A collection of short stories written in the Rainbows After Dark Discord server.
This anthology is a collection of shorts written as part of the ꓘalvinbürma channel of AuroraDawn's Rainbows After Dark server.
As the tags and names suggest, this collection will feature many mature themes, including but not limited to: gore, violence, death, etc. Viewer discretion may be advised.
"Well, darling, how do you like the tea?" Rarity asked Twilight.
Drinking from her cup encased in blue magic, Twilight gave a small nod.
"Glad you like the tea. I worked so hard to find the perfect brew!" Rarity exclaimed, taking a sip of the crimson drink in her cup.
Twilight stayed silent. Stayed still. The cup lowered from her mouth to the table. Her eyes remained fixed on the teacup.
Rarity drank the remaining tea, her tongue lavishing in the delectable fluid. "Wait right here, dear, I'll get us some more tea." She stood up from her chair, shuffling her hooves across the pink carpet on the floor towards the kitchen.
She grabbed the teapot in her magic, only to find that it was empty. "Oh dear," she muttered. "Twilight, darling, it seems we ran out of tea! Don't worry, I'll whip up some more."
Twilight didn't answer. Her gaze was still fixed on the teacup.
Rarity trotted over to the counter and opened a drawer. Inside, she opened a box labeled with Twilight's cutiemark. "Hmm... which one shall I brew this time? We already tried red tea, white one I already tried with Fluttershy... ah, perfect!"
Rarity pulled out a purple horn from the box. Her horn shone for a bit, and instantly the appendage was ground into dust. Humming to herself, she threw the powder into the teapot, then added plenty of water. It would be enough for the two of them.
"It's almost ready, dear, just hold on a minute~!" Rarity sing-songed from the kitchen. Twilight didn't answer. She was still staring down at her teacup, her trademark smile etched into her face.
As the tea began to boil, Rarity giggled in delight. She and Twilight would have such a good time together. They could enjoy themselves, just the two of them in her boutique. And Twilight would forever shine her smile upon her.
I stretched and yawned as I walked into the kitchen, intent on boiling myself a cup of tea. I turned the stove on before pouring the water into the kettle, and before long, I was humming to myself, stirring the tea in my magic.
I walked out and sat down on the porch bench, contentedly watching the Sun rise in the distance. I took a sip and hummed. Cinnamon tea with honey, my favorite brew.
It was the perfect morning.
The morning of a thousand Suns.
I took another sip as the cool morning breeze blew through my mane. The warm tea's heat perfectly contrasted the cool dewdrops that clung to my fur from the bench. My ears perked and twitched along to the chirping of the birds, and I once again began humming to their tune.
It was such a beautiful day.
I took in a deep breath, the scent of dusty air, grass, and moisture filling my senses. I reveled in the feeling. The serenity of the dawn was more beautiful than anything I had experienced.
Everything was perfect before then.
I stretched once more, feeling my joints pop and crack into their places. I let out a relaxed sigh, bathing in the glimmering sunlight as the horizon became brighter and brighter.
It was so bright.
A blinding light flashed into my eyes. Everything turned white. I shielded my view with my legs but I could still see the light.
It was so loud.
Everything screamed. Pain roared in my ears. I covered them with my hooves. Something popped. Something sticky trailed from my ear canals. The screaming continued.
It was so hot.
Fire roared. Everything burned. It screamed. I screamed. Air felt hot. Couldn't see. Only screamed. Fire screamed.
It haunts us.
Everything was screaming with the fires and I couldn't see and everything was white hot and yet so black and so painful and nothing was there and yet—
Half of Equestria's population vanished in 10 minutes on the morning of a thousand Suns. We made the perpetrators pay for it. We can never forget the morning.
The winds are howling across the now-desolate alleys. Desolate? Heh. Decimated might be a better term. I stumble over the rubble, the gusts whipping at my scratched back and legs. Dust clings to the exposed skin. It stings. I don't dare put my hoof there, though. If I so much as scratched them, the sand would dig into my flesh and cause infections. At least I'm alive and well enough to worry about such things. Thank Celestia I was in the basement when the bomb went off. Those who weren't lucky enough to be underground...
In the thirty minutes I've been outside of the basement, I saw more dead bodies than I ever thought I would come across in a lifetime. All of them were charred and burned. Some of them were even unrecognizable, the limbs having burnt off in the blast. I could only vaguely guess as to what they used to be.
I trip, and I fall face-first onto the ground. I grunt and push myself off the ground. Something groans. I turn to look at what it was. I probably won't forget what I saw for the rest of my life.
