Chapter 4: A World Apart

        Pinkie Pie found herself sitting in a ransacked hut, she could hear children crying somewhere behind her. They passed through the astral image of Pinkie, just simply an apparition that was there to observe and not interact. She walked through the wall to where she found the room of the crying children. They were sobbing over a bed, a female figure was covered up in the tattered bed-sheets, she then realized it was these children's mother. She had recently passed away due to some water-borne disease, years of bad diet and random illnesses had finally claimed her. They held the picture of their departed mother, trying their best to hold on to what few good memories they had in this period of intense grief. The eldest sister was missing, feared kidnapped by human traffickers. Their father was dead, killed in action in some war before most of them could pronounce his name.

This... it's so sad... I

She was then shuffled to another scene. She saw the children that lived in the supposedly advanced countries. They sat and stared at the holographic computer terminals, clicking to and fro on whatever. Nothing ever grabbed their interest, and they couldn't go outside and play either; the air was so choked with particulates the last week and most of them had respiratory illnesses. The few games that caught their attention for more than a day were so monetized, that only the kids of people in the Domes would ever win at anything. There was hardly any organized schooling anymore, the government and the Dome-dwelling citizens largely stopped caring. Everything else had become bland and dull. The food was bland, the media was bland, everything was bland. It was day after day of soul crushing monotony; day of day of having their souls ground down into a fine powder.

So... so much despair, even I didn't have it this bad growing up...

Then she saw the children of the Domed cities. They were hardly any better. They supposedly had everything a child could want. Parents with lots of money to buy them toys and games, the ability to play or do whatever activity they wanted, fresh food that didn't taste like industrial gruel. Yet even these children knew something was terribly wrong. There was no soul behind anything, none of them felt like they wanted to do these things. They were under constant pressure to be good at everything because the Dome people were superior, and most were forced to waste their time on activities they hated. Many had rooms full of toys and dolls that they never asked for, apparently they parents just loved playing the game of "I can buy my kids more than you can buy yours". A lot of the children felt so empty inside the Domes, little birds living in gilded cages, never to spread their wings to fly where they wanted.

Even the rich kids have it bad... what is anyone supposed to do in a world like this...

Pinkie was having a hard time accepting the state of the Earth, it seemed so devoid of joy, so devoid of laughter. Then she realized what was happening, it truly was becoming devoid of joy and laughter. All the pain and suffering of the poor, all the apathy of the middle, even the children of the well to do were finding it hard to care about anything. These humans were desperately trying to find something to bring joy into their lives, but everything felt empty, it felt soulless. It was so much to bear, these people she didn't even know just going through life not knowing or not being able to sustain laughter, joy; the thought that even if life did you wrong, there were still things worth appreciating. She began to weep openly, as the necklace of her Element of Laughter appeared and began to flicker. She then heard a voice, a voice that turned out to be her own.

"Element of Laughter, the children of this world have been stripped of their joy, robbed of their ability to laugh."

Pinkie asked, not knowing where to look to direct her words. "How, how can a whole people not be able to laugh, not be able to feel joy?"

The voice replied. "They are surrounded by death and despair. They cannot fulfill their talents. They remain stuck in one place for so long, they lose the capacity to care for anything else. These people are slowly being dragged into a black hole of Despair and Apathy."

Pinkie stood up, her astral body glowing cyan blue like her Element of Laughter. She had seen enough, enough despair, enough apathy, enough of a people seemed like soulless zombies. She knew what she had to do now, she had to go there; she had to go to this world that seemed gray and bleak and give color to it. "I won't let this continue. These people have done nothing to deserve this. I WONT LET IT CONTINUE. DO YOU HEAR ME. THIS WORLD WONT DIE IN DESPAIR. IT WONT SUFFOCATE FROM APATHY!"

The voice then implored, "Project those thoughts, those feelings to the other world, and bridge the impassable gap between this world and theirs!"

=========================

        Applejack found herself standing next to a MegaTrain station. A family was waiting there for the next train. She walked up to them, knowing she was but an invisible ghost to them, but she still had to see what this and so many other families were waiting for. She then saw the sign, "Grand Prize Drawing for the Dome Lottery." It dawned on her then, this was some kind of lottery drawing to get into the domes. She heard the clamor of the families, they heard that they would leave immediately and be given a sizeable stipend if they won. Others talked about what they had to sell in order to get enough credits for a ticket. Applejack felt queasy at the sight, her enhanced sense of honesty going off like a warning klaxon in her head.

