Chapters RED and BLU [Comedy] [Crossover]
The Badlands of Equestria weren't all that bad to begin with- the only 'bad' things one might first see is the barren landscape and over-bearing heat of the sun. Other than that, they were devoid of any distinguishing features. If it were just that, maybe ponies would have settled there, but there was more; changeling swarms, dragon hordes and even the occasional ancient golem were about the lands, but the expanse made it hard to purposely encounter any.
It was truly unlike anywhere else in the world, and as such, things happened there that- when held to the laws of reality- really weren't supposed to happen. A wormhole that carried the (now reincarnated) souls of two bickering brothers flickering into existence was one of these things, and coincidentally, it appeared in the very heart of the Badlands. The wormhole was simply tired of listening to them arguing about who would lay claim to whatever they found when they got out, and threw them onto the ground, then flashing into absolute nothingness.
The two brothers sat up, looked around, and then smiled at each other uneasily, avoiding eye contact at all costs.
"Well, we're here." said one. He was wearing a red tuxedo, a red bowling cap and had a red mane and tail, accented by a tan coat.
"It would appear so." replied the other. He was dressed similarly to his brother, but what was red on his brother was blue on him.
"So," they said simultaneously, "I'll just go over here." As they parted ways, each clumsily summoned a metallic device that had multiple small lights, and would let out the occasional *beep* .
"Helen? It's Blutarch. What? Oh, yes. Death was hard to bypass, but I got through...yes, Redmond did too..."
"As annoying as it is, the truth is simply that we- Helen- yes, fine! The mercenaries blew us up at the same time."
"Enough of that, now. I need you to set up something that can transport materials and workers to where I am as fast as possible."
"Oh, and the mercen- they're dead? Feh. I'll just have to find some new ones."
"Stalemate? Hah! You mark my words, Administrator..."
"He won't win this time."
Narration [Comedy] [Crossover-ish]
As the Nobles gave their usual speech about reorganizing the wealth class districts, Celestia felt...something. She could tell there was now somepony else in the room, somepony with a lot of magic. Carefully, as not to upset her subjects, she scanned the room from left to right. Just as she was about to shrug it off as her sister spying on the day court again, a voice spoke.
"And as the stuffy noble gave his speech on the basics of prejudice, he internally wondered if Celestia was truly listening. Nonetheless, he continued talking, despite how much he reasoned Celestia hated it." it said.
"...excuse me?" asked the previously speaking noble, dumbfounded.
"Nonetheless, he continued talking. " repeated the voice, irritation seeping into it's tone. The most anypony could do at this moment was stare at the ceiling in wonder, completely unknowing of what was happening. The voice hadn't been called here- it couldn't have been. Nopony in the room had been doing magic, had they?
"The noble was so bad at following directions it's incredible he wasn't fired years ago," continued the voice, attempting to mock them into speaking. "The only reason he got his position was through gambling, or a family connection." Once again, the room was silent. "Probably both."
"Listen here, you- you scoundrel !" said the noble. "I have done nothing but true and honest work to get here today, and I will not be berated by somepony who could not even show his face to me!"
"Oh, cut it out, would you? I was just trying to tell my story, and you had to go off and muck it up with your refusal to simply go along with it. This, by all objective and truthful standards, is your fault entirely." it replied.
"Discord, I am not in the mood for your games. Please find somepony else to aggravate." Celestia interjected.
"Wha- really? I haven't even introduced myself, and you're already making assumptions about who I am?" it said. "Well, if you're going to be like that, then I'll just leave you to your business." it said.
After a few moments, nothing happened. The nobles decided that court had gone long enough for the day, and everypony was called to leave. Celestia left with a single, simple thought in her mind.
How strange.
Forever [Tragedy] [Alternate Universe]
Darkness is, for the average pony, hard to see in. After over six months in the exact same condition, you get used to it, but even then, it's near impossible to see in pitch black condition. This does nothing to impede your sense of hearing, however.
I can hear her. She's crying again. I struggle to my hooves, and tap the ground. She quiets down for a moment to tap back. Slowly, I make my way towards her. When I finally feel her near me, I lay down and snuggle close. It's been about a week since I've last talked, but I can't stand....hearing her...like this. Hesitantly, I speak.
"Twilight?" I croak. It almost hurts to speak, but luckily, she's sitting next to the pool- I can hear the water trickling through the rocks. I patiently wait for her to speak up, taking a drink from the pool.
"It...it was a beautiful dream," she says. I can hear the desperation in her voice. "You and Shining were ruling an empire, and I was there with you. We were having a wonderful dinner, and we talked about so many great things...I can't remember them now." She stops, and I can feel her tense up beside me, continuing to cry softly. I lay a wing over her, and pull her a little closer.
"Shh, Twilight. It's okay," I mutter. 'Sweet words with as much meaning as a rock has to a mountain, ' I think. I've been thinking like that for a while. When I talked with her about it, she said that she'd been having identical thoughts. It's amazing what abandonment does to somepony.
"When I woke up...I was scared. I'd forgotten everything; what happened, why I'm here, why you're here. I couldn't take it. I just...I just want to leave," she sobs. I do my best to console her, and as I do, I think about what happened. Why were we still here? How come nopony else had guessed where we were? Maybe Celestia had fallen. What a weakli
No. That's impossible. Nopony, not even Luna, can match her power. Right? Could Chrysalis have beaten her? No, she couldn't have.
"Cadance?" I stay silent. Sighing, I lean closer to her; it must be nearing winter on the surface. The cave has been getting colder, and every now and then, there's a small piece of ice in the pool. The sound of buzzing fills the cavern. I can hear the changelings placing crates down; most likely our food rations for the next month or so. When they first came, I tried to follow them out, but all I got was a concussion and a black eye. I've learned to let them come and go without me since.
