The candle sparked to light, a glint of magic breathing life into the wick. The inside of an untidy library flickered in the firelight, the six ponies within flitting in and out of view. Twilight’s home was a mess, as per usual when she was neck deep in study. There was a melancholy silence over the group as Princess Twilight turned her head to face them, setting a fresh journal onto the table in front of her.

Twilight rested on her haunches, her gown flowing about her. Basked in stars, her hair cascaded with shifting shades of purple, one of her wings was wrapped in a bandage, held close to her torso in pain. Silently, she examined her friends.

“… But how, Twilight?” Rarity asked, pausing in her pacing to shake her head and close her eyes to hide her worry from the others. “How are we going to move all of Ponyville on such short notice?” She resumed pacing, shaking her head still as she locked her eyes to the floor. Rarity was a true gem, even wracked with worry she was the picture of elegance. In the past two years, she had taken to wearing a pair of glasses, purely aesthetic, and always carried herself with the utmost grace. As of this moment, however, her she was too nervous to maintain her composure.

“Maybe we could use the train?” Applejack muttered, stationary and sitting, unlike Rarity. Over the past few years, Applejack had become more muscular, but still maintained a fine physique. She was a farmer first and foremost, but she was also still a mare. “We just need to get all the ponies there and make a bolt for Canterlot, right? Shouldn’t be too hard.” She stood to comfort her pacing friend, a nod punctuating her idea. Twilight looked back to her book, thinking silently.

“Agreed, Applejack; it’s the safest way. But if things get worse before then, it’ll be impossible. I don’t know how fast those things move, but I know it’ll at least be a day before they get here. We need to move everypony as soon as possible. I just need a while to… rest.” Opening her journal with a shimmer of her horn, a nearby quill rose to float beside her. The others knew she’d get no rest. They went to talk, but Pinkie Pie, of course, raised her voice before all the rest.

“Twilight, Twilight, you need to relax. Re-ee-lax.” Pinkie’s tone fluttered as she spoke, as it always did when she was acting like this, her current position making Twilight rethink pony physiology. Pinkie had changed the least out of the group, only her smile seems to grow with age. Her smiling face hovered nearby, trying her best to cheer up the moody Twilight. In a moment that brought silence to the pink pony, Twilight didn’t return the smile.

“There’s no time to relax. You all should know that by now…” Twilight said, sternly. The princess gazed down at the blank pages, took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to calm herself down. No calm came, not after what had happened. She could still feel her body trembling. Even after hours running, she still hadn’t calmed her fears. She knew things would get worse before they got better. The question was, how bad would things get?

“The five of you get going. Start telling ponies to pack up, pack light and come here. Fluttershy, tell the animals to stay hidden as best as they can. Tell them what you need to, but avoid telling them too much. Tell them it’s a royal order… Ponyville needs to be evacuated.” A long silence fell over the room at those words; the weight they carried crushing any attempts at cheering anypony else up. Fluttershy, who was in the corner being comforted by Rainbow Dash, whimpered and started to cry. Pinkie wasn’t smiling.

The group left silently, leaving the princess to her work. The quill flicked softly over the journal’s pages, as Twilight became absorbed in her work. As she wrote, she felt her body tense with nerves. It had been years since her ascension to an Alicorn, but never once had she imagined anything like this would happen.

‘This is the recording of Princess Twilight Sparkle, graduated apprentice of Princess Celestia, Princess of Equestria and the once-bearer of the Element of Magic; and two days ago, the world began to end. I write this journal now, in case we do not succeed. I write this journal to warn future generations. I write this, as I am the only one who saw the events that just transpired. It’s likely that I am the only one who understands the gravity of what is happening elsewhere in the world right now. And I fear for us all. As I said, it all began two days ago…'

Author's Note

So, interesting fact;

This is actually my first story... like, ever.

Some reading this may know, I'm an actual author, in the process of publishing my first novel. However, it was this fanfic that was actually my first novella-length (or greater) story. I never finished it, thanks to a few extreme life changes, but it was this story that kicked me off into my writing. Up until this, I had ideas, but no drive to actually write them.

That being said, this is also my darkest work yet. I wrote it in a time of extreme emotional stress. My life was going downhill fast and this story reflected all that. Believe me, this story is not for the faint of heart or the soft of emotions.

-Inkheart