Somethin isn't right about this. Everything feels like a big scam waitin to happen...

She saw the men in the nice suits roll out a podium with a large electronic display. The suited men assured the crowd that the software that would produce the random numbers was entirely legitimate. Applejack however could see in their eyes and feel in their voice that they were lying. The suited men pressed a button and the numbers began to flash in the display panels.

"13. 45. 59. 83. 28. 31.", one of the suited men said. He took out a pad to cross-reference the winning number against all of those with a ticket. Of course, there weren't any matches; they made damn sure of that.

The other suited man smirked out of the crowds view briefly. "Oh I'm sorry, no one won today. But don't worry you all, we will be back in 2 weeks time with a new drawing. Just tell your friends to come by next time, who knows, one of you all might be the lucky ones."

What lucky ones?! You cheated all these people out of whatever it was they had to give up just to play this rigged game. Applejack said in her inaudible, ethereal voice. She was becoming visibly angry now.

        The scene then transitioned to a nice corporate office inside a Domed city somewhere. There was a man reading expense reports. Something was gnawing at him in the back of his head. The official reports were not lining up with the amount of capital and resources the company supposedly had. Someone was doing something off the books, and it was his job to figure out what it was, he has a responsibility to his shareholders. The a few weeks later, he found out who had been skimming the funds. It was the CEO and half the Board of Directors. What the hell was he supposed to do now, he was stuck in a situation to where if he did his duty to his shareholders, the boss could just fire him. He would have hell trying to get a new job, all of the CEOs it seemed like were stealing from their companies; they wouldn't take on a rat like him. It was eating at him, he had a family, he had daughters, he couldn't go out there, not with the way things are now. He then began to cry, he didn't know what to do. Has his whole tenure at this company just been a lie, was everything he worked for just one big lie? What kind of man would he be if he had to lie every day of his life just to keep up his lifestyle for the sake of his kids?

How could they do this to him, he did nothing but be honest. He was trying to play everything by the book. What is the point in following the rules if someone is gonna break them without penalty?

Applejack was ready to kick down the walls of the building. The whole world seemed built on deceit, lies, and obfuscation. This world had become weak, like a tree with rotting roots and any strong storm would blow the whole thing over. She stomped and thrashed about, her astral projection not being able to do any real damage but she needed to vent somehow. Her anger slowly turned to an intense sadness the more she carried on like this. She began to cry for the children, whose innocence and trust would be slowly decimated as they grew up. The Ponies prided themselves on their honesty and forthrightness. Even if they did not always hold to those ideals, at least they tried dammit. This world, however, had given up trying to be honest, and now it had devolved into just get whatever you can; even if you had to lie, cheat, or steal to do it. Her Element of Honesty began to flicker, and she heard a voice like her own beginning to speak to her.

"Element of Honesty. The people of this world are losing their ability to trust. They have begun to see no reason in being honest with each other."

Applejack looked up, but saw no one. She then answered the voice, not knowing where to direct her attention. "How could a whole planet lose its trust, its honesty? It don't seem possible."

The voice replied, "Day after day their friends lie to them. Year after Year their parents and loved ones lied to them. Decade after decade those that broker power lie to them. The people have been beaten down, they no longer trust authority, they no longer trust anything. In many cases, they can't even trust themselves. A world with no trust, with no honesty cannot stand. Nations will go to war as no one can be trusted as an ally. Eventually this world will crumble as the notion of organized society becomes largely pointless with no trust or honesty between the participants. This world is being dragged down a black hole of Lies and Deception."

Applejack stood upright. She had seen enough, enough lies, enough deceit, enough obfuscation. These people needed to be reminded that honesty is a virtue worth having. That the right people can be trusted to lead them. That the right people can be trusted to share their lives and livelihoods with. This world did not need to collapse in on itself because of the weight of its own deception. "Then I'm going there. I'm going to that world to save it. YOU HEAR ME EARTH. I'LL SAVE YOU FROM THE LIES, THE DECEPTION. I SWEAR BY ALL MY KIN THAT I WILL SAVE YOU ALL!"

The voice then implored, "Project those thoughts, those feelings to the other world, and bridge the impassable gap between this world and theirs!"

