Twilight trailed a hoof through the clear water. The calm lapping of the waves echoed in a gentle rolling echo up and down the beach in either direction. As her hoof sank into the wet sand she could feel it yield slightly under her weight before turning into slippery smoothness as she reached firmer ground where the water had been lapping only moments before. It felt soft and silky between her hooves and the gentle resistance gave way as she raised her hoof, leaving behind little as water and sand rushed to fill in the void she had created.
Her little home was underground by that water and that sand. Her world had shrunk dramatically since she'd awoken after the incident, from a sprawling cosmos with unlimited possibilities to just her small one-room home. It was amazing how easy it was to learn to live without some of the things that she'd once taken for granted like the option of visiting the movies.
She snorted gently. That had never been an option she would have chosen frequently, but the lack of that option stung in ways she wouldn't have predicted. The world had ended.
"And I survived." There were no other ears to hear her words as they broke the silence but she heard them all the same. That was something at least. "What do I do now?" She gazed up into the dark, cloudless sky and to the multitude of stars that shone down on her. She sat back on the sand and shook herself out. "I can't just sit here."
Her thoughts turned to the memories that still swam before her mind's eye when she closed her eyes, thinking about those memories caused a sense of loss to tighten around her heart. It didn't seem fair that she had survived and the others hadn't. She forced herself to her hooves and turned away from the sea. She felt no answers there.
She instead turned to the dense forest that occupied most of her little island with tropical trees. She knew it was still probably warm enough for most of the animals to be awake despite the darkness of night, even if she wouldn't be able to see them until the sun rose once more. There was always the possibility of another creature wandering into the wrong place at the wrong time like she had, the wrong place being wherever the bombs had touched, or where a predator could find them.
Twilight lit her horn, glowing gently as she pressed against the gloom to squeeze between the trees. The branches and leaves hung close together above her head, trapping what little light had filtered through them during the day. That light was gone now, so all that remained were shadows. Inky darkness lay before her as she pushed forward. She couldn't even see the stars, nor the moon, two things that used to bring her joy. She stumbled over an unseen root, tripping on a rock with a squeak of surprise as she regained her footing and stood in the middle of the impenetrable gloom.
She looked back, suddenly finding herself lost. Nothing about this place was familiar. Perhaps it had been foolish to wander into that darkness so late at night, but it was already too late to hold regrets. With nothing left to do she lit her horn again, focusing her magic into a steady beam that held back the shadows as best it could. She stepped forward carefully and as she moved forwards she did her best to keep from looking back. It didn't matter how many times she had walked this forest path over the last few months.
She heard a snapping of a twig and froze still. The noise seemed to echo around her as she pressed against the nearest tree. Her eyes darting through the shadows and branches. Something was watching her. She felt it in her bones. In that moment she couldn't be certain if she was being paranoid or if she was right. She snuffed the light of her horn and crept around her tree, trying to make as quiet a scurry away as possible. She kept going until the sounds behind her were distant enough for her to no longer feel like something was stalking her through the trees.
The eerie feeling was gone and her heart had returned to its normal pace as she continued on her journey, her mind lost in thoughts of her past, lost in her own regrets and sorrow. "It had been the perfect plan," she said with a snort of disgust at herself, "Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous."
Her voice echoed through the silent night. She fell quiet again as she caught sight of something moving through the shadows ahead. "What is that?"
"You didn't save us."
Twilight whirled to find the source of that sudden, familiar, voice, but she saw nothing in the gloom. That voice was unmistakable, but it couldn't be true. "Rainbow? How?" Her eyes strained to find a glimpse of her lost friend in the dark. A light appeared nearby, it flickered in the air before her as it faded in and out.
She felt there was no other choice but to follow it, pressing deeper into the forest. "Rainbow? Please. This isn't funny." She heard her own voice shaking as she stumbled forward, holding her head up to catch glimpses of the light dancing just beyond her reach.
"You were meant to save us Twilight. It's your fault we died. If you'd been quicker or better this wouldn't have happened."
Twilight hesitated, only a moment. "I did what I could. We all did! Nopony could have stopped that." She slowed to a stop, trembling with remembered and fresh feelings clashing within her as the light floated away, she realized she'd gotten turned around and wasn't sure which direction it was coming from anymore. "What am I doing?"
"Hoping for redemption, or perhaps to save us once more. You know that's impossible, don't you?"
Twilight stomped, shivering. "Nopony expected it to end that way!" She sank to her belly. "If I could bring you all back, you know I would, in an instant." Her hooves felt like ice. She shuddered again and laid her head down on her forelegs.
"It's okay." That voice, so gentle, so quiet, but absent of even the faintest malice. "It's alright." Twilight sat up with a haunted smile, wrenching her head in a desperate attempt to see, but her excited state wasn't helping things.
"Fluttershy?" Her voice cracked as she spoke into the darkness that surrounded her. There was no response. She couldn't bring herself to speak louder. If it had just been her imagination playing tricks on her again then she didn't want to have to disturb the peaceful quiet of the forest once more. She sank to her haunches and focused on her own breathing, trying to bring herself back into order.
Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. As she peered around at the tree trunks that surrounded her she felt some of her anxieties wash away. The voice was quiet, and the jungle forest around her was peaceful, almost unusually so as she took a moment to appreciate the rustling of leaves above her head as they swayed in a gentle breeze and the rhythmic chirp of insects.
"I could do without the bugs though," Twilight said with a shake of her head as she stood up. Her tail flicked as she swatted a few bothersome ones away. In the distance, teasing her, she could barely make out that hovering light. It seemed brighter now, close enough to illuminate the forest around her again. The only problem was that the glow illuminated a figure, not the figure she'd hoped for, and yet there was something familiar about it. "Do you know the way?"
