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                   Chance Of A Lifetime                    
                       -by Yzanburg-                       
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                    The Passing Of Time                    
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The Passing Of Time
Chapter 1
It's like a dream that I'm living. I wander this endless landscape, searching for any sign that I'm not the only one walking til my feet bleed. But there was never anything to find. I roamed for countless years trying to prove I wasn't alone. And then it happened.
I saw them along the edge of the ocean, tracks of some sort left in the sand. They were small, yet distinct. I followed them as far as I could until I came upon the edge of an immense stretch of trees, the tracks continued passed the tree line and were lost in the dense foliage.
I knew there was no way I'd be able to find whatever left those tracks in the sand, but I ventured into the forest all the same. It was dark, the top of the trees nowhere to be found as I wandered aimlessly through the brush. The sound of branches crunching beneath my feet was the only noise to pierce my ears as I amble through the trees in my search for what could be the first living creature I've ever seen. But as I ventured further and further forward, my eyes became increasingly heavy, so much so that I had to stop and sit against a large tree.
What was going on? I've never felt like this before. My eye lids were weighed down as a shiver ran up my spine and pins and needles shot through my limbs. Something was wrong. I tried my best to get to my feet but it was of no use as everything went dark.
I've seen it countless times before. Death, that is. I know by now it shouldn't bother me but you know? It still hits me hard when I watch another race die. A whole species lost to the fleeting moments in time that I dare not look back on. Every time a species comes to extinction and a new race takes it's place as the most intelligent beings on the planet, I go into a slumber of sorts. As if I'm hibernating, only to wake up when the new rulers arrive.
When I finally wake up and get my barrings again, everything has changed. The landscapes are vastly different and the reigning races are always new. This time is no different as I stare out at the bright colors of the land. The grass is far greener than any I've seen before as I look out onto the horizon. Bright blues taking over the sky and crisp reds and yellows taking over the trees.
This time hurts the most though. They were like me, physically speaking anyways. Tall, bipedal creatures with hair on the tops of their heads and small patches scattered throughout the rest of their bodies. They called themselves 'Humans', a title that I've grown quite fond of myself and they were one of the most intelligent species I had ever seen in all my years.
I had seen the dinosaurs come and go, the age of ice as the warm blooded creatures took over the land and called it their own... And I was there when there was nothing. As far as I knew I was the very first living thing with sentience on this planet, and yet no other creature could see me. I was all alone in this expansive world. Left to watch from the shadows and species after species lived out their lives and died before my eyes.
Every species had a beginning and every species had their own extinction and with the end of life on the planet, a new ruling species would take over, be it the great lizards, the wooly beasts, or the intelligent humans, they all had a beginning and sadly they all came to a tragic end.
But every time it was the same routine. With the extinction and birth of every new race. I would go into a deep slumber and awake to a whole new world of wonders for me to explore.
With the death of the humans, I could feel the darkness creeping further and further into my mind as I found a place to rest my head. It could be a millenia or more before I finally awoke to a new world and I couldn't be more scared. It always scared me when this happened. After growing accustomed to one type of being roaming the planet, I never knew what I would wake up to next. This time was no different as darkness finally took over.
The first sense to return to me when I awoke was sound. It was subtle at first but unmistakable as it became clearer. The sound of birds in the distance was the first thing to caress my thoughts before my sense of touch took over. The softest grass I had ever felt rested beneath me as I felt my new surroundings. Curiosity getting the best of me, I slowly sat up and cracked open my eyes. Instantly I reeled back as sunlight assaulted my eyes for the first time in I don't know how long.
Giving them a second to adjust, I tried to open my eyes again, much slower this time. The landscape around me was vibrant and alive with color as I scoured my surroundings. Everywhere I looked, color was there to greet me. Bright greens, vivid blues and yellows of every hue.