=================

        Fluttershy landed on Earth, but it looked like Earth 200 years ago. She looked at the deep rich forests, so full of life and vigor. Then the clear-cutting started, and the mining, and the urban development. She watched the forest be eaten by maw of asphalt and metal. The animals that were native were pushed further and further in, or had to risk living amongst the humans. A few did survive, some even thrived, but many of the humans saw them as pests. Then the humans needed more space, and began encroaching into the territory they shouldn't have. They began moving animals, some intentionally, some accidentally, and what were once just merely perceived to be pests that could be controlled, turned into infestations that in went entirely out of control. Entire ecosystems became dangerously unbalanced, diseases one group of humans could resist instead found fresh 'prey' in other populations. In a short 200 years it seemed like the world itself was spinning out of control. Whole species were gone, carcasses littered the landscape, beasts dying of the poisons Man didn't think to, or simply couldn't clean up. The great forests and plains looked like bombed out wastelands now, only a few trees were hardy enough to even grow past 20 ft anymore. Many of humans warned of this fate, industrialization truly gone amok; balance had to be restored lest they join the numbers of the dead and dying. They were ignored however, and it seemed the slow death march towards oblivion was going to go on apace.

How could they be so cruel? Don't they see what they are doing to their own world?

        Fluttershy then saw varying scenes. The people protesting and rioting, looking for work of any kind, or some kind of increase in support. The governments however did not heed their pleas. Some even went as far as to send drone guards to 'remove' the protesters. The broken bodies made her physically ill, but what disturbed her more were the broken minds she saw. She saw the children who had nothing but gruel and fabricated meals to eat, hardly any decent clothes given the terrible conditions they had to live in. She saw the teenagers, with no hope, taking their frustrations out on other teens. Lots of idle hands becoming tools of the Devil as it were. She saw the broken and battered adults. Some lamenting that this era it was hard to actually die of exposure or what have you. Many of them felt like ghosts in a Purgatory. Never really alive, but not dead either. So many people were hopeless and lost.

         Even the people lucky enough to live in the remaining world powers couldn't escape this feeling. So many lived in the truly gigantic public housing complexes, few could afford their own plots of land, even though it was dirt cheap outside the Domes. The soldiers coming back home were left to suffer in silence, the government mostly ignoring their supposed duty to take care of those that survived the exotic diseases and high-caliber weaponry. The veterans that weren't broken shells of people were instead terribly violent, almost as if they were raging and thrashing against the world itself. They would beat up the homeless and the indigent, anyone the seemed lower on the totem pole. They were mad at the system, doing anything to get the system to pay attention to them, to listen to their plight. However, the most they got for their trouble was an arrest and imprisonment if they attacked anyone near the Domes.

I see now... this is even worse... it was only a few people, a few people did this to the rest of them and their world.

        Fluttershy was then in the room of a young lady living inside the Domes. The young lady watched images on her holographic television similar to what Fluttershy saw already. She was devastated by the images, and then saw a number to call in to a charity. Charities still operated in this time, but they were so overburdened; but those who worked for them felt a need at least try and ease the pain their fellow man felt. She felt the same way, however her parents certainly did not. No sooner than she tried to dial the number on her wrist-phone her father noticed and attacked her. He wrenched her hand back, hyper-extending the ligaments in her wrist; and for good measure, swift-kicked her in the back of the knees so that she'd collapse to the ground. Fluttershy was horrified a parent would do this to their own child, a child that only wanted to help her fellows in whatever little way she could. She did not miss the symbolism though, the will to help was being subsumed by the rank selfishness of a few. The father extolled the virtues some some misaimed Social Darwinist theories, the idea the Outsiders were suffering because they were inferior, and did not deserve their or anyone else’s help. The young lady cried openly, as did Fluttershy. Her injuries, given the state of medicine for those in the Domes, were minor and easily fixed. What couldn't be fixed was the thought there were people out there going hungry, people out there with improper clothing or shelter. The few straggling mega-fauna species in the wild were on the verge of extinction. The whole world was breaking apart, and no one seemed to care, it was like kindness had been sucked out of this world, replaced by coldness and cruelty.

Why, why is this world so cruel? Why do the people who can help refuse to do so? Why do they prevent those who want to use their power to help do so?

Fluttershy was quitely weeping. She couldn't take it, she couldn't take how cruel this world had become. It was so bleak and gray, everything just seemed... wrong. It shouldn't be this way, she saw the still flickering lights of kindness in the hearts of these people. So why was this world in such terrible condition? Why did it seem like the whole thing was ready to disintegrate at a moment's notice? She then heard a voice like her own, as if her own subconscious was about to answer her questions.

