A Beginning after the End

Twilight Sparkle is best pony.

...

No. That’s impossible.

...

HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

“What’s happening?!”

“Princess, the patient is panicking!”

“Sedate him! Just be gentle!”

After the last of the drama for the day was resolved, Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle walked back in silence. Twilight spoke first.

“How can such hatred exist?”

Luna was silent for a duration, then said,

“Because it can, Twilight. There is always evil, and if it is left unchecked, or if it influences the right ponies at the right time, the result is a nightmare.”

Luna drooped her head for a moment in remembrance. Noticing this, Twilight said, “Princess, that time is over. Let’s focus on how we can help these poor creatures. Let’s see about recovering more survivors. I’m sure there are more.”

Just at that moment, the doors of the observatory bursted open and Royal Guards rushed out, stretchers of injured human men, women, and children stretched between them. It was obvious they were also making a beeline for the Canterlot Hospital. After a stunned moment quietly observing the Royal Guard’s rush, Twilight and Luna rushed inside the observatory to see Princess Celestia and a group of unicorns on the telescope, a flash of light marking the entrance of another human. Luna walked up to where Celestia was casting yet another spell and asked, “Sister?”

Celestia stopped casting and stepped aside, allowing more of her Guard to take over the spellcasting. She rubbed some tiredness from her eyes and asked, “Yes?”

Luna looked over to where more humans was appearing and asked, “How long have you been at this?”

Celestia smiled sweetly and answered by saying, “Not long enough. I need to save them, Luna.”

Luna smiled and said, “We all need to save them, dear sister. However, you still have a nation to run, and a sun to set.”

Celestia snickered and replied, “Oh,butLunaaa...”

Luna playfully punched her sister and showed her out. She then looked at the passing litters.  “It’s going to be a long night.”

Twilight Sparkle, having done all that she could, walked back to the Canterlot train station to catch the last train of the day. Images of burning cities remained fresh in her mind, as did the the image of weapons that caused such a wide area to glow brighter than the sun. Celestia’s sun. What kind of arcane power could enable such a feat? There were none that Twilight could think of. Even her limited knowledge of the dark arts said that such a feat was impossible, seeing as the creation of even a small sun was beyond even Celestia’s capabilities, seeing as the energy required to do so would have to draw from enough of her life force to kill her. She cleared her mind of such possibilities and boarded the train.

As the train moved along its tracks, Twilight took a moment to consider the ramifications of such a power from beings who didn’t use magic.

If their capabilities can outmatch us without the use of magic, how high could they go withmagic?

Twilight involuntarily shivered. Hatred had directed mankind to obliterate itself with weapons that seemingly created suns. If those same weapons were supercharged with magic, would anyone survive an impact?

And as Twilight went down her train of thought as the train went on its way, her fear of man deepened.

2 months later...

It’s been 2 months since the apocalypse that claimed Johnson’s world, and it still seemed incredible that he and hundreds of thousands of others had been ferried here by... magic.

Magic.

The one thing that all geeks and nerds wouldfinally get theirlittle soft hands on. Taking a draft  from his water canteen, Johnson adjusted himself and plucked another apple off the apple tree that he was precariously hanging off of. Still, Johnson could hardly complain. He had work and a safe(?) place to stay.

He just couldn’t stop the faces from appearing in his dreams. The faces of his wife, children, and friends all grinned at him before abruptly being swallowed by fire, their shrieks forcing him to consciousness. Johnson rarely had a good night’s sleep anymore.

Johnson was so deep in thought that he missed Applejack calling out to him. He did, however, notice when Applejack called to him a second time.

“Johnson?”

“Erm... yeah?”

“You feeling okay up there?”

“U-Uh, oh, of course!”

Johnson then fitfully grabbed another apple and stuffed it into the basket perched between several branches. Applejack raised an eyebrow, but said nothing and walked away. After seeing her out of earshot, Johnson sighed, then collapsed into the branches. His heavy eyelids betrayed him, and soon Johnson was snoozing away.

“Hi, Daddy!”

N-No. NO! PLEASE!

“Oh, hi, sweetheart! What’cha got there?”

Please...

“I got a drawing of you for you, Daddy!”

I can’t take it anymore! Just make it stop!

“That looks wonderful, sweetie! Did you do that at school today?”

NONONONONONONONO

“Nope! I did it just now!”

SOMEONE! ANYBODY!

“That’s pretty good! Let’s get something to eat, okay?”

....

“Okay! Just let me get my cup!”

....

“DADDY, I CAN’T SEE!”

*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH*

“Johnson!”

“AAAAH!”

Johnson tumbled out of the tree, and he landed painfully on his back.

“Ooh...”

“I-I’m so sorry! Are you hurt?”

“Mhmmmm...”

“...It’s the nightmares again, isn’t it?”

Johnson sat himself against the apple tree he was picking fruit out of.

“Yeah...”

“I just don’t understand why Princess Luna can’t just visit yer dreams, just like us ponies!”

“Well, I could try and explain, but I got a degree in science and engineering, not magical theory.”

Applejack huffed and sat beside Johnson.

“It’s just terrible, that is. You losing a whole world, and to what... the nooks?”

“*Chuckle* Yeah, it is. We weren’t even at war with anybody. The most likely thing to have happened was a fluke. A freak accident that nearly cost us everything.”

“What kinda fluke could that have possibly been?”

“Well, I did remember some talk about some newly installed systems for the silos. Apparently.. there was a bug. It cost us dearly.”

“Did you just say that a malfunction nearly cost you your entire species?”

“...Yeah, that sucked. I’m still here, aren’t I?”

With that, Johnson wrapped an arm around Applejack. She shrunk under his grasp.

“How could ya’ll be so.. nonchalant about it?”

“Not a dang thing I can do about now, is there?”

Applejack sighed.

“I suppose not, sugarcube.”

“Better make the most of it, huh?”

“...R-Right.”

They watched the passing clouds for a while, each stewing in their thoughts.