Slowly getting to my feet I stretched out my limbs, hearing a satisfying pop as my joints finally moved for the first time in ages. With a sigh of relief I took hold of my surroundings and headed in the first direction I looked in. With a nervous skip in my step, I wandered the new forest I awoke in as I walked towards an opening in the treeline just off in the distance.
Keeping my eyes on the opening I ducked and weaved through this new world in search for civilization. Everything from the plants, animals, and even the insects here were different from anything I'd seen in my ages. Even the air felt fresher than ever before.
Taking in a deep breath I crossed the tree line and had to shield my eyes once again as the brightness of the morning sun hit me full force. Lowering my hand I scanned the landscape and my jaw hung slack as I took in the area around me.
Birds were soaring through the sky, chirping happily as the raced through the air. Squirrels and other little critters were frolicking through the grass, chasing each other and wrestling in the warm rays basking down on them.
It all seemed so peaceful. Much more so than when the Humans were around. There wasn't the sounds of cars or planes or really anything mechanical anywhere that I could see. It was just nature to it's full extent. Except for the dirt path to my right that I saw out of the corner of my eye.
Taking that as a sign of intelligence, I chose to follow the road to where ever it would lead me. With the morning rays beaming down on me I felt a sense of peace and calmness wash over me. When the Humans were around there was always something going on, one conflict or another, but this place, this time. It all felt so... so quiet. And I loved it.
Whistling a jaunty tune to myself, hand held behind my head I saw what looked like a small cottage. Bird houses and animal burrows were everywhere as I took in the sight before me.
"I wonder who... or what lives here?" I thought to myself as I walked closer to the small home. Walking over to the side of the house I peered in through one of the many windows only to be greeted with darkness. Taking that as a hint that no one was home, I turned tail and headed back to the path I was on and followed it further away from the forest I woke up in.
It wasn't long before I was left standing on the outskirts of a quaint little village. The roofs were all made of straw as far as I could tell, and the buildings themselves seemed to be made of wood and stone. There was a sign just off to the side of the road that I couldn't quite make out. Walking towards it I began to make out the what was said.
"Welcome to Ponyville". Hmm... Ponyville... Ponys? Wasn't that like, a small horse? What a weird name for a village.
Figuring I wouldn't figure out anything else just standing there I ventured forth into the little town of Ponyville. The dirt path gradually turned to cobblestone the closer I got and soon enough there was no trace of the dirt path I once followed to be found.
That was when I saw them. Bright, pastel coloured ponies everywhere I looked going about there daily business. There were a few chatting at what I assumed to be a cafe of sorts, as well as a handful of ponies standing behind carts selling various goods to the townsfolk.
Given my past interactions with various species, be them intelligent or wild. None of them have been able to see or feel my presence. As if I were a ghost to everything around me. For all I knew I could very well be.
Walking through the small crowds of ponies I could see how calm and pleasant they were. Smiles were on every face I could see and laughter could be heard in any direction.
That was when I felt a gentle nudge on the side of my knee and heard a faint squeak to my left.
"Oh my goodness I'm so sorry! I wasn't loo- eep!"
Looking down I saw a butter yellow pony with long light pink hair that hung down to her hooves staring wide eyed up at me. It wasn't until I took a better look that I saw the wings clinging tightly to her sides.
"A pegasus?" I thought as we continued to stare at each other. I don't think she was breathing though as she hadn't moved a muscle in a few seconds now.
"Uh... Hello?" I said tentatively, not knowing entirely what was going on. Usually things just phase through me without a single glance in my direction.
With a scream that could break ear drums, the little pegasus took off running up the street, ponies from all over watching her as she made it to the dirt path and kept going towards what looked like the cottage.
The amount of confusion was palpable as I just stared at where the little yellow pegasus had been. I could hear murmurs around me but no other pony was looking in my direction. "None of them could see me. So what made this yellow one so special?" I thought as I slowly made my way towards the cottage.

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                        Not Alone?                         
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Not Alone?