"Element of Kindness. This world is losing touch with the concept of kindness. Civility is degenerating as they lose kinship with each other."

Fluttershy looked around for someone to answer, but she couldn't find anyone. So she just spoke, hoping whoever was speaking before would hear her. "How can a whole world just forget kindness?"

The voice responded. "The ancient world was cruel to mankind. The weather, the predators, it seemed as if everything was set out to destroy them. So they became cruel in kind. They beat back the environment itself, believing if they could establish dominion over it, they would never be subject to that cruelty again. They also tried to establish dominion over each other. The cruelty of war begot suffering, and the suffering fostered notions of revenge. This mutual revenge eventually begot hatred. Hatred of the other tribe, the other nation, the other ethnicity. Even when people began to reason these hatreds away, others could not, or refused to. As the powerful of this world began to close off more and more routes of progress due to their own selfishness, people were left to wallow in the cruelty of a world gone mad and a leadership grown distant. This world is now being dragged down into the black hole of Cruelty and Hatred."

These words began to steel Fluttershy's nerves. How could she weep when there was a job to do. There were people to be saved from the ever spiraling cruelty and hatred. There was a whole world out there begging for help, something to come along and rescue it from a so-called leadership that would sooner see it self-destruct than give up their position. "They don't deserve this. None of them do. NONE OF THEM DESERVE TO SUFFER LIKE THIS. I WON'T LET THEM. I WON'T LET THEM SUFFER THIS LACK OF KINDNESS ANY LONGER!"

The voice then implored, "Project those thoughts, those feelings to the other world, and bridge the impassable gap between this world and theirs!"

=================

        Rainbow Dash landed in the middle of a city. She walked around, a bit mesmerized how she could already be walking on the ground in the other world, until she realized she was a ghost at the same time. After freaking out for a few moments at the faulty notion she was already dead somehow, she saw a human couple. They seemed a perfectly content couple, the relative lack of resources not being of real concern to them, or so it seemed. She followed the couple for what seemed like a couple of months through their relationship, the male continually expressing how, regardless of their condition, he'd always love her. This struck Rainbow Dash as quite odd.

If you are always going to be loyal, why do you need to tell her all the time?

She then saw why he repeatedly professed his loyalty out loud. The female was sitting alone one night, she kept trying to call the male, but he never responded to the messages or private calls. It was scaring her; she had an inkling about what might have been going on, and she desperately wanted it to just be some mild paranoia. However, she had to get out and confirm for herself what was going on. She eventually tracked the male down, and what she found utterly shocked her. He was already trying to woo another female out in public. Apparently, this new female had few more credits on her, probably wasn't laid off until later in the cycle of the Singularity. Needless to say, she felt incredibly betrayed. He had professed his love, his desire to be together, through thick and thin to her; and yet he was already trying to run out on her for another bitch with a few more credits to her name. She bolted towards the where the two were sitting, and the confrontation was quite ugly. The male was desperate to escape as both females argued virulently, and eventually got into a  physical fight. Police, thankfully human this time, were called in to disperse the fight. Rainbow Dash stood by and watched, her jaw agape at this blatant display of betrayal.

How could he... she hardly had any more money than the first girl... and he ran out just like that?

        Rainbow Dash was then transported to a darkened corporate office in the Domes. She saw a man sitting in the office, and he was being faced with a decision: sell his company to a corporate raider for a quick cash-in, or stick through and pray he could defeat the hostile takeover attempt. He wretched over this decision, he tried to call his friend, his long-time business partner. But there was no answer. He sent him e-mail, text messages, neural private messages, anything to get in contact with him, to get his advice, anything on how he should proceed. Nothing. Then a message from the corporate raider.. his best friend, the man he started the company with, the man he went to bat for, the man who he was going to ask to be his best man at his weeding. He had already sold out, there were now just enough shares for the corporate raiders to take over his entire company, his entire life's work was about to go up in smoke in a few days time. How could he tell his fiancée, how could he tell his stepdaughter, he was supposed to be the provider. Why, he was always loyal to him, he always did was in the best interest of the company. He cried, he cried as he ordered all his stocks sold, he had given in, the raiders had won.

What the hell is wrong with this world? How could someone sell out their friends like that... not even give a reason, just 'boom done' just like that?!

