September

by YoshiStar21

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Sad, Original Character, Tragedy
Length: 2480

A scientist walks through what was once his home, with no recollection of what happened there.

A lone scientist wanders through a barren wasteland, with no memory of what happened to his former home.

This story is based off of the song 'September' by The Living Tombstone (feat. MictheMicrophone).

I don't actually own that song, but I wrote a fanfic of it anyway.

Published 2013-08-18 19:20:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-08-18 19:20:03 UTC

Chapter 3

The only sounds were the pattering of rain and the slow, precise hoofsteps of the lone survivor.

Even in this dark reality, order had its place.

And the pony was very ordered.

Any scientist had to be.

Once one of the most revered intelligences in all of Equestria, the scientist was starting to doubt even his own mind.

There couldn’t be the ghosts of the fallen ponies in the corner of his vision, disappearing when he turned their way.

There couldn’t be the sound of screams of agony and terror ringing in his ears.

Surely the blood-soaked pegasus feathers from dark rainclouds couldn’t have been real.

Victims of high-energy blasts didn’t bleed.

Radiation sickness didn’t make ponies bleed.

But why, then, did his hooves remain soaked?

Why, whenever he trod on the harsh terrain, did his hoofsteps leave a dark red patch in his wake?

Why did the rocks that remained look like skulls?

Who was the black-robed figure who he saw behind him, always disappearing when he got too close?

Why did the figure hold a scythe?

WhywhywhywhywhywhyWHYWHYWHY?!?!

The world span, the ghosts closed in, and everything went black.

Still can't remember
What happened in September
Back when everypony died
Trails of blood during my stride

Chapter 5

A flash.

He landed on a smooth, hard surface, gasping for air.

As he looked up, he saw the same laboratory again, except now notes were scribbled on the walls, and parts of machinery were scattered all over the ground.

"Finally. Finally it's done! It's finally done!"

He turned to face the voice, and saw a slightly younger version of himself standing in front of the huge machine in the centre of the lab.

"Stop it! He's trying to kill us all! Stop it!"

The other pony from the last vision was calling out to the rest of Ponyville, the rest of Equestria, to run for their lives.

“No! I'm going to save you. I'm going to save you all! Don't you try to stop me! I will create a new era!”

“But we must! We’ll all be killed!”

“Maybe you should have thought about it before, when you abandoned me. Nothing can get in the way of progress, especially progress this important!”

“Synd! Stop this immediately!”

All went quiet.

Everypony turned.

There, standing in the reinforced doorway of the laboratory, was Princess Celestia.

The younger scientist was silent.

Then, slowly, a faint, deep noise came from his throat.

He was chuckling.

The chuckle gained volume and vigour, until it could only be described as maniacal laughter, echoing around the smooth walls.

“Oh, my dear Princess. It’s been quite a long time since you've called me by that name.”

The older scientist was trying to plead with his younger self, but to no avail. It seemed that no-one could hear or even see him.

“Synd, cease this deadly endeavour, or I will be forced to destroy this machine.”

Another echoing laugh.

“My, my, princess. So demanding! I was hoping this could be settled easily, but you have just made it so much harder for everypony. I will not, despite all your petty threats, stop this. This is the future incarnate!”

“Then, as princess and defender of Equestria, I must retaliate.”

As she said this, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony gathered behind her.

“Oh, no!” the scientist cried mockingly, “The greatest aids of the whole kingdom are against me! Whatever shall I do?”

He started to dramatically stagger backward, clutching a hoof to his chest.

“Is there anything I can even do?”

He leaned on the nearest console, covered in buttons and switches.

“What about... this?”
With that, he pulled levers and pressed buttons, causing something in the ground to move, causing seven huge claws to break through the concrete floor, sending rubble and dust everywhere.

“Quickly, the Elements!” Celestia cried out to the six mares with her.

As they got into formation, a strange glow permeated all the corners of the room, and each of their eyes started to glow a brilliant white.

“Sorry, but that isn’t going to happen. Ever. Goodbye, ponies!”

With that, the mechanical arms shot toward the Elements.

The generous Rarity.

The kind Fluttershy.

The honest Applejack.

The laughing Pinkie Pie.

The loyal Rainbow Dash.

And the magical Twilight Sparkle.

