I stepped through that portal to change what I was. But I changed me mind at a late response. It was a swirling mess leading me home. Pulling me further through dimensional doorways to my past. I hadn't thought back to when I had to tell myself that my past isn't my today. I screamed all the way through the vortex that I dared not to touch in the past.
When my eyes opened there was only darkness. A jolt went through my soul, a fear response now felt in my deepest cores. I looked around desperately for a way to find light. I spun my head round the darkened room, a sliver of sunlight shot through the ash coated window. Wait, ashes were covering the window? What happened here? Where did everybody go?!
I used my hooves to make purchase with a chunk of something spiky, and hurled it through the remains of the large window, presumably in an attic of sorts. I let the light wash over my face as the broken glass splintered into shards. I shielded my eyes from the sun's bright glow.
When I'd adjusted I looked out to see nothing but abandoned homes and shops, all coated in this ash. There were unmanned clouds moving on their own. What the hell happened? I looked down to see a sheer drop to the ground. I hadn't used my magic in almost a decade,so I couldn't rely on it's probability to keep me from splattering on the floor. I looked throughout the room. It indeed seemed like an attic. I skimmed for flashlights or lighters.
When I came across a lighter it had a mark of a 6 point star on it. I ignored it, and began hunted for an exit route. I looked through a couple boxes for whatever reason I could come up with. But there was nothing of use to me in them. Just old photos of mares I'd never met. There was Princess Twilight with them. Was this her castle?
I tripped as I walked through the attic, looking at what I tripped over was an ash coated hatch. I opened it to see a hallway. That's when my heart fell. There was ash, but amid the mess. Blood was dried into it. Staining the ash it had hit. I jumped down, and saw the corpse of a small dragon. Blood dried around a deep slice in his neck. I covered my mouth. Spike?
I ran past his body, and looked for Twilight. When I rounded a corner I slammed into a filly. She had a red mane and a pale yellow coat. She was accompanied by a zebra with gold hoops on her hooves and neck, and another filly with a pink and white mane. The trio looked at me as if I were an alien. The zebra spoke to me.
"What do you seek, in the endless bleak?" Her voice was calming and sensible.
"I'm looking for Princess Twilight. Have you seen her?" I prayed that they'd have a location I could look for her within. But the fillies exchanged unhappy glances and the zebra looked concerned for me.
"The princess you need, had been a victim of a deed. She went to solve Harmony's truth, and brought the end of our sleuth. She has died and the world has cried!" She said in her unusual rhyming.
"Y'all don't know bout her death?"
How is that even possible?"
They had broken my ability to comprehend the situation. Twilight is dead? How many ponies are dead? Are the other elements alive?
"What happened to her?" I asked in horror. Tears in the corners of my eyes. The mare who had brought back my common sense is dead?
"She tried to understand the harmony and tried to control it's magic. When the smoke cleared round her. She was dead. Blood pouring from her mouth. Suddenly the world was getting devastated by ashes swarming through. Her element was destroyed and the others fell with her." The pink and white maned filly explained.
"Kindness, Laughter, Honesty, Loyalty, and Generosity. They fell in that order." She shuddered after saying 'Honesty'.
"So, she's dead? And the world's falling apart? We need to fix this!" I shouted but they just looked at me with barely any confidence.
"Celestia couldn't fix nor did Luna mix. The crystals failed and their holder's last words were mailed." The zebra spoke once again. I couldn't believe this had happened. I lost it. Dropped to the floor crying with the unrelenting pain of knowing Twilight was dead. I felt connected to her in a really deep way, but now she was gone.
They coaxed me back to my senses, and got me to my hooves. Only now we began to make introductions, making the worst return to my home world possible. I looked at the trio. Applebloom, the red maned filly. Diamond Tiara, the pink and white maned filly. Zecora, the zebra. They were nice, and offered me shelter at the ruins of Sweet Apple Acres. According to Applebloom the farm fell apart after Applejack and Big Macintosh died. I didn't ask how seeing that it must've been a touchy subject for her.
Diamond said her family also passed away and Zecora had taken a mothering role on her and Applebloom. She spoke of a duo of fillies named Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. I again, didn't push too much on the subject. Seeing that it might cause problems and I needed to rely on them to keep me safe in their destroyed homeland.
We walked along a trail, pausing at the sound of collapse. A large chunk of the castle, the section housing the mirror. Collapsed to the ashes below. I said to myself that I wouldn't go back. Now I can't go back. It's gone, the portal is gone. No turning back now. I trotted to catch up with my now confirmed group. We chatted like the world hadn't ended. Like we were just a friend circle trotting to a party or to a home where we'd throw our own little sleepover.
I felt like a weight on my shoulders had been replaced with a newer more confusing weight. One that told me to defend this new group, and find more ponies to join us in our temporary safe haven.
Chapter 2: Savior To The Weak
I followed the mares down the paths. The eerie silence was haunting in the forests, but I had faith in the idea that they would take me to a safe place. Applebloom rambled on and on about this farm though I had my doubts. A wooden structure chain surviving a blast of magic that forever changed Equestria and the world it sat upon? I looked back to Ponyville.
