WORLD'S END

CANTERLOT CASTLE

PRESENT DAY

Princess Twilight Sparkle stood there with blood seeping out of her numerous wounds. Her two hooves were still planted firmly on the ground, a tower shield was protecting her body from any more physical harm in her left hand, and a long spear was firmly gripped with her right hand. On her body she wore purple platemail armor with golden decorations on the edges.

Her wings were cut in multiple places, and her horn was glowing as brightly as her eyes were. Tears were trailing down her cheeks at the numerous losses that she encountered... and the heaviest of her losses happened to occur inside the very room that she was standing in; the Throne Room.

Scattered across the floor were three butchered corpses; all of which were females.

One was a blonde earth pony mare with an orange coat who wore a stetson, light blue overalls, a yellow and orange checkered t-shirt, a pair of brown gloves, and a pair of brown boots. The stetson was attached to her head... but her head was across the room with a thin bloody trail in-between it and her body.

The second was a cyan-coated pegasus mare with a rainbow mane. She wore a white sleeveless shirt with black track pants and small light blue athletic boots over her hooves. Her entire chest was covered in blood, and a huge gaping hole was in the center. Her eyes were still open, but lifeless terror was all that her face showed.

The third was a yellow-coated pegasus mare with a long pink mane. She simply wore a bright green dress with a leafy pattern on it. Her neck had a huge gash in it, and a large puddle of blood was underneath her, with a near-equally large amount of blood on her dress from the waist up.

On the far-right corner of the room, a broken window barely stood with the sharp corners of it covered in blood. On a single shard, however, a purple strand of mane hair stuck in place and blew with the feint winds. Below it, a small torn cloth piece that appeared to belong to a light blue dress lied in the smaller pieces that rested on the floor.

Dangling over the golden chandelier of the throne room was a pink-coated mare with a puffy pink mane. She was wearing a bright pink sleeveless shirt, light blue shorts, and pink boots over her hooves. Her eyes were lifeless and blood appeared to be dripping from her mouth. A golden metal chain was wrapped around her neck and tied across the chandelier.

At this point, there were only two living individuals in the room... one was Twilight Sparkle. The other, however, was a pale-skinned human with pitch black hair, glowing red eyes, and a demented grin on his face. He was wearing a red hooded rain jacket, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of brown hiking boots. In his right hand, he was holding a glowing red sword with a black bat-like winged patterned hilt. His left hand had a glowing red upside-down pentagram symbol in the center of a red circle marked on the back of it.

He pointed the sword at Twilight and asked in a low-pitched, distorted, and downright demonic tone, "So.͞..̶ ̕͞ẃ͝h͟er҉͟ę̀ ̛i̶s҉̀ ̸̷̧y̕͠o̸͟u̵̶͏ŗ ̶h͘a̴͘r̛m͏҉ò̡ny̢͡ ͠ń̡ò̴͟w҉,́̀ ̕͢pr̛͞i͝n͏ç̶e̸̕͢s͟s̸͡?̧̀"

Twilight's glare intensified along with her grip on her weapon. Regardless, however, she said nothing, which only made the possessed human chuckle.

"A̡t́ ̡̀͠a͝ l̵̵͞os͜s ̕͜fo͢r͝͡ ̡̕w͞o̵rd͜͠s҉,͏ ̧̢a̴̕rę́͠ ͢͞w͏̶e̸̕?̧̢ ͝ ̕Ǹ̕͞o҉t̕ ̡̕ţ̵͢o̴ ̷͞w҉̛òr̵͟ry̷҉.͘͠.̷͝.̨́͝ ̕ít̛'̷s ͏͝͝n͝͏ǫt ́l͢҉i̕͜kè͢͡ ͢t͞h̵̴̀e͏̴r̷̵e͢ ̸á̀re͞҉ ̀an͜y͜͟ ̸̡̡ẃ̴͡o̷ŗd̵̶̛s̶͘ ͢th̶́́a̵̶͝t͝ ̕͞ḉ͢ou̸̕͘l͝d̛ ̀͞͏s͞͞a̧v͞҉ȩ͏͝ y͜ò̧͟u ̕͝no͏w̡̧,̡ ͠ą̵͡ǹ̢̀ỳ̷wá͜y̷͡s̛.̵͜͝"

Twilight raised her spear in the air and prepared to make a last stand. "I know you're still in there, Fearless! Please... d-don't... don't do this!"