"I am afraid to say—" The zebra stepped into the small clearing, fireflies dancing around her. "There is no proper way. I did not expect to find you here. Does that mean this place is clear?"
Twilight swallowed hard as her mind raced for an answer that would make sense. "No. You're here aren't you?" Her voice was hushed, and yet she knew the zebra heard her. "But you shouldn't be."
Zecora inclined her head. "You were not the only one to find salvation. Even if it was the end of the pony nation." She leaned heavily against a nearby tree, limping forward as Twilight gasped and rushed to help her up. The zebra winced with every step, panting heavily.
"I think you should sit down." Twilight helped the zebra slide down into a sitting position. "I, I'm just." She reached to draw Zecora in a gentle embrace. "I'm so glad to not be alone."
"It is nice to not be alone," Zecora said in return, after a long pause and a look that Twilight could not read. "Even if we are both without a home."
Twilight perked at that. "I have a little place. We have to get out of this forest first." She settled beside Zecora. "But only when you feel up for it."
"A temporary shelter is better than none." Zecora sighed as she leaned against Twilight and closed her eyes. "And together we may find some peace."
The silence stretched on as Twilight waited for Zecora to move. Twilight watched the zebra settle with a weary sigh as she tried to keep her own thoughts from slipping back to that night in Equestria when the moon had turned blood red, and the sky was darkened with unnatural clouds. When all they'd known was lost.
Twilight sighed gently to herself, one ear pinned back. That Zecora hadn't rhymed her last line was surely not a good sign, but to bring it up, in that oppressive darkness, felt foalish. She just held Zecora gently, thrilled to have a pony to hold at all. A shudder passed through her body as she recalled what she'd thought had happened that night in Equestria nearly four months earlier. She wouldn't have to go through the trauma of reliving those memories alone, she reminded herself, Zecora was there too.
After several minutes, Twilight heard Zecora breathing slow and even. The zebra's head had settled onto her shoulder. Twilight's eyes darted around in the darkness and she wriggled her way free. With a glowing horn, she lifted Zecora carefully in her magic. "Let's get you somewhere better."
Twilight could hardly believe that she had found another survivor as she wove between the trees and stepped over roots, branches snapping against her sides, and insects swarming around her ears. She'd learned how to live with what was left, but seeing the zebra again brought back so many painful memories. Light, almost harsh, made her squint as she emerged from the forest, the moon casting its light down on her. A gentle breeze rustled through the leaves of the nearby palms. Twilight would have found it beautiful if not for the way the setting moon made the sand on the beach seem more like a deep shadow and made the sea appear cold and desolate.
That the moon was broken certainly didn't help her thoughts of it. The fragments that remained looked sharp and threatening, rather than beautiful and full of promise. In a way, that had always reminded her of her failure, no matter how many times she'd attempted to turn away from that thought. She had saved a few. At least one. She glanced back at the floating, sleeping, Zecora. "At least one." She hurried in her steps.
A small glow of light within the bushes caught her eye as she passed by them and she froze. A tiny creature huddled beneath them, its bright green eyes following her every movement. It blinked once and let out a chittering sound.
Twilight examined it curiously. She hadn't seen the creature before on her island. "Hello there, little fellow." She lit her horn and carefully approached, wary of startling the tiny animal, but the little thing only tilted its head at her and blinked its large eyes slowly. She approached it slowly, every step unsure if it's dart away from her, back into the underbrush, to be lost in that terrible forest.
It did not though. Instead, it moved toward her. It's movements were jerky and uncertain, but as it sniffed at her hooves, Twilight noticed how thin and weak the creature appeared to be. As it edged closer, she was able to see just how thin the little fellow was.
"Are you okay?" She could hear it breathing softly and as she reached out a hoof to touch it, the little thing nuzzled into her and then gently she stroked down its back, amazed at how docile the wild creature was. "Are you looking for a home too?" She drew back, her heart racing, as she realized that this was the first time she had ever seen such a creature on her island before.
Twilight sat back and sighed, shaking her head and frowning. The world had changed. That was a fact she'd had to come to terms with. This was just another small sign of that change. "Come on," she said softly as she picked the little animal up with her magic and placed it gently in her mane.
It had been a wondrous night. She had started with nothing but regret. Now she had hope. She also had a pet. She considered what else might be out there. As she looked back at the dark sea, waves breaking against the shore and making her stumble a little, she thought about all the things she'd lost. She wondered if there were others out there like Zecora and herself. Would she ever find them?
She couldn't stop the tears from flowing as she watched the sea. Turning from it and its unanswerable questions, she hastened for home. She had Zecora, and the softly purring little animal on her head. "I don't know how long you'll live, or if you have friends," Twilight said with a glance to the little animal that was curled up in her mane. "But I think we'll make the best of this new world."
However unknown the rest of the world had come to be, Twilight Sparkle found herself filled with a sense of belonging as she hurried down the familiar path towards her home. She knew these trees and bushes as well as she knew her own home back in Equestria. It was all so comforting to have something so unchanged in her life, even if nothing else had.
She would make her own place, and it would be good.
Or, at least, it would do.
She brought her new companions inside the little hut she had built for herself, already considering how she might have to expand for them all to live comfortably. Such thoughts were far easier to think about than her plans for the future or what might have happened to the rest of Equestria's inhabitants. She wouldn't think about those things until she could talk with Zecora. For now, she set to work making a place for the little creature that had been so friendly towards her and her newly returned friend.