You, Who Killed the World

Sunset's eyes slowly fluttered open, bringing her world coming back into focus. She shifted her weight on the dirty sheets underneath her, trying to get a grasp on where she was. Once her vision cleared, the events of the last day came flooding back to her. She let out a low sigh of relief as she rubbed her neck with a hoof. Sunset lifted her head off the bed and looked around the dimly lit room until she found that familiar dingy purple coat, sitting on the other side of the bed reading a dusty book.

Sunset's heart sank when she noticed the dark circles under Twilight's eyes. "Twilight?" she spoke softly.

Twilight finally looked up from her book and gave Sunset a gentle smile. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" she asked as she closed the book with one of her hooves and slid it to her side. Sunset looked up to Twilight's horn, then back down again.

"Are you alright?"

Twilight slowly rose, her limbs shaky against the mattress. She carefully crawled off the bed, taking each step onto the carpet as if she was inches from falling off the earth. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Twilight said, keeping her gentle smile the entire way.

"You look... tired. Do you think you should..." Sunset gulped, stopping herself as she remembered Rainbow's promise last night. Sunset felt a surge of guilt as she watched Twilight's lethargic movements across the room. As bad as the alternative might have been, Sunset still didn't feel good about making Twilight miserable for her own sake.

"It's okay, Sunset." Twilight lifted the latch off the wooden door with her mouth. "I don't sleep most nights anyway."

"Twilight..." Sunset said as she hopped off the bed. Sunset gave her a worried expression, but Twilight just brushed it off.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, Sunset. I'm fine, I promise." Around her gentle smile were tired eyes and filthy fur. Sunset didn't believe her at all. "Rainbow should have made something to eat. I'm sure you're starving after your little adventure yesterday," Twilight said, turning away from Sunset and down towards the hallway.

Sunset knew that wasn't going to go over well with Rainbow, which only brought back the mountain of questions that she wanted to ask last night. "Twilight, you said last night that you would tell me what happened. I... I need to know."

"Sunset, we should really--"

"Twilight! I can't take it just sitting here wondering! Celestia's room, the castle in pieces, Rainbow trying to..." Sunset gulped, rubbing a hoof across her throat at the thought of Rainbow wanting to cut it.

Twilight's gentle smile left her with a sigh, her expression quickly turning somber as she stared down the hallway. "We should go for a walk." Twilight's tone was filled with sorrow, striking Sunset's heart as soon as the words hit her ears. She ignored the nervous fluttering in her heart and followed Twilight close behind as she walked down the hall and into the servant's closet.

Rainbow Dash sat on a jar in one corner, drawing a stone across a sharpened piece of metal in her hooves. As soon as Sunset walked into the room they met eyes and Rainbow whispered "coward" under her breath as she glared at Sunset. Sunset shied away from her gaze, looking down to the stone tiles intently.

Twilight placed a hoof on the door to the outside, making Rainbow quickly change her expression, drop the metal in her hooves, and dart across the room, getting between her friend and the door. Sunset yelped and took a step away, her heart skiping a beat as she tried to get away from Rainbow, thinking she was her target.

"Twilight, what do you think you're doing?" Rainbow asked, gently nudging Twilight away from the door.

Twilight furrowed her brows. "I'm going for a walk with Sunset. Would you please--"

Rainbow held out her hoof and narrowed her eyes at Sunset over Twilight's shoulder. "Like hell you're going anywhere alone with her."

Twilight glanced backwards at Sunset. "Would you mind teleporting us out of here?" she asked, her tone changing to gentle and sweet in an instant.

Rainbow grit her teeth and let out a growl. "Twilight you're making a mistake. Just let me kill her already." Sunset gasped and her heart began pounding again. She could hardly believe the playful, competitive Rainbow that she knew could have anything to do with the mare in front of her.

"You will do no such thing," Twilight said, her voice raising to an uncharacteristically high volume. "We're just going to walk around the castle for a while. Now please get out of the way, Rainbow Dash, or she could just teleport us out instead."

Rainbow let out another frustrated growl before moving out of the way. She stomped over to a pile beside the door, digging out another piece of metal and sliding it towards Twilight. "At least take this."