As the claws of the machine struck forward, the Elements’ lives, their friendships, and their power, were lost forever.

Except for one.

The arms shot back, with blood and feathers coating them all.

Except for one.

Twilight Sparkle, who had managed to cast a protective spell before the metal hit, opened her eyes.

The spell had only had time to protect her, leaving her friends to the merciless arms of the machine.

“NO!”

She drew on all of her power, recalling every healing and regenerative spell she had ever learned.

But there was next to nothing to heal, and the life had already drained from the corpses.

Now, with her power spent and her friends slain, she mourned.

Letting her tears fall to the ground, she violently shook in sorrow, harsh sobs wracking her body.

“Oh, poor Twilight,” the scientist mockingly sighed.

“You were always the favourite student. I suppose that now even fate has favoured you.”

Any pity that may have been in his voice shrivelled up and died.

“But who am I to let fate dictate one’s future?”

And with that, the final Element of Harmony perished, lying in her friend’s blood, her body savagely mauled by the claws.

Crowds gathered around the laboratory screamed, yelling for mercy and an end to the violence.

The blood-soaked feathers rained down.

The pools of red liquid seeped towards both scientists’ hooves, staining the grey-brown fur.

The older scientist gasped as his visions matched up, sending his mind reeling into the darkness once more.

I've regained a small memory
Came to my head just like that suddenly
I think I've gotten a clue
Something tells me this is worse than what I knew

Chapter 6

The scientist awoke once more, back on the flattened, black plains that had once been his world.

He waited for a while, waiting to find out if there were any more visions.

But, after what seemed like forever, it became clear that there was nothing more to see.

He slowly got up, his legs quivering with the effort.

He knew that there were going to be no more visions, other than the hallucinations that even still plagued his reality.

Because he, Synd Ridgell, had remembered what had happened that fateful month.

He didn’t want to know.

He didn’t want to find what was now in his head.

But he had to.

Closing his eyes, he recalled each moment from where his final vision ended.

Celestia was leaning over the remains of her most faithful student, and all of her friends.

“Synd, you know not what you do.”

The scientist turned, unfazed by the carnage before him, with a small grin of defiance on his face.

“Oh, but I do, teacher.”

“I am not your mentor.”

“Hmm, you weren't? But I remember every moment of my stay at the castle.”

Celestia glared at him with pure hatred, tears for her lost student flowing freely down her cheeks.

“Every moment; from when you took me under your care, until a certain unicorn stole your affections.”

“I had long since given up hope in training you for becoming a prince. You always put your own desires before the needs and wellbeing of others, and I could not allow somepony who acted in that way to continue in my teachings.”

“And you ABANDONED me, just like everyone else has!” the scientist screamed.

Celestia could only lay sobbing in the place where Twilight once stood.

“YOU HAVE ALL ABANDONED AND REJECTED ME! ALL OF YOU!” the scientist screamed.

What was left of his sanity snapped like a twig.

He stopped, panting for breath.

Slowly, and with great vigour, he cried;

"This is your redemption day everypony! Go away from me! Stay away from me! Go away! You can't touch me now!”

He staggered towards a single podium, with a small, orange button perched on the top, the protective glass dome around it shattered.

He raised his hoof.

“You see this button here? I'm going to press it!"

“No...” Celestia whispered.

“I’m going to press it!” he shouted.

The last of the crowd was running, trying to escape the imminent doom.

As his hoof descended, the scientist yelled “I’M PRESSING IT!!”

The button was pressed, and machine started.

The scientist opened a concealed hatch.

“Now, please excuse me. There’s some business I must attend to in this bunker.”

He descended down the flight of stairs, leading down to the reinforced basement he had built beneath the lab.

As he disappeared into the depths, he shouted over his shoulder with a maniacal glee.

“Have fun!”

The hatch closed behind him, and the alarms went off.

He stopped.

“B-but... The systems... They couldn’t...” the scientist’s voice trailed off.

He looked at the monitors in the bunker, all relaying the error messages that spelled doom for all of Equestria.

In that moment, he knew he was the only one who could prevent the machine from killing everypony.

“Wait! NO!”

He galloped up the stairs, and tried to open the hatch.

“I CAN FIX THIS! I CAN SAVE YOU!”

But he was too late.

