Ashes
“And now the end is here
And so I face that final curtain
My friend I'll make it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more
I did it, I did it my way"
"My Way" by Frank Sinatra
Here I stand, the hot wind blowing my mane as I look out on the city I love. Where tall building once scraped the sky now only rubble remains, save for the few lucky buildings built strong enough to withstand the force of the Balefire Bombs. Here on the hill that overlooks my old home I can’t help but to weep. I weep for the loss of my family, my wife and daughter who I will never see again. I weep for my friends, who fled only to burn in the hellfires of the Zebra’s accursed weapons.
I stand here, the only one to survive this holocost, this apocalypse. Below me my city smolders, my beautiful Emerald City, wreathed in angry emerald flames. Were I able to anymore, I would have tears rolling down my cheeks. I look at my hoof, twisted and mutated by the dark magics of those monsters. Where I once had a full coat of fur, now I have patches of flesh that show through what remains. Even if there was someone I could talk to, I wouldn’t be able to, my throat burns from days of screaming and crying.
Down below I swear I can see the ponies I used to know dancing and talking inside the smoldering fires. But all that’s down there is the damned who’s minds did not survive the torture of the transformation. I have no purpose any more, nothing to do, no one to love, nowhere to go. All I can do, all I will do, is sit here and mourn the loss of my world.
Staring down at my home I can’t help but to weep again. I have so many regrets, so much I wish I could do. I long to run down to the city, to my house and hug my daughter, to kiss my wife, to tell them that everything will be alright. Now they are forever out of my reach, sealed safely away in Stable 70. If only I had stayed with them that day, then I could be there with them now. Maybe my friends and I could have all gotten into the stable. Instead they lay near the bottom of the hill, each one of them dead, some simply died while others did not survive the change. Those that lost their minds I put down, burying them with the rest.
Now only I remain, their eternal guardian watching over them. The last soul left, watching the Emerald City—Seaddle—slowly smolder. Even as rains fall the city smolders with that unnatural fire. The cold no longer bothers me, even as the rain soaks me, and all that I can do is watch my dead city.
Somewhere in the distance a sad tune that I know all too well plays, the tearful melody tugs on my withered heartstrings as I keep my vigil. The mournful lyrics only serve to summarize the feeling in my heart. The little sprite bot playing the song floats closer and closer until it stops by my side, playing the rest of the song for me. The heart wrenching song slows to a stop and silence reigns over the hill as I weep again.
“Why, why did this have to happen?” I ask, my voice raspy and painful as I look down on the city below. “Why did I survive, when no one else did?”
“You’re not alone.” A crackly voice comes from the sprite bot. “There are others like you out there, and there are the stables that will open in time.”
I whip my head around to look at the sprite bot. “W-who are you? How are you talking through that?”
“My name is watcher. I have watched you sit on this hill for the last ten years.” The voice says as the spire bot turns towards me. “You’ve been here a long time. If I had to guess, you’ve been here for at least fifty years.”
“N-no, it’s not possible. It was just last month when the Zebras attacked!” I shout at the robot.
“I’m afraid it’s true.”
“M-my wife, my daughter…” I look back down at the city. “Even in the stable…”
“Yes, they may have already passed, but there is a chance that you have grandchildren or even great grandchildren by now.”
I can’t help but to cry again, as I look back to the city. There are no more smoldering pits of balefire, the buildings look more weathered than I remember, and some even look to have collapsed further. Looking closer I can see a few structures that didn’t exist before.
“There are some who have begun to try and rebuild. The lucky ones who were far enough away, whose stables have already opened, or those who mutated like you. Things however, are not peaceful. Ponies fight to survive, some kill others for their supplies.” The voice’s tone grows dark. “The apocalypse was the beginning of another bloody chapter for ponykind. I can only hope, in time, we will find harmony again.”
“I… thank you for talking with me.” I say wiping my face more out of habit than having tears running down my cheeks. “You’ve given me hope, hope that I had lost. I don’t know how I can repay you.”
“Be a good pony. Don’t fall into the darkness that’s claimed so many of the ponies out there.” They reply as they start to bob away. “You’ve kept a vigil over your friends and your city, you’ve proved that you still have a heart, but that will only go so far. Make some friends, that’s the best advice I can give you. Do that and I will consider your debt paid.”
I smile and nod. “Thank you, I will.”
The sprite bot hovers away as I look back down at my city, a smile on my face for the first time in a long time. Make some friends. Those words lift my soul in a way I can’t put into words. I may have lost my world, my family, my friends, and while I will never forget them, I could make new friends. With hope in my heart I stand for the first time in half a century and begin to walk back to my city.