Rainbow Dash was quivering. She had blown right past anger into, something similar to sadness. In fact, she really could explain why she was quivering. This whole world seemed warped, like some kind of force was warping people into an unnatural mentality. She could tell humans were perfectly capable of love, of loyalty, of all the things the Ponies were capable of. Then why, why the hell was this world so screwed up? Why does everything seem to goddamn wrong? Her Element of Loyalty began to flicker and shine as she heard her own voice begin to respond to her questioning.

"Element of Loyalty. This world is beginning to ignore the concept of loyalty. The idea of true love and camaraderie has begun to fade as trust disintegrates."

This notion seemed utterly alien to Rainbow Dash. "How, what... a whole world's worth of people just losing loyalty and camaraderie? Nothing about that makes sense, nothing at all!"

The voice then responded to her strained questions, "Those that brokered power forever promised the population deliverance from the world's ill. All they would need to do was put their trust in said brokers. But the deliverance never came. Their condition grew worse and worse. Eventually the people of this world reached a tipping point where they could no longer trust the powerful to show any loyalty to anything except themselves. The people of this world now see loyalty as a weakness to be exploited, betrayal becoming so common as to be expected. A world in this state would surely collapse as no one can trust the other. This world is being dragged down into a black hole of Betrayal and Mistrust."

Rainbow Dash still could not conceive of a world devoid of loyalty, but now the thoughts began to coalesce in her head. It wasn't that loyalty was dead, but dormant. Those with power abused it so badly that people have tried to convince themselves to not believe in it anymore; attempting themselves the pain of the eventual betrayal. This would not stand in her view, no people deserved to live in a world where they had to lie to themselves like that just to get by. "I can't believe this. No... I won't believe this. LOYALTY IS NOT WEAKNESS. IT'S STRENGTH, IT'S STRENGTH TO TRUST AND RELY ON OTHERS AND HAVE THEM RELY ON YOU. AND I'LL SHOW EVERYONE THAT!"

The voice then implored, "Project those thoughts, those feelings to the other world, and bridge the impassable gap between this world and theirs!"

=================

        Rarity found herself in some war-torn desert country, at a humanitarian relief camp. There were electronically locked boxes full of pre-packaged meals for distribution to the starving population. The soldiers wore inhuman looking protective gear, to keep the plague-bearing insects and the sick away from them, lest they end up in some nano-chamber suffering the effects of some random mutated virus or bacteria. The scene disturbed Rarity.

So much armor these humans have to wear... just to distribute food? Are things really this awful here?

She soon saw why the soldiers wore so much protection. Malcontents, not content with the pace of distribution, threw several Molitov cocktails into the tent where the meals were being distributed. The tent quickly caught fire and several innocent bystanders were either bleeding from the shattered glass or were being scorched from the intense heat of the flames. The soldiers quickly escaped the scene, their armor protecting them from the glass and flames easily. However it could not protect them from witnessing what happened next. A lean, almost emaciated man then tried to escape the scene with an entire locked box of meals, easily a few months worth of food. He tried to pick up the box, but he hardly got anywhere with it. His frame and muscles couldn't support the weight of the box. He then tried to push it along the somewhat sandy, dry ground, his mind trapped in tunnel-vision at the thought of having this much food to himself. He didn't notice that several healthier looking men had noticed his attempted escape and were quickly closing in on him, a giant throng of people chasing not far behind the smaller group.

        *THUD* A thrown rock hit the first man square in the back of the head. He'd probably not make it past this night alive. The soldiers in the helicopter hovering not too far from the scene debated whether or not to just remotely open the box and let the crowd figure out how to distribute the food. It was a Morton's Fork: they could either open the box and watch the crowd pile in trying to get at the meals, or leave the box locked and watch them fruitlessly try and open it. They decided to open the box. What they and Rarity saw shocked them to their core. The starving people piled onto and eventually into the crate like feral dogs. One of the soldiers took off his helmet to throw up, none of them wanted to have to witness a scene like that. Rarity would have done the same if an astral projection were capable of it.

This is beyond dreadful. What could have caused such conditions to even begin to lead to this?