The machine’s contained energy burst forth, slamming the hatch into the scientist’s head, knocking him unconscious and sending him tumbling down the stairs.

Four days later, he awoke, with no memory of the month.

Where was he?

How did he get here?

Why was the hatch melted shut?

But he had food.

He had water.

He stayed down in the basement for so long, he couldn't keep count of the days.

As he was sleeping, a small monitor started flashing.

Then the consoles started emitting a high-pitched beeping noise, waking the scientist up.

The screens read ‘RADIATION LEVELS SAFE. NOW OPENING HATCH.’

And the hatch opened.

And the scientist stepped outside.

The land was flat.

The sun hung motionlessly, because there was no Princess to guide it.

And the clouds didn’t move, because there were no pegasi to command them.

I just remembered
What happened in September.
I'm the one who killed them all
I survived after the fall

Chapter 1

The sun hung motionlessly over Sweet Apple Acres.

Only a few rays of sunlight shone through the ashes, and onto the cold, hard ground.

It was apple-bucking season, and soon the apples would be ready to fall off of the trees.

That is, if there were trees still left, and seasons still came.

There was a pattering of tiny animal feet as all of the woodland creatures came out of their burrows and nests for the morning.

But there was no morning, there were no burrows, and there were no animals.

Cupcakes were baking in the oven at Sugarcube corner, ready to be served to the waiting ponies.

But there were no cupcakes.

Or ovens.

There was no Sugarcube corner.

And most importantly, no ponies.

Except one.

I can't remember
What happened in September
When everything is gone
When it's dark and I'm alone

Author's Note

Hey, look! This story is now on FIMFiction! Better yet, you don't even have to wait for updates, because it's all being done in one big shot!

Chapter 2

The lone pony walked through what used to be the main street of Ponyville, searching for any sign of life. A signpost, a scrap of fabric, food, anything.

It was raining.

It had been raining for the last three months. The pegasi would usually have sorted that out by now, but not anymore.

No more did rainbows shine, no more did snow fall. No more did winds blow.

Just rain.

Not thunder, not lightning, not a storm, no hurricanes, not a drizzle, not a flood.

Just rain.

At this time of day, the boutique would have opened, and the unicorn who ran it would surely have some umbrellas to spare, as well as a warm coat for anypony who asked.

But there were no umbrellas. There was no boutique. No coats.

There was rain, and ash, and mud.

School would have started, and all the fillies and colts would be sitting inside, dry and warm, learning about the past and present.

But the school was not there, nor were the fillies and colts.

The past did not matter, and there was nothing in the present.

All that remained was a near-featureless landscape, dark clouds, and a basement.

This basement had thick walls, a power supply that would last for months, and food, and water.

But the food ran out. The power depleted. The water had either been drunk or evaporated.

And all that was left was walking on the ruined land, with no recollection of anything since last September.

It's been forever
Since I could have remembered
Where the hell is everypony?
I just want to know the story
Of what happened right before
I became so alone

Chapter 4

White.

Everywhere he looked, there was white.

The white slowly faded.

He was standing in the doorway of a large room.

The walls of this room were the light grey of unpainted concrete.

There were shelves brimming with papers covered in scribbled plans and notes.

In the middle of the room was a huge machine with a myriad of pipes and wires leading to and from it, humming softly.

As he looked towards this machine, he saw two ponies discussing something.

He listened carefully, and the speech drifted across towards him.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why in Equestria do we need this much power?”

“If we can use machines to do the tasks that ponies would usually do, it would allow everypony to have more leisure time to do as they wish!”

“But everypony enjoys what they do. Besides, machines can’t completely replace ponykind. You saw what happened with the Flim Flam brothers. I hardly think that everypony will accept machines replacing all their efforts.”

“Just give me a chance!”

“There’s no point! It’s just too dangerous. If something went wrong, all hell could break loose.”

A moment of silence.

“Have you abandoned me too? After all these years?”

“Of course not. But this is just too much power to safely contain. If the cooling systems failed, we’ll all be doomed!”

“Fine. If you can’t see the value of my work, then maybe you should leave.”

“Please listen to me! The containment systems won’t be able to hold the energy!”

“NO! The time for listening is OVER! Get out of my laboratory!”

I just discovered that
The ponies were defeated
By something really strong
It seemed very weird and wrong
It just doesn't belong
Like it came out of this world