Chapter 2
The closer I got to the cottage, the more and more I began to worry about what had just happened.
"What the hell was that? She touched me... Nothing has EVER touched me before." I said aloud as I slowed my pace to a stop just outside the cottage door. "What if she tries to hurt me? No... she ran away like she was scared of me... actually, that may be grounds to REALLY hurt me!" With worry growing stronger and taking a hold of my mind I turned to just leave the little house behind and pretend like the encounter with the yellow pegasus with the long pink mane never happened.
*crreeeeeek*
'Oh hell...' I thought as I turned around to see the cottage door slightly ajar.
"uhm... Hi?"
*SLAM*
"Well that went well..." I said as I gently walked up to the door once again and lightly knocked a few times. I heard a quiet 'eep' from the other side of the door and some furniture getting bumped before it was completely silent.
"Hello? I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay in there?" I asked as sincere as I could. I still wasn't used to being seen or anything like that so this was actually the first time I've ever spoken to anything. Needless to say I was pretty terrified.
All sorts of thoughts ran through my mind ranging from angry mobs to being tortured in a dungeon before I heard light hoofsteps coming from behind the door.
As it slowly creeked open once again I could faintly make out the pink hue of her mane and a lone eye peeking out at me. It looked like she was shaking and clearly she did not want to be near me at the moment.
"Uh, hello miss..." I glanced at her expectantly as I waited for her name, I don't really know much about conversing with others.
"Fluttershy" I heard her squeak out. It was incredibly quiet but I could just make it out so I didn't have to ask again.
"Sorry about scaring you back there..." I said cautiously, not knowing quite where to begin with the whole no ones ever seen or felt me before. "But, you CAN see me... can't you? I mean, I know you can but... how?" I questioned. This was all so bizarre to me and I didn't know how to broach the subject without sounding insane.
She gave me a bit of a perplexed look as she opened the door a little further and stuck her hear out, peering left and right cautiously before stepping all the way out of her house. "Um... yes?" She questioned, almost as quietly as she had said her name. There was only one thing that came to mind as I stared off into space for a second, trying to get words together in my head.
"...How?" Wow brain, you're just on fire today.
Again she gave me a perplexed look before she began to speak, all be it with a bit more power behind her voice.
"W-what do you mean, how? Can't everyone see you?" She seemed quite confused and I really don't blame her for that so I guess I had to explain a little bit.
"Honestly? No... You're the first being to ever even acknowledge my existence. How can you see me?" I asked, a little sad and a little frantic. This whole conversation shouldn't be happening right now, and yet it feels... nice. Almost... right, in a way. As if it was meant to happen. But why now? and of all the beings I've outlived, why a pony?
She seemed quite shocked at first before getting a thoughtful look on her face, which soon morphed into one of sadness. "You mean... You've never had a friend before? Or someone to talk to?" she asked with a morose tone to her voice, looking down at the ground beneath her hooves and scuffing the dirt.
"Actually, usually things just phase right through me. You're the first living being to even know I was here. The first thing I've ever held a conversation with since I've been alive..." I said sullenly as I turned my eyes to the dirt as well.
She let out a gasp of surprise which caused me to take a quick step back. "Oh my goodness you poor thing!" She said as she fluttered her wings to be at eye level with me. "How long has it been this way for you? Oh... uhm, if you don't mind my asking that is..." She lowered herself back to the ground and averted her gaze once again, a light blush covering her cheeks.
'Was she embarrassed?' I thought to myself as I looked back down to her face, pink locks of hair covering her eyes.
"Let's just say it's been like this for a very long time..." I said with a touch of sadness in my voice. Instantly I felt a warm presence around my chest and neck and it took me a minute to register that I was being hugged. Indeed, for the first time in my entire existence, another living creature was hugging me, and I could not have been happier.