        She then sees a young girl, it's one of her first times out of the Dome, her father having to conduct some 'business' in the slums. A another young girl asks her about her toy, it's a rare toy outside the dome, but inside it's as common as anything, the rich girl gives away the toy to the poor girl without a second thought. She has plenty more, what's one toy gone. A couple of hours later, the father asks his daughter where the toy she had earlier was. She tells him that she gave it away to one of the poor kids outside. The father does not take kindly to this revelation, and begins viciously beating her. He yells obscenities, about how much that toy cost, and why did she give it to some fucking girl in the slums who couldn't even appreciate its value. He few moments later though, manages to restrain himself some, feeling he has proven his point, and not wanting to explain too many injuries should she need any treatment.

         He leaves his daughter alone in her room; a monument to her supposed good fortune, but now it felt like a monument to his own opulence. The young rich girl, a girl who has everything daddy could ever buy her now suddenly feels alone; a mountain of things, all of which now become gruesome reminders of her father. A father that'd viciously beat his own daughter over something as trivial as giving away a toy. The daughter cries, cries in her room alone. What was the point of showing anyone kindness if this is all it got her, were these toys even symbols of her father's kindness, or more like reminders to others that he has enough money to buy the feelings of those around him. She felt extremely empty now, not feeling like some that man's daughter. Instead she felt like a symbol herself, a symbol of his wealth and power.

This is ... this is too much... it's unforgiveable. How could anyone treat their own children in such a horrid manner?

Rarity was about to go into hysterics, as per the usual. This time however, it seemed warranted. She'd just seen the worst of human greed and envy. She wanted to just quit right there and have nothing further to do with such barbaric creatures. But eventually her rage calmed, she had seen people trying to be generous and giving, but the world seemed the to be slapping these people back in the face. How could things have gotten this bad? Why was everything seemingly spiraling down? The Element of Generosity around her neck was shining now, her own voice beginning to answer her questions.

"Element of Generosity. This world is supplanting the idea of generosity with selfishness. Their own myopia making them envious of others, even with few actual differences between them."

Rarity responded to the voice, not knowing where it was coming from but frankly in her state not caring either. "Why though? Why can't they see generosity as a benefit to themselves, not just to others?"

The voice then answered her query. "Some of this world see no benefit to being generous, whether it be in charity or compensation. They feel entitled to whatever they could get their hands on, and warped society to fulfill their own selfish desires. They sell the people on the idea of selfishness as a virtue, that all could be successful if they disregarded the needs of others. People became envious when their work did not get them the same rewards as others. This envy begat more selfishness when those people refused to give to others in order to enrich themselves. This begat even more envy as no matter how hard they tried to climb up the ladder, there was always someone a rung higher. They wanted more and more, so much more that they'd destroy the lives of others they couldn't see in their pursuit of more. Their desire for material wealth became a gluttony, a pervasive need to consume. This world is being dragged down into a black hole of Greed and Envy."

Rarity sat for a short while. She had to process everything she saw. The inherent conflict between one person's desire to be generous and another's desire to hoard or consume everything for themselves. It pained her to have to think about this, didn't people have enough, wasn't there enough to go around. Then she began to realize the problem, the problem was that in some cases, there wasn't enough to go around because a few people decided to take just because they could. She remembered the history of man, how the many developments that could have provided for all were derailed so that they could benefit a few. How resources were being in some sense hogged to satiate the hunger of a few. That hunger called greed, that all consuming need for more, and more, and more. She stood up, her resolve rekindled. She couldn't sit idly by while the greed of a select few drove the greater many into ever deeper pits of despair. "This situation simply cannot persist. If I have anything to say about it, it won't persist! I WILL SHOW THIS WORLD HOW GENEROSITY CAN BENEFIT ALL!"

The voice then implored, "Project those thoughts, those feelings to the other world, and bridge the impassable gap between this world and theirs!"

=================

        Twilight Sparkle landed in what looked like some kind of production studio. It was entirely unmanned, which confused her. She looked up at the monitors and began to see various video feeds of different times. One decade she sees a world filled with smokestacks. The next decade she sees various men tell other men of the problem these smokestacks could cause. The next decade she sees the prototype wind farms, the giant solar arrays, even biodiesel conversion plants. Even though this is foreign to her, she understood to some degree what it meant. A world that can safely transition from the old fuels to new, a world that can grow cleaner and more healthy.

If this is the history of the world, then why does everything look so bleak...