The human chuckled again before shaking his head. "F̷̛o̴͡o͞l̴̕i̢͜͝s͢͠h͜͝͡ ́l̷ì̷t͏̷t͡le ̶̴̕p̡͘o̶n͟y̢͡!̸ ҉ ͢I ̸͟͏am̴̴ ́͞Se͟ph̶͟ti̵̧s̛̀͡,̸͢ ̸̛͠L͘͟or̡̨͠d̛ o̧͢f̶̢ E̛͠t̴ę̶r̶̡na̡l ̡D͠e̛a̷҉ţh̴̡! ̵̀ ̵̕You͟r͞ 'F̛e҉͞a͜ŗ͡ĺ͠e̡͜ss͏̛'̕͠ ͏͡i̴s͘͡ ҉̡n҉̧o ̢͝ḿ̧͢or͘͡e!̧"

In the blink of an eye, Sephtis was directly in front of Twilight with his sword ready to strike at her. She, however, was quick enough to bring the shield up to block the attack, though the force of the impact caused her shield to fly out of her hand. Then she raised her spear defensively, only for him to kick her in the stomach and send her flying into the stairway that led up to the pair of broken thrones.

She fell to her knees and vomited blood mixed with stomach acid and food from hours ago. Then she slowly looked up at Sephtis with a glum expression on her face as he slowly approached her ready to deliver one last strike.

Finally, an idea struck her mind. She closed her eyes and began chanting an old forbidden spell that she learned long ago... a spell that she promised never to use unless the fate of the world was at stake.

Her horn and eyes glowed a black and green color as she chanted the words. "Ǹ̵i̕ ͢͝p͝e҉͟t̢a҉̷̧s̡ ̡̀d̨̡é̴̵ ̀l͏a̶҉ ͘he̸̷r͟͏̵o̡ò͡͡j̷̀͜ ̸p͘͢a͢rd͟ò̡n͡o̧n̴ ͘k͞ȩ͝ ̵̶n̨͝i̢ ̶̸ŝa̡̕͜n̷̷̨ĝ҉̡á͝s̷͢ ͞ĺ͡à҉ ̨̛ŝ͠to̶͜f҉o͞j̸̧ ̶̕͘d̡͡e̸ t́͢em̸̕po ͟͜k҉a͠j̸͡ ̕sp̶ać̡́ơ." ("We beg from the mighty ones forgiveness that we alter the fabrics of time and space.")

Sephtis was at the first step with an amused grin on his face. "A̡ ̶̶p͏̷i̵ty̷͟ ̢̢į̵̀t̶͝ h̢a̶͡d ̶͘t̴ò͟ ̛͘en͝d ҉̸͝t̴h̶̷͘is̷̀͝ w͟͞a̸҉͝ỳ҉. ̶̕ Y͜o҉ú ̶̶ẃ̀ǫ̴́u͢͝l̛d̨́͢'̛ve̸ ̡̧͠m̶͝á͝d҉e̸̵͏ ̡̀a̢ ̡̧́f̶ine͠ ͞q̶̶uee̛n̶͘!͡͞͝"

Twilight continued to chant. "De̷ ̵l̕a͏ ̶͞t̶a͢go̕ ̷̕n̶͞i̴͜ ́҉u͘nu̡e͠ ͟͞r͢e͏͝n̢͘ķǫ͜n̷͡t҉̷̷i̕s̨̡.̴̀͞.͞.͡" ("From the day we first met...")

He was looming directly over her.

"Ļ̢͜e̴͢ci͡òn̨͡͡o͡ ͠l̶͏i̷̢ ̴̀ne̷̛p͘͢r̡e̸ ̨n̶e̛͠ f̀o҉̡ŗ̨̨gȩ̧͞śu͏̵.̶..̸͠" ("A lesson he must not forget...")