Getting over my initial shock, I hugged her back as I felt something wet rolling down my cheeks. Was I crying? Why? Why was I crying at a time like this, shouldn't I be happy? That's when I realized I was smiling as well. These were happy tears because for once in my life I was actually here. I wasn't just a ghost drifting my way through life. I was noticed.
"Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy exclaimed, causing me to let her go and step back in embarrassment. Quickly wiping my cheeks with a sleeve I looked back up at the little pegasus before me. "We have to go see Twilight!" Twilight? I thought. "She has to know a way to help you!" She seemed really excited by this before she looked at my face and worry began to cross hers.
"What's wrong?" She asked cautiously. I guess the worry in my head had spread across my face because I caught myself frowning as she mentioned whom I was guessing was her friend.
"Nothing... it's just, no one else in this town seemed to see me but you, and no one in my entire life has seen me before, except you." She seemed to catch on to what I was saying as she looked back down to that oh so interesting dirt. "I just don't think anyone will believe you about me. To them, I don't exist." I said with a hint of sadness behind my voice.
She kept her eyes glued to the ground for what felt like minutes before she looked up at me, a determined look in her eyes.
"Then I'll make them believe!"

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                 Are You Okay, Fluttershy?                 
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Are You Okay, Fluttershy?
Chapter 3
'She clearly hasn't been listening to me...' I thought as I walked along side Fluttershy as she took me through a small market place to our first destination, the home of one Twilight Sparkle. An alicorn I was told. Some one with both wings like a pegasus and a horn like a unicorn. I was skeptical at first when the little yellow pegasus had told me that this Twilight was one of the most powerful ponies around but Fluttershy assured me that it was true, and with the passion she showed I didn't want to argue.
Fluttershy kept looking up at me with a strange look on her face as we walked. It was a mixture of wonder and fear and I'm really not sure why. After a few more minutes of walking and a couple more worried sidelong glances I finally broke the silence.
"Is something on your mind?" I asked as sincerely as I could, stopping just on the edge of the market square to talk. "You've been eyeing me with a worried look on your face since we started walking."
"Oh! Uhm... N-no, no, It's just that... Sorry." She withered slightly at my gaze as I tried to push her for an answer. Seeing that I was out of luck I tried to just brush it off.
"No, it's okay Fluttershy, I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering I don't look like a pony. I must look pretty weird, eh?" I said, adding a chuckle at the end for emphasis.
"Um... Yes... That's it." Fluttershy sighed, visibly relaxing as we began to walk towards Twilight's house once more. Neither of us really making an attempt to converse with the other.
We stopped just outside of what looked like one giant tree house, or rather a house built inside of a tree. The sign out front read 'Golden Oaks Library' so I figured it was a public building but Fluttershy knocked anyways and we waited on the front steps for an answer.
We didn't have to wait long before the sound of hooves could be heard coming from inside. In an instant the door was opened to reveal a purple alicorn with a dark purple mane with a pink stripe running through it. 'This must be Twilight.' I thought as a put her face to memory.
"Oh hey Fluttershy! What brings you here today? Need to look something up for one of your little animal friends?"
"Um... No, a-actually Twilight, I wanted to talk to you about... Something." Fluttershy shrank back a bit as her eyes found something extremely interesting on the floor.
"Is everything okay Fluttershy? You look a little scared, what's going on?" Twilight said, concern dripping from her words as they came out.
"I-is it okay if I come inside?" The timid pegasus asked before Twilight ushered her inside and closing the door behind her, essentially shutting me outside. Before I had a chance to phase through the door I heard a voice from inside.
"Oh, j-just a second Twilight, I forgot my um... I forgot something outside." 'That must be Fluttershy coming now' I thought.
The door opened quickly and Fluttershy stuck her head out just far enough to talk to me. "Could you possibly, maybe, if it's o-okay with you that is... wait out here for me? I-if that's o-okay with you that is?" It was pretty hard for me to argue with the look she was giving me so I just nodded my head and took a seat outside. Not like anyone could see me anyways. She thanked me quickly before rushing back inside. I faintly heard her say nevermind to Twilight before the sound was too muffled to hear.
