Prologue: The End of Everything
Shakugan no Twilight
By Jonathan Chung Nguyen
A heartbeat that lasts for eternity.
Lives consumed in balls of fire.
No pony can tell when the world is displaced
and the flames of the crimson world sweep over all
Prologue: The End of Everything
It all happened in Ponyville.
The apple orchards were in full bloomed this season. I noticed that this year that they grew a little late.
My name is Yuji Saiki. I recently moved here from Ponanese last year. Now the school year has just begun. I had just settled to the routine that was the life of any good student pony. Today I was walking towards the school run by Ms. Cherilee. A morning no different from any other. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Days like that were suppose to last forever...
At the time, I couldn't even begin to believe what was about to happen. I was oblivious to the strange melancholy world I was about to encounter, or the fact...I was about to die.
On the afternoon of that day, I was trotting along a busy road in Ponyville. Nothing unusually in the daily life of a pony here as several other steeds pass by me. The day was shining bright and not a single cloud was in the sky. The path was filled with diverse amounts wagons and carts. They would move along side the road parallel to us. Several buildings and shops were also lined across the streets.
I was trotting casually across a road until a flashing shade of red filled the sky. The crimson color filled the streets and buildings. Giving off black shades of blood and ruby. Everypony around me was frozen like if time was stopped. I stood there in confusion and fear as two creatures appeared not so far in front of me.
The creatures looked like abominations. One had a changeling body that was twisted and morphed. It looked like a pretzel with multiply heads. The other monster looked like a giant fat foal. Staring towards my direction with its big empty eyes. They both open their mouths and to my horror.
Instantly, a blue shining flame appeared from everypony. The flames, being consumed by these two beasts. Blood drains from my head as I see some Ponies fading away and vanishing. I think to myself in confusion, "What is this... Whats happen!?!" As I watch in terror as trails of blue flames engulf inside their monstrous mouths.
One of the beasts lifts me up with some kind of dark magic, as I dangle in the air hopelessly. The beast chuckling,
"Ehehehe. Its time to eat-eat, my delicious treats!" The beast opens its mouth to show rows of razor sharp teeth and a bottomless void inside the throat of the monster.
I had almost given hope, until a blazing slice cut the monster's horn in half. I fell towards the ground with a huge thump. The monster shrilling in pain and agony in front of me. That was when I saw her. The filly with flame red mane and blazing eyes. I was memorized by the fire flowing through her mane. Her eyes burning with a never ending passion.
Suddenly a pony behind me used her hoof to penetrate deep in my body. I didn't felt any pain, but I felt literally nothing at all. Instantly the flaming filly sliced the part of my body in half, and that was when...my world changed forever.
Chapter 1: Birth of Something New
Chapter 1: Birth of Something New
School has just started a week ago. It was going to be my first full year here and it was also the last morning my life was going to be ordinary. In school my friend Spike was talking to me during recess.
"Yuji man... this is going to be your first full year!", exclaims Spike.
"You should least looking at somepony for Hearts and Hooves Day later this year."
"I'm assuming you already taken Rarity?", as I chuckle to myself.
"Shut-up, its going to be a while...", mumbles Spike staring towards Rarity.
"Lighten up Spike, back from where I came from. We use to give chocolate to lovely ponies."
"Yuji I have to say that is the weirdest tradition I ever heard of, just like the Christmas fad last year. I mean seriously Yuji, how could a fat pony deliver that many presents in all of equestria!"
The school bell rang right before Spike finished his statement. Everypony begun to trot to class. From the memories of life here at this school, it wasn't a party at Pinkie's, but it wasn't a bottomless pit of despair either. The future in these days always looked so promising to me.
Especially from a male point of view. All the cute girls in the class had a promising future like Spike said. All the fillies in my class was so diverse and different. A shy pony, next to me, looked very pretty with her innocent expressions. She used to help me in the few blissful days I spent there. Now I recognized how fragile my life was. It only took a few minutes for it to collapse and come undone.