He raised the sword over his head to deliver the final strike while Twilight raised her spear defensively.

"N̡̧e͞n̕į̸̀a͏m̨ ̀f̷̛í͘d̵̨͠u͟ l̷̵a҉́ ̕v̴̀o̶ĉo̵ ͞e̢n ̶̕͡v̀͠i͜a̵̴ ka͜͝͠p͘͠o҉!̵̶" ("Never trust the voice in your head!")

The sword inched closer to her spear in a swift motion.

"Ķ̴͜e ̷̀͞v̵̨̨i͢͜͠ d͞é͏̕z̨͡į͡r͏̵̸a̴s̴ ҉́v̴i̷͝ą̧̀ ̕m̡͞o͏n͏͠d͞ò̢ ͢m̸o͢r̀́̀t̨͞á͠!̷͡" ("Lest you wish your world dead!")

As soon as the blade hit the handle of the spear, the wood cracked and the blade continued its momentum. Before it could even reach her, however, a white flash of light illuminated the entire room. Then everything began to fade into a sea of darkness.

PONYVILLE RIVER

TWO YEARS AGO

All the human could see was darkness, though he was able to hear the sound of water splashing onto the surface at his right. His mind wandered many different places, but no matter where it went, he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what was going on. He couldn't remember anything! Not his own name, not his family, his home, anything. All he could tell was one thing right off the bat... he didn't belong where he was... the air seemed too different... though not in a bad way.

A young boy's voice broke his train of thoughts when he asked someone from a close distance to the human, "Do you think he's alright, Twilight?"

Shortly following the boy's voice was an intelligent-sounding feminine voice. "I don't know, Spike... but I think he's waking up, at least!"

He weakly opened his eyes, only for them to meet a lavender-coated unicorn with a purple and pink mane standing at his left, with a young purple drake with green spines on his head standing at his right.

The unicorn was wearing a short-sleeved, white button-up shirt, a purple frilly skirt, a pair of black loafers on her hooves, and a pair of white stockings that barely rose above her skirt, which lowered down to her knees.

The drake was wearing a simple white t-shirt, green denim jeans, and a pair of black shoes.

The two of them smiled when they saw the human's eyes open up. The human groaned before rubbing his eyes and looking down at himself. He appeared to have pale skin, and was wearing a red hooded jacket, blue denim jeans, and brown hiking boots on his feet.

The unicorn lowered to his level and held her right arm out. "Oh, thank goodness you're okay! Can you stand?"

The human nodded his head before replying, "I... I think so, Twilight." He reached his left hand out to take her waiting hands, but noticed the strange mark on his hand... a black upside-down pentagram in the center of a black circle. He didn't focus too much on it, though, as he was quickly helped back onto his feet.

He looked down at Twilight while she had a slightly amused smile on her face. "Wow... looks like those rumors have already spread around, huh? I honestly didn't think saving the world from Nightmare Moon would make us well-known that quickly! I mean, it's only been about a week, after all!" Then she shook her head and added, "Um... never mind that, though! What brings you here, sir?"

The human rubbed the back of his head before replying, "Um... I'm... not sure, exactly."

Twilight's eyes widened and her jaw dropped at that statement. Then she gasped before asking, "W-wait, you mean you can't remember?!"

The drake copied her expression and asked in an equally startled tone, "Dude, you don't have amnesia, do you?!"

Humming and scratching his head in thought, the human's eyes shot open and his jaw dropped. "Oh, no! You... you might be right! I... I can't even remember my own name!"

Twilight rubbed her lips in thought. "Hm... a human who has no memories... this can't be good."

The drake scratched the back of his head in thought before turning towards Twilight. "Human?! I thought he was just a shaved minotaur without horns!"

Twilight deadpanned at him before retorting, "That's just ridiculous, Spike! Minotaurs happen to have cloven hooves like goats... not feet like primates!" Then she turned towards the human with a confused expression on her face. "Though now that I mention it, humans are considered mythological... so I'm rather curious as to why you're here of all places! I mean... the idea of humans first originated from the Griffon Kingdoms East of Equestria..." she shrugged, "... but I guess without your memories, we may never know why you were here... I just hope you didn't have any important messages you were planning on giving somepony."