Twilight let the metal bump into her hoof and looked down at it as it spun on the concrete. It was sharpened on one end with the other being wrapped in cloth. "We will be fine inside the castle walls, Rainbow. No monster is going to--"

"It's not for them," Rainbow said, glaring maliciously at Sunset. "It's for her."

Sunset shrunk under her gaze. She'd gone through the brunt of the hate that the students at Canterlot High had given her after the Fall Formal, but none of that bullying could have ever prepared her for this. No one had ever looked at her with such hate in her entire life. She looked at every point in the room except for Rainbow, her thundering heart giving away the fear that was taking over her body.

Twilight slid the sharpened metal across the floor back towards Rainbow Dash, furrowing her brow at her again before opening the door and walking out. Sunset trotted close behind her, eager to get away from Rainbow's hateful gaze.

As they walked out into the dim sunlight, Sunset took a few deep breaths to try to calm her nerves. She still couldn't shake the thought of Rainbow whispering in her ear last night, and the overwhelming dread at the thought of never seeing her friends again.

"I'm sorry about Rainbow Dash. She can be a bit... difficult at times."

"A bit difficult!?" Sunset blurted out. Twilight winced at the volume, causing Sunset's expression to quickly shift away from disbelief. "Sorry... I'm just not used to someone wanting to... kill me," Sunset said, the last words feeling odd on her tongue.

Twilight sighed. Her gentle smile was nowhere to be found as they walked along the worn bricks of what used to be Canterlot Castle. "It's okay. I know this can be a lot to take in so quickly. I'm sure you have a lot of questions," Twilight said, the sadness still clear in her voice.

Sunset opened her mouth, but she couldn't think to say anything. There was so much to ask she didn't even know where to start. She looked over Twilight to the horizon and saw the sun in the exact same position it was yesterday. Snow poured down from the sky still, letting the early morning sunset reflect off the snowcapped rubble. Sunset closed her eyes tightly. She knew what that sunset meant. A few moments of silence passed as her heart pounded in her chest as she worked up the courage to ask.

"W-where is Princess Celestia?" Sunset asked. Part of her didn't want to hear the answer, but it was too late to take it back now.

"She..." Twilight sighed, staring at the stone bricks as they walked, "She died a long time ago. Her and Luna both."

The answer stabbed Sunset like a cold dagger directly to the heart. She held down the lump in her throat, just barely as they walked further along the castle wall. Sunset blinked the tears out of her eyes as she tried to absorb what she'd just heard. She tried to push away the thought of her dying without Sunset ever getting to apologize, ever getting to say goodbye, but it stuck in her mind more than any mistake she'd ever made before.

"It was quick... I think anyway," Twilight said, her voice monotonous, as if she was reading off a card that she presented a thousand times before.

Sunset grit her teeth, her mind trying to think of a question that might hurt a little less. She thought back to the cake pop Twilight wrapped in her hoof, the book she closed with her arm, and the door that she opened with her mouth. "Why... why aren't you using magic?"

"The magic in this world is gone, Sunset."

Sunset stopped in place and looked at Twilight with a bewildered expression. How could an entire world be completely devoid of magic? The shock of the statement pushed the idea of Princess Celestia out of her mind completely. The world seemed to stop again, the silence returning as everything just stood still. Just thinking about what Twilight just said was beyond absurd in Sunset's mind. "What? How is that even possible?" She thought back to her fight with Rainbow, and then again to Twilight's hoof. She had to be lying, Sunset thought, since she could still use it. "But what about me? I can still use magic just fine."

Twilight let a little smile cross her face. "It made me happy to see that glow again. It's something I haven't enjoyed for a long time."

"B-but, if I can still use it, then that means this world still has magic and you can too, right?"

Twilight's smile quickly left her. "I don't think so, Sunset, but it's a nice thought."

Sunset walked around to Twilight's front, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "Twilight, we can figure this out! The world doesn't have to be like this. I'm sure we can find a way--"

Twilight brought her hoof up to Sunset's mouth to stop her. She shook her head. "It's too late for that, Sunset. There's nothing to figure out anymore."