It was after school and Spike and I were heading off and chatting.
"So Spike got any plans today?"
"Not much Yuji, but I am expecting to help Rarity today."
"Ohh is it different slave task today?", as I burst out laughing.
"Ohh shadup at least I have a chance in the most beautiful pony in Ponyville!"
"Well Spike, I'm heading around the shopping district, I'll see you later."
"I'll see you tomorrow Yuji", said Spike as we split in opposite paths.
I imagine myself to this day. How my life would be so different if I walked straight home. I think to myself sometimes, "Would my fate be the same if I was somewhere esle?" I had no idea at the time, I was one meter away from when the world was getting displaced.
I trotted inside the market area. Standing near the entrance was the shy pony from my class.
"Ohh Yuji, I didn't know you lived in this area."
"Huh Fluttershy, I just came here to buy some grocery for dinner. I live by the forest."
"I live by the Forest too", Fluttershy says excitedly, "I live by Mr. Greenhooves."
"Huh that's pretty close Fluttershy."
"Um just wondering, why isn't Spike with you today. Don't you guys hang out?"
"He went to drool over Rarity today, why did you ask?"
"Well nothing, it's just...does he actually love her..?", she asks quietly.
"I'm not sure but he seemed to be hypnotized by her."
"Umm, I see then Yuji."
After a couple of hours shopping. I thought to myself, "Ahhhh I see. Shes head over heels for Spike. I wonder how Spike is going to react to this. Hot damn... I wonder if someone has the same feelings for me."
I trotted along the street. Ponies where busily walking around me with the leaves bristling in the breeze. I stopped for a second to hear a voice. The voice was the sound of a foal laughing. It was a shrill laugh and after I noticed the laughter a lightning blue trail came from the ground. The trail zig-zag'd across down the street.
In a flash, the whole sky turned crimson. I stare around me in horror as everypony around me was frozen. I thought to myself while panicking. I ran around, to see the still poses everypony was showing. I look up to see a black ruby sky. It was almost like if I was in a horrible dream.
Suddenly, an explosion of noise came behind me. Two huge monstrous creatures appeared in a debris of dust.
One was a twisted mess of limbs and another was a giant foal with a dark void instead of eyes.
"Huh, there wasn't many here then I thought", said the beast with the twisted body.
"I'm reading for feeding time!", exclaims the giant soulless foal.
"Never the less there is more than enough, let the feast begin!", shouts the twisted creature.
To my terror...everyone was engulfed in a ball of blue fire. Their fire's trailing towards the open mouth of the giant foal. I had to witness the horrific sight of seeing the ponies around me fade and droop lifelessly. Unaware to the horrible things the monsters are doing to them.
I shout towards the giant foal, "What is this? Whats going on!", as it continues to consume on the fires of everyone around me. Some slowly disappearing along with the blue flame surrounding them. I look ahead to see Fluttershy being engulfed by the second monster. "Fluttershy!", I yelled towards her frozen body.
The gigantic foal stares towards me with its soulless eyes.
"What is this? How is he still moving in the zone?"
"I-I don't know darling, he doesn't seem to be Guze, he must be a special Tōchi!"
"Ohh boyy its time to eat-eat!", as I get lifted up in the air.
I couldn't move and I couldn't breathe. I was about to die.
A flaming slice teared off the foal's horn. The beast shrilled in pain and confusion. I fell on the hard ground. Barely regaining my consciousness. The monster continues to cry in agony from the pain. I stared up to see a filly in flames. Her hair glowed in the fiery of fire and her eyes where blazing. She glared towards me with an expressionless look.
In an instant the two beast charged straight towards her. In a combustion of fire, the filly dodged the attacks and delivered several deep blows to the creatures. With a powerful kick she sent one of the monsters straight into a building with an explosive force. She walked slowly to the giant foal.
"No please don't come any closer to me", pleaded the ugly beast.
The filly's hooves ignites in an explosion of fire as she does a powerful spin slice on the gigantic foal. The head falls off the monster, deteriorating on the floor engulfed in the blue flames.