'I guess they went into another room' I mused, taking a look at the passing ponies as they went about their respective days. This was something I was used to, people watching. Or rather, pony watching in this case. Now that I was alone I finally had a chance to really get a look at where I was. It was a quaint little village at the base of a great mountain. I could just make out the silhouette of a castle on the side of it as the sun made it's way up above. 'That thing must be enormous if I can see it so well from down here.' I thought as I tried to get a better look, squinting my eyes as I did so.
I'm not sure how much time had passed before I heard the door open up behind me and Fluttershy walked out, a sour look on her face. When she looked up at me her expression quickly changed to a strained smile before she was caught up to by Twilight. "I'll see what I can dig up about this phenomenon of yours Fluttershy, but I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be. Maybe the hospital could help?" Twilight gave Fluttershy a concerned look before wrapping her up in a hug. "I'll keep researching this, I promise, but you should get some rest, have you been sleeping okay?"
Fluttershy just nodded and said her thanks before turning around and heading back towards her cottage.
"So what happened in there?" I asked, my curiosity peaking when the word 'phenomenon' was uttered. "Is everything alright?"
"Oh, yes. It's okay, I'm just feeling a little under the weather right now. Do you um... have anywhere to stay tonight?" It took me a second to realize what she was asking before it dawned on me that this would be the first time someone offered to have me over. A small smile found it's way onto my face as I told her I didn't and she graciously offered to let me stay with her for a while.
"Would you like any tea?" Fluttershy offered from the kitchen. We made it back to Fluttershy's cottage a little before sundown and we were now have a nice evening snack before heading to bed. The inside of the cottage was exactly how I imagined it to be. Bird houses and animal dens were strewn out around the living room and I wouldn't doubt if they were elsewhere in here as well.
Fluttershy flew back into the living room with a tray of tea and cookies in her hooves which she gently placed on the table in front of the couch we were both now sitting on. "Um... I hope you like it. I make all my teas from plants I grow in my garden outside." Picking up my glass, I took a small sip of the hot beverage and sighed in bliss. In reality I couldn't taste anything anyways but I figured I would make a show of gratitude for the mare that's allowing me to stay in her home. She smiled as she grabbed her own mug and took a sip herself. We spent a while in a comfortable silence before I saw a shiver run through Fluttershy.
Looking around I noticed a small fireplace with a stack of fire wood next to it and I offered to make a fire for her to warm up by. After doing so I went back to my spot on the couch which would be my bed for the night as Fluttershy went up to her own room to sleep as well.
Laying with my face towards the fire I slowly began to nod off into a dreamless sleep as I let the warmth wash over me and the blanket Fluttershy had offered me before she went upstairs.
A floorboard creaking nearby caused me to wake up and open my eyes a bit. The fire place was still burning bright as I squinted at the silhouette of a pony standing in front of it came into focus. Before I could say anything I heard the distinct sound of paper tearing and crumpling before it was tossed into the fire. Rubbing my eyes a little I saw that it was Fluttershy tearing pages out of what I could only guess was a journal of sorts and burning them. I guess she heard my stirring because She quickly threw the rest of the book into fire before she quietly but quickly flew back to her room, not even sparing me a glance.
'What was that all about?' I thought as I stared at the top of the stairs before turning my eyes back to the fire place. I could see the book slowly being consumed by the flames. Normally I would have just let it burn but something compelled me to take it out and save the journal. As quietly as I could I rose from the couch and grabbed the poker for the fire place. A few pokes later and I was now looking at a half charred journal on the floor. 'Why was she burning this?' I wondered as I looked back up at the stairs.
Giving it a few seconds to cool off, I carefully pulled the cover back and my eyes quickly opened in shock at what I was reading. It was a life. My entire life to be exact. Written neatly on paper up until the death of the humans.
'What the hell..?'