Once they're gone, I squint into the darkness, making out vaguely square shapes. Twilight tries to stand up, but collapses as soon as she gets on her hooves. She's become fragile, and now, she's the only thing I have left. I nuzzle her before going to check the boxes.
We'll leave one day. We have too. Our last days can't be spent withering away in these forsaken caverns.
Right?
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And the Spider Swallowed Him Whole [Dark] [Crossover]
Wow, for an 'interrogation room', this place is well lit.
Oh, right!
*ahem*
Hello, our name is Webber, and we're twelve years old. We're from...well, I never learned where we lived, but we're from somewhere, we promise. We like spiders, home cooked food and camping.
What don't we like? That's a toughie. Let me think...
Well, it's not that we have nothing that we don't like- there's just too many to count off. Pigs, that guy in the suit, rabbits, the spider that ate me-
What do you mean, 'You ARE a spider'? I'm not a spid-
Oh, right. You don't know. See, a very long time ago...
Spiders. Good gosh, spiders . In this basement, they ruled supreme, some even being as big as the poor child's hand. Luckily, though, they kept to themselves, as if respecting him for entering the forsaken room.
'Remember, Webber, five whole dollars...' he thought, slowly proceeding through the darkness. Very carefully, he felt around for the 'special box'. A man in a suit had told him that it was down here, but he was having a hard time finding it, until-
"Bingo. " he whispered. He picked it up, only to drop it immediately when something moved from the inside. Ever so slowly, he opened the lid, and staring back at him was a set of glowing white eyes. Eight menacing, unblinking, glowing white eyes. He jumped back when they lurched at him, and he hit the floor. He scrambled away, but the eyes followed, and before he could get back up, it made a hideous sound. The eyes disappeared, and he felt a pressure around his entire body. Something pierced his skin, and the sensations faded away.
...we woke up a while later, and nothing seemed different except our vision. It was like looking through some type of collide-eh-scope. The man from before was laughing while we stumbled around, and then, he vanished. We did eventually find him again, but when we did, he sent us straight to a different world, and after that, to this one. We dunno why.
Awww, but we don't wanna wait around here! It's just so boring !
Oh, fine. We'd like to at least know who the heck you are.
'Chrysalis'? Isn't that some type of butterfly?
Okay, okay. We'll just wait here.
...we wonder if they have cookies.
It was a dark day when the heroes met. The world had become cold, and with every passing moment, so did those who lived on it. The first pair was an unlikely one, for sure; a unicorn that dug holes and a pegasus that made swords had nothing in common. But, as if to taunt us, Fate picks only the least likely of beings to become the greatest.
The second was yet stranger; a farmer from the outer lands and an industrialist, meeting by sheer chance as they went to their capitol to find the cause to their problems. At first, they resented each other with great force. Each hated the other with a passion that burned brighter than Celestia's sun, and for equally unfounded and confusing reasons. Of course, the heroes work best when they get along, and it wasn't but a day before they found that they had more in common than they realized.
The third pair was the strangest of them all. A magical mechanist (who was a pegasus, no less) and a mysterious unicorn of unknown origin. They were the most quarrelsome, but in a good way. They teased and shoved and fought, but through it all, they built a bond forged in the fires of conflict and cooled in the waters of forgiveness.
The fourth- and final- pair was perhaps the only one that was particularly ordinary. Two gryphons, one who worked as an accountant, and the other, an architect. They had no quarrel between themselves, instead opting to simply get the job done and ignore each other unless the situation requested otherwise.
They would travel far across the lands to find the source of whatever it was that had begun to kill the world, and would cross paths many times. Whatever their feats would be, they would be known as the force of the century, and whilst they would go by many names, one would lock into their stories for the rest of time.
They were...the Yogscast.
It was over.
Finally, after all her pain, all her loss, it was over.
As she trotted through the charred streets, she thought of the series of...unfortunate events that led up to her decision. She hadn't wanted to do it; really, who would? She was left with not choice.
The details of her triumph were still scattered. Discord yelling in shock, a roaring flame, her ponies, her....her sister, and...Twilight...
She felt tears running down her face. She regretted it. No matter what, she knew this, and this alone- she would regret it to the last days of her existence. Even so, she would do it again a million times over to stop him. This remained clear. He could never win, for if he did, chaos would reign over all.
She blinked heavily- she was standing back at the monument. A pair of statues, in the likeness of her student and her sister. Not the best, but she felt they were fairly exceptional. The tears came stronger now, but she didn't bother stopping them. Instead, she curled up before the statues, sobs beginning to rack her body.
'I had no choice.'
No choice. An odd pair of words, to be sure, but they held true. It was her last option. Her final victory, to...to ...
No. No, wait a second. No, that's impossible! Nopony, not even herself, could have the power to burn an entire planet to ashes. Even Discord would find it far fetched. 'Impossible,' she thought, 'Where do impossible things happen? Dreams. Impossible things happens in dreams; of course, this is a dream!' The solution was obvious, now- she had to wake up.
No matter the circumstance, a lucid dreamer can always wake from their dreams. She could feel it already- the cool carpet against her face, the sound of wind rushing through an open window. Yes, of course! She'd fallen asleep in her study, because of-
Ah-ah-aah, my little princess! You don't get to wake up quite yet.
What? No! She was so close, she couldn't fail now!
"DISCO- "
It was over.
Finally, after all her pain, all her loss, it was over.
As she trotted through the charred streets, she thought of the series of...unfortunate events that led up to her decision...