The filly spoke in a bothersome tone, "I destroyed its outershell."
A voice coming from her necklace spoke, "Indeed it may still be near by."
She looks in my direction and strikes towards me. I flinched closing my eyes in fear.
Then I hear a shrilling screech behind me. I looked behind me to see a pony behind me.
The filly was about to strike the lady again until I stopped her.
"Stop you can't hurt someone innocent!", but I was cut off by a strange sensation from my back side.
The lady was penetrating her hoof inside the back of my body and I couldn't move or think.
She was reaching inside my soul...
The filly then raises her flaming hoof, and cuts me. "She cut me", I thought to myself at the time. I didn't feel any pain, or anything. I just felt nothing at all, but I had my full consciousness. The filly also sliced the lady grabbing into me and her body cracked open like a walnut to show a G3 Pony Doll.
"So thats your true form!", exclaims the flaming filly.
"Watch out!", shouted the necklace as the other monster returned to charge towards her.
She instantly dodges and slams the other beast into the ground in a giant explosion of debris and fire.
She looks around to say, "Hmmp the controller has disappeared in the shadows."
I looked towards her, my mouth trembling from being cut in half.
"He-help me...!", as I raised a hoof for mercy.
"Huh I was taking by surprise. I didn't think that lifeless body was still alive."
"Indeed, it reminded me of something important", explains the necklace.
I begged towards the flaming filly,
"Please get me an ambulance...!"
"Oh shut up already your too noisy. It's useless to cry over a cut now."
"Bu-but I", but I was cut off by the necklace.
"It didn't have much existence in the first place. No regular pony would survive a cut like that."
"If I was pony? I have to stop..stop..", but i was shocked to see my body contained nothing.
All I saw was an empty void of what should be blood and muscles. "There's...nothing here."
The filly comes close to me, and puts my body in place. Then suddenly my whole body was engulfed in blue fire. At first I was surprised and panicked, but the fire died away and my body was back to normal.
The filly raised a finger and blinding light came from the very tip.
Everypony was consumed by the blue fire again, but this time its being returned to them.
I sighed in relief towards Fluttershy, saying, "I'm glad she's alright."
"I'm done here, that should be all the torches and now for the surrounding damage.
Her finger sparked a colorful aray of colors as buildings and streets where being fixed like a puzzle piece.
And in a flash, the world returned to normal.
Everyone was walking like nothing has occurred. I was stunned to see that no one reacted to what happen. I see Fluttershy walking away as i shout towards her, "Fluttershy-Fluttershy wait for me.", but I stopped in horror.
I saw a small blue flame inside of her transparent body.
I looked around and I saw small blue flames in everypony's body.
To my dismay, I saw a small colt disappear.
I looked around to see a pony who looked like the flaming filly except with a purple mane, so I chased after her.
"Hey wait wait. What just happened back there? Where did that pony disappear to? And those blue flames...",
but the filly grabbed my wrist and said,
"Hey stopped bugging me alright? Celestia can we just get rid of this guy?"
"No we must be careful on special carriers like him. Have you forgotten all the troubles back in Canterlot?"
"Look Celestia I remember what happen, but he keeps bugging me!"
"Just tell him the truth, it will shut him up."
"What's the deal you keep calling me it if like I'm some sort of thing", I asked.
"Yeah so? That's because your not a pony."
I look blankly towards her. I was stunned and confused.
"It's not only you everyone with a blue flame inside them is a thing. They are replacements who had their existence consumed. By definition of the Canterlot world, they are torches."
"The-there replacements? What are you talking about?"
"If we didn't have torches, the world would be in chaos from sudden loses of existence. So torches eases up that process temporarily."
"So your saying were...I'm not alive?"
"Basically the real you has been consumed and your no longer living. Now your nothing but a shell walking."
Sadden I look down in horror, as I also see a blue flame in myself.
That day, that started like any other day. The day I found out that I was dead.