Then the next decade, Betrayal as the politicians sell out to the old industries for a quick buck. Despair as the public fears the worst is yet to come, weather gone mad, companies with nothing to keep them in check. The Greed of those with always wanting more, as the companies began removing human workers in favor of mechanical puppets. Puppets that'd never need to eat, or be paid, or really be compensated in any fashion. Whole sections of the world carved to shreds in the pursuit of more resources for finished products the wealthy wanted or desired. The Cruelty of allowing whole species and cultures to be swallowed by the maw of Death with nary a peep. Deceit as the media and the people themselves tried to comfort themselves with the notion that this was how the world was supposed to work, those with power did what they wanted until something stopped them, and in this case, it seemed that nothing could stop them.

        What she saw next would break the hearts of billions into tiny little pieces. The elites created new tools, Nanomachine and the Advanced AI; and promised to better everyone's lives and lead to a Resurrection. The nanomachine would produce any material people would need, even going so far as to produce the food that could feed them and cleanse the water for them to drink. The AI Drones would relieve the burden of the slave-level working class, allowing them to fully pursue their intellectual pursuits or find their true desired vocation. This Resurrection however was a false promise. The AI Drones did their jobs well, seemingly too well. Humans were no longer employable at all except in the most sensitive of positions, and of course for warfare. The Nanomachines did their jobs as well, but the elites were selfish. They only provided the bare minimum to those not of their level, the bland facsimiles of regular produce and meat products did nothing except fill the stomach.

        Those in the war-torn or generally poor regions were mostly left to fend for themselves on a rapidly inhospitable Earth. The rampant pollution and weather changes were making larger and larger stretches of land completely uninhabitable by man, pushing them further and further to the edge. Wars broke out, plagues swept the poor nations. The lives of those lucky enough to live in the advanced nations did not suffer physically to this degree, instead they suffered psychologically. The loss of any kind of livelihood made many people apathetic and uncaring. Life had become a droning monotony, the same exact thing day in and day out to the point the only escape was on the Internet. Many humans began to escape to this digital fantasyland, a place where they might live out some modicum of interesting lives if they were unlucky enough to find work in the aforementioned sensitive positions. She can see the broken faces, the souls cracking to pieces. The loss of Fraternity, the loss of togetherness, the loss of Friendship and Fellowship of Man. It disturbed Twilight to her core, she could not understand why, if man had these tools, they'd still allow this level of suffering.

Why do the powerful allow these conditions? Is this some kind of game to them? Like if they win the most contests they get some kind of prize?

        Even those in the Domes, the supposed safe haven are not spared. Another business has been eaten up by raiders, its workers made redundant. Two 13 year old boys, who only 2 years ago promised they'd be friends forever, will now be torn apart, their fledgling friendship forever broken. Those who lived in the Domes preached a superiority over the Outsiders, people not good enough to live amongst them. The networks of the Domes were isolated, they believed they could shield themselves from the Outsides both physically and mentally. To them, all Outsiders were dead men and women walking, waiting to be swallowed up by a world gone mad. They, however, would be spared. They would inherit everything. They would win the Game of Life. The two boys, in fact hardly any of the younger Dome dwellers share this sentiment, they reach out to each other before the eviction, try and tell each other it will be okay. But the boy still inside the Dome knows that nothing will be okay anymore. The adults assure the remaining boy that he shouldn't care about the now Outsider, he was probably never deserving anyway. This does not console him though, his heart shattered. He retreats into a corner of his mind. Now totally isolated from everyone, fearing losing anyone else to a Dome Eviction, he now feels cursed. Another amongst the numbers feeling they are just waiting for someone to drop the final hammer that'd end everything.

How... even their own children? How could they have such blatant disregard for their fellow men? How could they ignore such suffering? How could they treat them as if they are already dead and buried? None of it makes any sense, None of it... NONE OF IT AT ALL!

        Everything Twilight Sparkle watched in that ethereal control room was complete and total anathema to her. She was incensed, she was furious, she was sad, she was depressed; she felt about every negative emotion one sapient being could feel in regards to the plight of others. None of it made any sense to her, humans had the power, but those that could best wield it instead wielded it for their own selfish ends. They thought it would be better if the masses all died, then they could have all the land to themselves. They were the superior people, the Elite, those who were destined to be the new Mankind. But she knew better, she saw how bad the Earth's condition had deteriorated into. The Princesses knew better, they could see the self-destructive nature, if left unchecked, would eventually result in everyone's death and destruction, Dome or no Dome. The tiara that represented her Element of Magic flickered and then shone. She could hear the voice inside of her beginning to answer her questions.