Sunset's jaw hung open in confusion. She looked desperately between Twilight's eyes for some sign this was just some stupid joke. There was no way this was the same Twilight that showed her the magic of friendship barely a year ago. "How can you say that? There could still be ponies out ther that need our help! We can still do something to--"

"Sunset. It's too late. Rainbow and I are the only ones left," Twilight said, looking straight into Sunset's eyes, that uncomfortably blank expression still on her face.

"How is that possible? It's only been a year, Twilight! You left the portal a year ago! There's no way everypony could just disappear in a year!" Sunset said, her voice exasperated and desperate. She continued to look between Twilight's eyes, frantically searching for some sign that none of this was possible.

"They didn't disappear, Sunset. And I left that portal at least ten years ago."

Sunset stammered at Twilight's response, trying to bring up some question that might make things okay, that might lead them to fixing this situation. She couldn't think of anything.

"Ever since the..." Twilight stopped herself, looking away from Sunset. "I think there may be a time disconnect between our two worlds after, well after what happened."

"What happened, Twilight? What could possibly do all of this?" Sunset said, her voice growing more troubled by the second. Twilight sighed and moved around her to the edge of the castle wall, settling down and resting her hooves on the stone railing. Her eyes were dead and empty, like a soldier that had seen one too many of his friends die before his eyes.

"I suppose it'll be easier if I just say everything at once..." Twilight took a deep breath and let it out slowly, seemingly biding time until she finally had to speak again. Sunset stared at her intently, not sure if she was entirely ready for what she had to say. She could barely comprehend what she'd already heard.. "I have no idea how long ago it was now. More than ten years. Less than twenty I think. It all started off benign at first: levitation required a little more effort, complex spells would exhaust even the toughest unicorns for most of the day, pegasi started sinking through clouds, and earth ponies couldn't get quite the same yield as their previous harvests."

Twilight looked up to the snow as it fell from the clouds. "It was strange, to say the least, but I didn't think it was anything that we couldn't handle. At first, Princess Celestia thought it was a monster she'd locked away long ago named Tirek: a powerful creature that could absorb pony magic to feed his own power and had the ability to do something like this. When we went to face him, he was still locked away within the depths of Tartarus. We suspected Discord as well, but when we sought him out, he was feeling the same effects as we were."

Twilight sighed, letting her words linger in the air for a few moments before starting again. "After three more weeks of trying to find out the cause, it only got worse, and we weren't getting any closer to fixing it." Twilight closed her eyes. "Soon, simple spells like teleportation were impossible, and trying to levitate something was like running a marathon. Pegasi couldn't live in the clouds anymore, and food was becoming scarce.

"I..." Twilight opened her eyes again and looked down to the ruin of Canterlot. "I had an idea about what it was, but I never told anypony."

Sunset blinked a few times, looking at Twilight with a perplexed expression. "What? Why wouldn't you tell anyone? Twilight, how could you just--"

"Because it wouldn't have mattered," Twilight said, just as monotonously as before.

Sunset took a step closer. "Why not? Ponies lost their homes and couldn't use magic and might've been starving! How wouldn't matter?"

Twilight turned to Sunset and looked her in the eye with the same blank expression. "They were starving. Thousands of them were dying." The way Twilight said it made Sunset back away. She couldn't fathom how anyone could just say that with no emotional inflection at all. She looked away from Sunset and turned her gaze back out at the horizon, letting the question hang in the air for a moment. Finally, she spoke up again. "After two months, Celestia and Luna could barely raise the sun and the moon anymore. Every day took more and more out of them both. In the end Luna stopped raising the moon at all, and had to help Celestia just to get the sun over the horizon for a few hours." Twilight took another deep breath, her eyes drifting to the ruins below. "I told them they needed to stop, at least for a little while so we could figure this out. Every day they looked worse; they wouldn't eat, they could hardly sleep. They kept trying every day until..." Twilight closed her eyes again, the only semblance of emotion that Sunset could read from her. "We found them on Luna's balcony. They died together at least."

Tears were forming at the edges of Sunset's vision again. "Why didn't you tell anyone about what you thought it was, Twilight?" Sunset waited a moment, but Twilight just kept looking out to the horizon. "Answer me!" she finally shouted out of frustration.

"Cadance and I took over in their place, trying to keep the ponies of Equestria calm. The night lasted for three days straight, so most ponies figured out what had happened on their own. We didn't even have time for a proper funeral before ponies began fighting over food," Twilight said, her blank expression and flat tone a stark contrast to the emotions that were flooding Sunset.