Twilight was dead. It still clung to my chest that this wasn't an accidental catastrophe. More so an attack by an unseen fighter. As we walked, I began to lag behind. My thoughts getting my better half. What if Twilight isn't dead? What if she has been trapped in a limbo type state? I gave a sigh, which caught Diamond Tiara's attention.
She moved back to where I was drifting along. I looked away from the filly. Unable to face her at risk of blurting verbal stupidity and sounding dumb.
"You wish Twilight was still alive don't you?" She asked, the question blindsided me.
"Well, yes. I do...she was the person, er pony I got advice from. I just don't know where to go from here." I grumble, Diamond gives a soft sigh.
"I miss the way things used to be before the disaster. Before the ash. Before I was stuck on my own." She seemed torn between two sides here. Hunting for a scrap of the past, or succumbing to the new landscape around her.
In a way, I could relate. The look she wore on her face was near identical to the one I had when I had to make a choice. Choosing to return to my home world, or staying in the human world. I took the leap, but this poor filly stood on the fence, waiting for a sliver of hope, a dying scrap of her waiting for a hero.
I heard a short ,astonished gasp come from Zecora. Ahead of us sat a mare and two bodies. One of the two ponies lying on the ground had a silver-blue mane and wore a magician's attire. Whist the other was a yellow mare with a blue mane, unfortunately this poor mare was dead. The standing pony was crying above the dying mare. The wounded had bandages, but weren't going to make it. The magician pointed desperately towards us, silently begging for help.
The crying mare spun around to face us. She had a purple coat with a mane of a deep violet, streaked with a beam of green. She looked hopefully at us. Then began begging.
"Please, h-help us. Trixie needs help, but Raindrops died already. Please!"
Zecora looked at us, waiting for our opinion. I nodded, so did Diamond and Applebloom.
"Alright, we shall help her for the night."
"What do you mean the night?" This mare asked nervously.
"We mean that we'll help, if her condition betters, we'll keep caring for her. If it drops, she'll need to be put out of her misery." Applebloom clarified.
I walked up to the unicorn on the ground, lifting her onto my back. She was breathing rather well, but was clearly in pain. I reassured the dying mare by telling her that she'll be fine, just has to make it to the orchard.
"Th-thank you, I'm Trixie..." She whispered, her voice frail.
"Oh, thank you all. I don't want to lose her. I'm Starlight Glimmer and she's Trixie Lulamoon. We just need her to recover, then we'll be on our way." The mare who had been crying, was now gratefully praising our efforts.
"If she recovers, she'll need ta stay with us. Y'all can't just run about like animals." Applebloom said in a firm way.
"Well, then we'll help at the orchard. Trixie has a wide knowledge of magic. She'll help you, and so will I." Starlight announced.
"Can we just get Trixie to the orchard? She won't last if we stay out here yapping." I say, hoping to save the mare on my back. She gave me a weak smile as I said that.
"I like your attitude.... It reminds me...of who...I was." She said in that same depressingly frail voice. I felt like she was an innocent filly even thought she was an adult.
We moved our tails along, leaving the body of Raindrops on the dusty pathway. Starlight and Zecora exchanged a lot of words as we walked. I kept my attention on Trixie. Her heartbeat was like a mellow drum, soothing yet terrifying. Appleblooom and Diamond picked up small objects. I could only assume they were for trade or decoration.
Trixie whispered to me that she'd get in a small nap,and to wake her when we arrived. I told her that I'd make sure she pulled through this. She then asked me something I've never heard someone ask me.
"Promise me that you'll help....me survive?"
I looked at her and uttered the Pinkie Promise phrase.
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
"Thank...you." She drifted to sleep, and all I could hear was her heartbeat.
When we finally arrived I shook Trixie gently to wake her. She lifted her head slightly. She survived the trip here, now we needed to fix up her wounds. I never stopped to ask when she got them, nor did I plan to, it seemed like that would make her either become mad or make her cry. Which I didn't want to see happen.
Applebloom told me to take her to her brother's old room, first door on the left upstairs. I followed the instructions, and laid her gently onto the bed. She looked up at me, and smiled. Clearly she was happy to be here, safe and sound.
"Do you want anything? They'll need to gather the supplies to fix you up." I ask in a calming voice.
"Yes, some...water, please?" She asked softly. I nodded and trotted to the kitchen, and looked for filtered water. I beamed when I found it. Pouring a glass for her, and one for Starlight who sat in the living room with Diamond who was explaining the house rules, she to!d me them as we walked out of Ponyville.
"Here, you could use a little drink." Giving Starlight the glass. She said thanks and continued to listen.
I walked back up to the room Trixie was in. When I entered she was gazing out the window. I set the glass down, and she immediately looked to it. Levitating it to herself with her magic. I looked out the window for a moment. Dark clouds were gathering upon the distant horizon. Trixie set the glass down, half full.
"Thanks for the drink..." She said nicely.
"Anytime. If you need anything, just call for me, or use a magical signal." I said hoping that it would give her some peace knowing that at least one pony here was devoted to helping her. I made a Pinkie Promise, and nobody breaks a Pinkie Promise.
"Excuse me Sunset, but I'll be patching up the pony we just met." Zecora said from the doorway, I waved goodbye to Trixie and went downstairs to see how I could help with the orchard's chores and plants. It was time for me to let my past in the human world go, after all my past is not today.
