Gone

“Twilight!”

“Twilight can you hear us?”

“We’re here for you now!”

“TWILIGHT, WHERE ARE YOU?”

My eyes opened as if from a bad dream. I looked around. The morning was bright. Dew crisply fell across the field and the sunflowers swayed with the wind. Everything was quiet. Everything was peaceful.

“Look up!” Somepony said.

I looked to my left. There sat a stallion. He was my husband. Of course, what had I been thinking? I took his advice and glanced upwards.

The sky shined like the morning, the sun gleaming welcome. A little house stood on the edge of a hill. A big tree stood next to it, shading the little playground that we had prepared last season for our little filly. You could hear the gleeful squeals from here.

“Mama!” I heard the cry of my little filly. She was eight years old now. Just tall enough to peek out over the edge of fence surrounding our home – in no small part with the aid of some stray stools, precariously stacked on top of one another.

I would look over at my partner -- a stallion of petite proportions -- unusual for our line of work. Yet, it presented a sort of character about him, as if he was unique in his own right.

“That’s our darling,” he would say with a smile.  I would reply lovingly. We would laugh. I would walk over to our little filly and comfort her. Tell her stories while my husband would lay in the fields, a straw hat over his snout and a piece of hay protruding out of his mouth, curved upwards while the warm glow of the sun tanned his features, more than they had already had been.

It was a beautiful day. In fact, everyday was a beautiful day. Nothing could ever go wrong in our little paradise. Nothing could ever disturb the quiet peace that our family shared on the farm. We had found happiness.

“Sunshine!” He would call out, just as the day turned into night and the world would just get just a little bit colder. I would respond with glee. The night was just as beautiful as the day after all. We would gaze out at the stars from our balcony as we drank warm milk and ate a batch of freshly baked cookies, made from flour that we had traded from the family next door.

I looked up over to the clock that had belonged to my grandfather. It still ticked away, even after he had died. Bless his soul.

That day the clock almost seemed mesmerizing, as if egging me on – to keep watching as it ticked away the life I had once known. Wait… what am I thinking? This is the only life I’ve ever known. Peaceful, quiet bliss.

My name should be Sunshine Bliss. No, my name is Sunshine Bliss. I am an earthpony and I went to school at... at... That’s strange. I can’t remember. In fact, I can’t remember a lot of things anymore. I wonder why. Not that it matters. My life is perfect as it is.

I looked back up to the clock. It ticked again and again, signaling each time with a little birdie that would open and close its mouth to the soft rhythm of the contraption, like a beating heart it powered the little bird, giving it life.

I surveyed my surroundings. I saw photos of my family, my husband, my daughter. And for a brief moment I was scared. But I’m not scared anymore. Nothing can scare me now.

The clock was starting to pick up speed. I looked up in confusion, but then everything made sense. If time wanted to go faster then it could go faster! After all, it would mean we could spend less time sleeping and more time having fun tomorrow morning! The bird was throwing a little fit as it opened and closed its mouth. Slowly reaching a pace so that it was doing so in a rapid-fire speed.

Oh grandpa, you do the funniest things. Grandpa walked into the room and stared straight at the clock. He wouldn’t stop staring. I was getting worried.

“Grandpa? Are you okay?”

He swerved his head in my direction. In his eyes, I saw anger. He was angry at my betrayal. He had trusted me, and I had ended him. That’s strange, I thought I had dealt with him?

Out of the corner of my eye I saw my daughter, climbing out of her little playpen, only to fall back inside. She started crying.

I started laughing. It was all so comical. Grandpa was staring at me. My little darling was struggling to get out of her crib. And oh! Husband seems to have found the kitchen utensils. Here he comes!

I braced for impact as the knife slid into my stomach. We smiled at each other. I would have wanted no less after all. We're in love!

I want to share my perfect world with everyone! They would love to be me. All the kids at school would be jealous of the life I was living. Too bad for them though! They’re not here anymore. No one is left but me.

The clock started ticking at a mad pace. I stopped laughing. The clock was making my head hurt. I’ve had migraines before, but this took the cake. My ears started ringing and teeth started chattering. The open night air was freezing my limbs off. I quickly ran to the clock, and smashed the glass. Quickly, I got inside to keep myself from dying of frostbite.

“No!” I screamed. The sound was torturous. I couldn’t take the abuse. My mind was reeling, and I vomited inside the clock. The world then became freezing once more. The cold had reached the clock too! Now there was nowhere left to run. Then, everything became still. I slowly caught my breath.

It was over.

I turned around. And met my grandfather’s stare.