"I... I tried my best after that, but the girls and I could only do so much." Twilight let out a long sigh. "I'm sure you can imagine what happened over the next few years."

Twilight looked out to the horizon again one last time before getting up and walking back towards the last standing tower. Sunset sat there blinking for a moment before she ran in front of Twilight, her expression a mixture of sadness, disbelief, and anger.

"Twilight! What wouldn't you tell anyone? Why did this happen?!" Sunset shouted.

Twilight adopted her gentle smile yet again. "We should really get back, don't you think? It's rather cold out here, and I'm sure you're still hungry."

"Twilight!" Sunset shouted, this time much louder. "Why did this happen?! Why does Rainbow Dash want to kill me?!" She looked desperately between Twilight's eyes for an answer, but Twilight stood silently. Sunset grabbed Twilight's shoulders and shook her as she asked again. "Why, Twilight?"

Twilight looked away from Sunset, not wanting to meet her eye. "Sunset, I told you it doesn't matter anymore. Please, just come back with me, okay?"

"Twilight!" Sunset shouted. Her horn lit up as she grabbed Twilight's chin with her magic, forcing her to look Sunset in the eye. "Why did this happen?" Twilight let a twinge of fear through her expression as Sunset yelled at her. Sunset didn't care. She had to know. Sunset shook Twilight violently, her silence spreading panic through Sunset's body. "Tell me!"

Twilight gulped as she looked into Sunset's eyes. "When I came back through the portal from Canterlot High... the Element of Magic never came back with me."

Sunset dropped down to her haunches, her hooves falling from Twilight to the cold, stone bricks. Sunset's mouth hung open as tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "No..."

"Sunset..." Twilight tried to reach out to comfort Sunset, but she backed away from her.

"No, this isn't real! It can't be. It's just some alternate universe the portal must've mixed up. There's no way I could've..." Sunset looked up to Twilight, tears blurring the edge of her vision. Twilight looked away from her, not able to meet Sunset's gaze. "Twilight... please tell me I didn't..." Sunset said, her voice cracking as she waited desperately for Twilight to tell her something, anything. She didn't. Twilight looked at the stone walkway, completely silent.

Something integral inside Sunset broke in that moment as the reality of the world around her finally came crashing down. She stood there motionless, mouth agape, staring out into the distance at nothing as her entire world fell apart in front of her. Nothing but tears moved across her body. Not even the wind wanted to touch her now.

Twilight's expression turned to pity. She walked up towards Sunset, seeing the pain building up inside her."Sunset, please don't--"

"I did this..." Sunset said, her eyes unfocusing as tears blurred her vision even further. "This is my fault."

Twilight didn't say anything. Sunset knew she couldn't say anything. It was all her fault. She could never deny it. It was Twilight's turn to look Sunset in the eye as she looked away, Sunset's motionless shock quickly fading as sorrow filled her body. When the first sob broke through Sunset's expression Twilight took a step forward, wrapping Sunset up in a motherly embrace, shushing her softly as she rubbed her hoof through Sunset's hair. None of that helped as Sunset stained her dirty coat with a sudden torrent of tears.

"Celestia... my parents... all of my old friends... I..."

"Shhh," Twilight whispered. "Please don't cry, Sunset. There's enough suffering in the world already."

Sunset tore out of Twilight's embrace, a broken, bewildered look on her face. "Because of me! This is my fault, Twilight. I... I killed..." Sunset's voice cracked as she tried to get the last words out. She couldn't bring herself to say anymore. Her eyes darted around the destroyed castle and out to the ruins of Canterlot. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her sobs gripped her so hard she couldn't do anything else but cry. She shut her eyes tightly as she collapsed to the cold stone under her hooves, hoping she might wake up from this nightmare already.

She heard Twilight let out a soft sigh as she walked up and slipped her hoof under Sunset's neck. She wrapped her in another tight embrace, but didn't bother to say anything this time. She couldn't console her now. Sunset knew she wanted to tell her that it wasn't her fault, that everything would be okay, but she wouldn't lie to her like that. Sunset sat there in Twilight's hooves, just letting her sorrow spill across Twilight's coat.