Endgame

Endgame

The Truth Hurts

Moonshine The Brony

Twilight's dreams were dark and confusing. She could hear the voices of her friends but just couldn't find them. Plus... there was something off about them. Most of them sounded different, and she could have sworn that Applejack's voice was a colts. She chalked it up to the trauma of losing Spike, because she knew he wouldn't survive, and ignored it. But the voices were still there, all saying the same thing. "Wake up, Twilight. Wake up, please." Twilight pushed her hooves into her ears, trying to drown out the sound. No matter how hard she ground, the voices only seemed to get louder. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed. Her demand went ignored, and the dreamed changed. She could see the outside world, but there was something wrong. It was as if she was looking through a window. The sun shone harshly overhead, heating the world around her to almost scorching points. The plants were shriveled and charred, having died long ago, and there was no water to be found. Twilight squinted into the sunlight and saw a dark figure drawing closer. Before she could make out what it was, a voice thundered in her head. "NO!" it roared, and Twilight's vision turned black.

~ ~ ~

Twilight woke up in a cold sweat. Her breathing was labored and tears were in the corner of her eyes. The image of the devestation on that world was seared into the back of her mind, like a tick attaching itself to a dog. She shook her head and focused, humming the song that she chose for Shiny's wedding. She stopped and recoiled as if hit. Shiny. I haven't seen him since the coronation! she thought with a pang. I have no idea if he's even still alive! Or Cadence, or Luna, or even any of my friends! Twilight was startled from her thoughts and regrets by a flash of blue light in front of her. She looked down at her bed, where a simple scroll lay tantalizingly in front of her. Twilight hesitated, afraid of what would be written, but decided to read it. She picked it up and read.

~ ~ ~

The town was quiet for the most part. Ponyville's citizens were either dead, gone, or too scared to make any noise. The occasional shattering of glass and scream filled the streets, and it pained Applejack to hear ponies get hurt and not be able to do anything about it. Looters were ruling the streets now, and they were cruelly and surprisingly efficient. They moved methodically, Applejack noted, from one street to another. Then they swept back. Helping those left was difficult enough, and the looters made it even more so. Applejack frowned. Maybe it would be better for her and her family if she just...

Applejack almost punched herself. How could you even think like that? her inner voice, the one of honesty argued. Applejack's voice of reason argued back. You know I'm right! At least it'll gurantee the survival of mah family! Applejack grabbed her mane and pulled hard, taking some hair with it. Tears sprung to her eyes as she deliberated her choices. "Applejack? Are you okay?" asked a kind, gentle voice. Applejack looked up and realized that she had started to break down in front of her friends. She nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm... this is just a lot to swallow," she said with a dry smile, one so easy to see through that even Twilight would have frowned. I'm a terrible liar, she thought to herself.

Fluttershy slowly drifted over to her and gently hugged her friend. Applejack shrugged her off. "Don't ya'll worry 'bout me. Ah said Ah'll be fine!" she said indignantly. Fluttershy looked down at the ground. "Oh, okay." Applejack winced at her friend's hurt expression. "Look, Ah'm sorry. I... I feel as if we're alone." Trixie approached Applejack and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Applejack..." she whispered. Applejack looked up at Trixie.

"It all feels like a bad dream, Sugarcube. It feels like a bad dream that won't end, because we're trying to resist it. Have you ever had one of those dreams? The kind that no matter how badly you want it to end, it doesn't until it's ready to end itself?" Fluttershy nodded, thinking about her dreams the night before. Trixie's eyes flickered with sympathy. "Yes," she said. "I know how you feel. But now isn't the time to fret about what has happened, but rather the time to do something about our future." Applejack looked up, determination in her eyes. "You're right. Ah shouldn't be sitting here doin nothing, I should be helping out!" She looked at her friends, then in the direction of her home. "Come on girls, it's time we got to the farm."

~ ~ ~

Twilight Sparkle was in tears and trying to manage her emotions. Her heart felt like it had sunk to her hooves and she wanted to throw up. She wanted to run outside and confront nature herself, but at the same time she wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. She was afraid, no, terrified of what she had read on that piece of paper. It can't be true. It can't be! she thought frantically. That's it! I'm imagining things! That's it, I'm dreaming! Her mind raced as she tried to think. "That's it! The Changelings have brainwashed everypony and I'm the only one left!" She was hyperventilating, sweat beading on her brow. "Of course! Discord's back and is just messing with our heads! There's nothing wrong after all!" Her eyes whipped back and forth maniacally as she looked for the sheet of paper. She found it, crumpled up in the waste basket where she had flung it in haste. She picked it up in shaky hooves and read it again, this time trying to think clearly.

Twilight Sparkle,

I regret to inform you of a terrible tragedy that has occurred in Canterlot. An earthquake knocked down the support columns of the city platform and caused the city to fall. Your brother, Shining Armor, and your sister in-law Cadance are alive and well, having left the capital approximately twenty minutes prior to return to the Crystal Empire. Your parents, on the other hoof... It pains me to deliver such news to a pony of which I have such high esteem, but I must inform you that your parents died in their bed as their house collapsed on them.

I would like to say that that is all the bad news that I have, but I could not do you the injustice of withholding the truth from one as studious as yourself. Spike was discovered dead in the residence of your friend Rarity, stabbed to death by a looter who remains uncaught. Sweetie Bell, Rarity's sister died in the wave triggered by the Canterlot earthquake. Rarity herself... She is gone. She took her own life in the hospital the day after finding out about her sister. She is in a better place now, for nowhere in Equestria is safe now.

The biggest blow, however, is yet to come. It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that Princess Celestia, my dearest sister, is dead. She was killed while evacuating the students at her school when it collapsed. There really is no good news for me to deliver, though I wish it was otherwise.

Please respond to this letter as fast as you can. I can only hope that you're reading this, and that you are still alive. I have nopony else to turn to now.

Princess Luna

She sighed and steeled herself. She looked over at her desk and picked up the quill. She grabbed a sheet of paper and placed it on her desk and started to write.