Cloud Ten
The four ponies huddled around a small smokeless fire in the shelter were truly a sad sight to see. The first was a graying, blotchy purple unicorn, most of its horn now gone or decayed by the acid spat out by the giant beetles which now freely scuttled about the wasted surface of the earth. The second, a bluish pony with muddy jagged mane, had been a pegasus once upon a time, but now was devoid of half of each wing, a consequence of having unknowingly made her first camp in a Gnawer zone almost twenty years previously. The third was an earth pony, mostly ashen yellow, but partially orange. To all apparent purposes she seemed wholly unaffected by the events of the previous score of years- until she opened her eyelids. Then were revealed the empty socket and milky-white remaining eyeball listing inebriatedly in its place. Disease had ravaged her optical structure, taking her sight but leaving the being, by some reckoning, lucky to be alive. The fourth and last member, also an earth pony, was a bizarre shade of pink which grated in strident disharmony with its dull surroundings. Its mane was flat, and the eyes which lay partially concealed gazed mutely ahead, their gaze neither interested nor comprehending. On the few occasions it ventured to speak, it was in a quiet, subdued manner, only one or two words at a time.
Finally, the unicorn spoke into the heavy, pervading silence. The stifling darkness all around them seemed to dampen her voice, adding to the grim atmosphere of the void.
“What happened to us?”
The answers filtered back, murmured or whispered.
“It came out of nowhere... we were unprepared.”
“It was so fast... where did it come from…?”
“Bad…”
The unicorn shuddered, remembering those first days, the shock, the pain, and finally, all these years later… this.
“Where’s Rarity?”
The delicate unicorn had gone into shock within the first month of the Happening, a complete coma that had lasted for twenty years so far. Twilight, for the speaker was- or more accurately, had been- Twilight Sparkle, wondered if she would ever wake up.
It was Rainbow Dash, the now flightless pegasus, who answered.
“I checked on her today… through the Above, you know. I can still hit a pretty decent speed on the surface… always was fast like that. She didn’t like that sometimes… guess she… won’t have to worry about that anymore.” Dash raised her eyes momentarily. “She’s not running a pulse. Rarity died sometime last night.”
Applejack turned her head instinctively towards her old friend. “Alone. Or was it… Them.” It was hardly a question, nor was it an assumption. Twenty years of constant Hades had left her deficient of either curiosity or assurance.
Rainbow stood a while with her head bowed before goading herself into speech. Finally:
“It was natural. At least… as natural as could be expected these days. She was still intact when I found her, so it must have happened just before I arrived. She’s under the stone and water now. I thought it would be best to do it quickly.”
The others nodded, agreeing with the pegasus. They should have felt something… anything. Sadness at their friend’s passing. Relief that she had slipped away peacefully rather than been torn apart by any of the numerous Somethings of the abyss. Even anger- anger at the circumstances that had led up to this. But they were incapable of emotion- the had become machines. Machines with no feelings but those of physical hunger, thirst, and pain. Rarity was far better off than they. Far from the world of darkness they had come to know and fear. Far from the mutant beasts that now roamed what had once been Equestria. She was at rest, just like Fluttershy had been for nineteen years now. Although nopony had ever seen Fluttershy die, an absence on her part for so long a duration had led them to believe the worst- or was it the best? Things were utterly topsy-turvy here; Rhyme and Reason had long been imprisoned in an eternal cage of Wrong. Or maybe they too were dead, never to return like they always used to and set everything to rights. Perhaps this truly was the ultimate fall of Equestria.
So all worlds do draw to an end…
The fire was burning low. It was nothing but a bed of coals for a few minutes, and now… it was out. The four remnants of Ponyville slumped lower and lower, too exhausted even to post a watch. They were now totally apathetic, disdaining to care what happened to them. Was life worth living? None of them would take her own life… even in the face of Asdophel and Stheno they retained their basic morals. Maybe that was what the Elements were all about. Perhaps they only lived in the ponies who were virtuous enough to harbor them fittingly. It could be, after all these years, that the spirits of the Elements of Harmony no longer resided in them. The representative ornaments had long since been destroyed or buried somewhere beneath the ruins of Canterlot, rendering them totally useless, even if Twilight could have ignited them with her apparently useless horn. And their spirits had altered, too. None could look upon Pinkie now and guess that she had ever smiled, much less embodied the Element of Laughter. Twilight had never dared to attempt a spell with her damaged horn. It was true that Rainbow Dash had lost none of her loyalty, and Applejack was still completely truthful, but what profited these gifts without the rest? It was a futile existence.
All was darkness now. The time had come. There was a rushing in the black, a terrific noise, and then…
Light.
A small but superb town, the Beginning of Everything, seemed to be materializing beneath their hooves. Images appeared in unending reality all around them.
A small unicorn first learning to read.
A baby pegasus already flapping her wings in an attempt to fly.
An earth pony learning what it meant to smile.
A rainbow pointing the way home.
These Existences were soon joined by several more.
A shy young pony who conquered her fear of flight,
A white unicorn achieving perfection in her work
A baby dragon.
The six Elements looked at each other, and all around them. The Light had grown brighter without hurting their eyes. Twilight’s horn… Applejack’s eyes… Rainbow’s wings, and Pinkie Pie’s mane, all back to normal. Perfect. Younger. Timeless.
They had passed Before. Beyond was fast approaching. Spike came closer, greeting them.
“Welcome back,” he said simply.
The sun.
The moon.
Harmony.