A pony, or at least something that used to be a pony, feebly moans as it lies on the ground. Its skin is charcoal black. A stump, probably where a leg used to be, twitches slightly as the creature shallowly breathes in and out. A piece of metal juts out of its stomach, blood dripping off of the eerily shiny surface. There's a huge gash where the blade had pierced the skin. Blood and what I assume to be intestines are strewn across the ground. The creature coughs. More red viscera pour out of the opening, ignoring the feeble hoof pressed against the wound. The charred life turns its head towards me. Its eyes are completely white with their irises missing. It opens its mouth. I turn tail and scamper away as fast as I could.
After a while, I stop and catch my breath. The air hitches in my throat, and I empty my stomach onto the ground. Minutes of dry heaving, and I finally recover enough to continue moving, now covered in a sheen of sweat.
In the distance, I see a figure slowly stumbling across the landscape. A pony. "Hey!" I call out to them. They turn towards me, then slowly begins to approach me. I walk towards them.
A strange clanking noise reaches my ears. It grows as the pony approaches me. I swivel my ears to pinpoint the source, but I could only tell that the pony was the source of the sound. Are they chained up or something? I quicken my pace towards them.
As I near them, another horror meets my eyes. Their coat was burnt off, leaving only red, raw skin exposed. All over their body were pieces of glass, probably fragments from a large window. Their horn is lit up, the unicorn trying to blindly pull the glass out and only driving them deeper into the flesh. A pair of empty eye sockets stare back at me with what I can only assume to be vitreous fluid trickling down the unicorn's cheeks.
I blindly stumble backward, falling onto the ground. My eyes are transfixed onto the pony slowly marching towards me like a zombie, and my body locks up, too afraid to run away.
The pony opens its mouth, and from the opening comes a hoarse "Help..."
I come to my senses. I bolt to my hooves. Once again, I turn around and run away.
I don’t know how long I have been walking. I’ve been walking ever since I ran from the pony with all the… all the glass…
I shake my head. I have to keep walking. Get to somewhere where there isn’t devastation. Then everything would be okay.
It’s hot around me. The wind blowing in towards the mushroom cloud in the distance burns. I walk against the wind. The dust blows into my eyes. I keep blinking, and tears trickle down my face. I don’t stop, though. I can’t stop. I have to get to somewhere safe.
Through the somewhat intact alleys and buildings, I swerve and hobble away.
I’m thirsty. How long has it been since I drank? It’s so dry, so hot. There’s no water. Everything I see is just rubble and destruction.
As if the sky heard my thoughts, something falls onto my head. I look up, and another falls onto my cheek. I hold up a hoof. A droplet falls onto it. Another falls onto the ground next to me. Then another. Then another.
It’s raining.
Something isn’t right. The water is black. The rain is black. I look up into the sky. Droplets fall onto my face. The cool water washes the heat off of my body.
I open my mouth. The raindrops land inside. My tongue revels in the feeling of the first moisture in hours.
I taste lead. I tilt my head. It’s as if I bit down on a piece of metal and licked it. But I certainly do not have silverware in my mouth, nor am I bleeding in my mouth. Eh, whatever. It’s probably the ash mixed in the rain. I open my mouth again, letting the lead-flavored water into my throat. I want to cherish the water given from the heavens.
After all, this rain is the only simple thing that hasn’t changed from before the bomb fell. Might as well enjoy it.
Have you ever gotten that feeling where you're looking at something and it gives you a strong sense of deja vu like you've seen the exact same thing somewhere before but you don't know where?
I thought it was just an ordinary advertisement pamphlet, something the mailpony had stuck in my door. The big letters at the top read, "Tired of getting stuck in pamphlets? Try out our new pamphlet destruction obstruction device!"
I let out a snort. The irony of the advertisement struck me, and it was quite amusing the moment I read it. Plus, who in the world uses "destruction" for pamphlets? Apparently, the pony who made the ad thought the same way.
Then my eyes shifted downwards, and I stopped in my tracks. A yellow pegasus mare was holding a pamphlet in her hoof, standing against a background that seemed like an ordinary household. But there was something familiar about it. I couldn't place a hoof on what, but there was definitely something that brought on a strong feeling of deja vu.
Could it be the mare holding the paper? No, I had never seen her in my life. Was it the background? But it wasn't even a house I recognized! Maybe the way the furniture is placed? I don't even have a worktable in the house!
There was nothing I could recognize about the picture, yet the deja vu grew stronger than ever. I frantically searched the image for something, anything that I could make a connection with myself, yet I couldn't find a single point of similarity. My hoof was trembling and I began to hyperventilate, yet I couldn't tear my eyes away from that piece of paper.
A sharp knocking sound broke me out of my trance. I jumped and yelped, dropping the pamphlet. I rushed over to the door and opened it, only to find Pinkie Pie standing outside. She had brought me cupcakes, saying that it was the third anniversary of her becoming friends with me. I thanked her, and we chatted as we enjoyed the confectionary.
When I came back, the pony in the pamphlet was gone.