The human nodded his head with a glum expression on his face. "Yeah... I hope not, too."

Twilight weakly smiled and held her right hand out. "Oh! By the way, my name is Twilight Sparkle! The drake down there is Spike, my Number One Assistant. It's nice to meet you, sir!"

The human weakly smiled at her and accepted the handshake. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Sparkle... and thanks, by the way... both of you."

She tilted her head in confusion. "Um... what are you thanking us for, exactly?"

The human shrugged his shoulders before replying, "Well, you did say that you saved the world from some sort of threat... so I kinda-sorta figured I should show proper respect... that plus the fact that you and Spike found me."

She smiled at him again before nodding her head. "Oh! Well... you're welcome, then! Please, though... don't try paying me back for anything like that. It's not something I expect any rewards from. Besides, you'll probably need whatever you would offer me more, anyways!"

The human nodded his head and replied, "Understood... but I would still like to show my appreciation somehow."

Twilight rubbed her chin in thought. "Well... for starters, we'll have to think up a name for you. Perhaps you can show your appreciation by helping me think of one?"

The human lightly chuckled. "I think I can live with th..." The world around him grew slightly heavier. He groaned in slight pain before falling to his knees, which urgently caught Twilight's and Spike's attention.

"Sir? Are you alright?!" Twilight asked worriedly.

The human opened his mouth to respond, but he lost consciousness before any words could come out of his mouth.

Twilight gasped and caught his shoulders before he could even fall over. "Quick, Spike! We need to take him to the library... and fast! Can you go get Applejack, please?"

Spike nodded his head before replying, "On it!" Then, in a blurring speed, he was rushing towards the not-too distant Apple Orchard down the dirt road.

Twilight turned towards the unconscious human and levitated his legs while she gripped his arms manually over her shoulders. "Don't worry... whoever you are. You're in safe hands... I promise!" Then she started down the path to her new home, "The Golden Oak Library".

Author's Note

Just think of the video at the bottom as the "Ending Credits".

Remember, any and all comments are appreciated! Also, please be advised that by the time I post these chapters, I will already have the rest for that certain "ACT" written, so expect faster updates, with slightly longer breaks in-between each "ACT"!

As of right now, there are only 5 chapters in "ACT I", with a "CLOSURE" at the end that could pretty much fill you in on the key points of the "ACT", in case you might've missed something, or are returning after the next "ACT" has been released. Acts "6", "8", and "9" will also have five chapters, but everything else will have "6" chapters, and there are 10 "ACTS" in this story, with the possibilities of a sequel planned if the "Like" bar goes up to at least "1,000".

I know, that's a huge number, which is why I won't put a time limit on it. That means, should I get 1,000 likes after a year or two (or twelve, or more) then I will get started on a sequel. So if you like this story and want to see more, please do remember to hit that "Like" button, and perhaps comment on what you think about it!

Also, if you hit the "Dislike" button, please inform me on what you didn't like so that I could make improvements wherever necessary.

As always, stay sharp, My Little Bronies! And remember... "If life gives you salt, don't use it to burn your wounds even deeper! Use it to preserve your creations to make them last even longer!"

(I kinda-sorta thought up that "Word of Possible Wisdom" with the unintended help of my brother, who was, and I quote, "Feeling Salty", or "Getting Angry" because of how other people were acting on a video game.

Anger isn't something to be bottled up, for it is like salt, and putting salt in a wound is bound to lead to nothing but even more pain. Don't bottle it up, but spread it to your friends and/or family. Let them know how you feel, but don't do it aggressively! Tell them about your situation, and surely some of them will listen... and at least one will give you an acceptable answer!

I don't promise to be a perfect example of a skilled speaker or problem-solver, but I can try my best to help those in need, or simply be a shoulder to cry on, an ear to speak to, and a mouth to listen to, should you need me! After all, we are all in this site together, not just as fellow Bronies and Pegasisters, but as "Bros" and "Sisters" with a common interest somewhere! )

(On a completely unrelated note, why the Tartarus does Japan always end up with the better "opening theme" music?! )