymore.” She peered past his arm at the sign. It read Silent Hill She watched as the sign started to rust with incredible speed. Then they heard it. Two pairs of pupils turned into pinpricks as the sound of a siren became louder. Discord dropped the sign and grabbed the closest alicorn in the area. “Luna,” he shouted “get us out of here!” She slammed her hoof down. There was a rush of wind a blue flash and a pop. They were gone. The siren died down in the distance. But if you listened closely you could hear the sounds of something big, heavy and metal being dragged across the ground and a soft whisper saying “Travis” over and over again. > Morning after > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Morning After In the early predawn of morning, Fluttershy scooted out of bed. She was carful not to disturb the rainbow haired bump curled up under the covers. Putting on some of the undergarments strewn about the room, she smiled softly. The floor was cold on her bare feet as she shuffled into the kitchen. She grabbed her special self heating mug that Twilight had given her, and placed a bag of tea in it. A bit of morning mist was seeping in through the window crack. She took it and wrung it out over the mug, filling it with fresh water. Once the liquid started to steam, she opened the window. Celestia had just started raising the sun. The cool breeze played with her hair and tickled the fur on her shoulders. She smiled as she heard the morning songs of her flying friends. Leaning on the windowsill she was happy to say that this was one one the better mornings she'd had in a long time.