"Element of Magic. These people have been stripped of their Magic, and the power they created in its place was now being turned against them by a group who want to feed their Greed so badly they'd destroy everyone around them. Those who hoard this power ignore Friendship, they ignore Fraternity, they ignore anything that would connect them to those they have left behind."

Twilight was crying now, it hurt too much. It hurt her to know that a people this brilliant were being left to suffer like this. An entire people should not be condemned like this. "How could those who have the power to fix things ignore so many suffering? Are they that callous, that evil?"

The voice inside of her responded, "Those who have isolated themselves gave in to the same negativity that plagues all sapient species: the selfishness, the vanity, the greed, the envy, the jealousy, the hatred, the cruelty, the deceit. All are capable of it, but few truly fall deep into it. However these are negatives that are powerful enough to distort everything around them. This world is being consumed by the dark nature of Man, the black hole of Isolation is slowly consuming the souls of the population. If left unchecked, all life remaining on it will be consumed by the twin black hole of Oblivion."

Twilight dried her tears. She saw so much pain, so much suffering. But despite that, what she saw was a population, while not blameless, did not deserve this much. Humanity did not deserve to slowly die off because a few people couldn't keep their greed in check. Because a few people wanted to shut themselves off from everyone but still think they had a right to take everything not nailed down. Nothing and no one deserved that fate, and if she could do anything to prevent that from happening, she would. They deserved a second chance; a chance to make things right, to their planet, and to themselves. "No people deserve this, they don't deserve to die because a few people couldn't do right by others. I will save that world, no... WE ALL WILL SAVE THAT WORLD! WE WILL SAVE THAT WORLD FROM ITS ISOLATION! WE WILL RESCUE THAT WORLD FROM OBLIVION! WE WILL REFORGE OUR FRIENDSHIP WITH THAT WORLD! WE WILL SHOW EVERYONE THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP, BECAUSE FRIENDSHIP... IS... MAGIC!!"

The voice then implored, "Project those thoughts, those feelings to the other world, and bridge the impassable gap between this world and theirs!"

=========================

        Celestia and Luna could feel the titanic levels of magic emanating from the six Bearers of Harmony. They marveled at the 6 gigantic pillars of light emanating from where they stood, each one representing their particular element of Harmony. The two Royals looked at each other, knowing that they would have to add their own power in order to solidify the link the six Bearers were forming with the other world. They shared a bit of conversation before they did though.

Celestia started off, a tone of some mild concern. "Do you think they will accept our help Luna. I mean we would be nothing more than talking multi-color horses to them."

Luna responded, a bit mirthfully, "Who knows, I think a lot of the public have been worn down by their lives they'd accept help from anyone or anything at this point."

"I know, but we always must be mindful that we are an entirely alien culture to them, even if our forms aren't necessarily."

"True, we will have to take things very slowly to start with, if we come on too fast we'll probably scare them off, or worse."

"It's almost as if we are dating or something."

"Well, if we are successful, we will be effectively marrying two distinct societies into one hopefully stable whole."

"Yes, but we also must be mindful of the limited time we'd have to work our magic. Their planet and their people might not hold on long enough to take the slow route. However, we cannot press in too assertive a manner, or the backlash may be too much for us to bear."

"Celly, are you afraid that no matter how well we present ourselves they will reject us?"

"Lulu, honestly, I am. This is something neither of us can predict. I want it to be different. I want to just tell them we can come in and fix their world and set things right without having to be this drastic. But I'm afraid that the time does not exist to make that claim in truth; yet they would reject our offer anyway. Be it for pride or some other reason."

"We will just have to see. I know it will be better for us to try and fail than to just let things fester as it is."

"Indeed. And that's why you are co-ruler with me. I would not do this without you, Luna."

"Thank you very much. You have no idea what that means to me."

The two Winged-Unicorns began to channel their own titanic mana reserves and every bit of free magic they could get a hold of. Twin beams of magic, each in the colors of their flowing gradient-like manes merged with the 6 beams coming from the Elements of Harmony. Fusing into a beam of the most pure white one could imagine. The sub-space they were in responded in kind, as a large dark colored hole opened up in the sky above. The White and Rainbow-fringed beam now flowed through the Void between reality itself. And soon found its mark. The deed had been done. The New Light Bridge had been established, and soon the other world would know this fact.