The night was still crisp with the pungent and overwhelming scent of fresh smoke and ash, as well as hints of drying blood among it all. What lay in sight would be the decrepit view of what was once Ponyville. The air was heavy, and the sky was blanketed with aforementioned smoke flowing about. Though not visible, the night's star would be arisen, its coolness piercing through the black fog. Around the tragic scene were many ponies strewn about the ground, only a hooffull still breathing. There also stood four that were fending off Sombra's soldiers from bringing their beloved town to complete turmoil. They each carried weapons to match their style, - excluding one, whom would be hidden behind obstacles that would protect the said pony - some being operated via magic like a gun in the "human" world.
Each were very distinctly different from one another. None bared any resemblance in the slightest way. The heavy rain of magic bolts flew through the air, the dark aura sounding in the ears of the ponies who were in combat with the enslaved minds of Sombra's crystal soldiers. The soldiers' armor bore their glow even in the midst of minimal lighting, especially their retinal area, with the bright green that matched the mystical magic of King Sombra in retrospect. Though the soldiers fought, the pony truly there hadn't wished to fight, but their attempts to stop were undoubtedly futile, their actions completely overruled by the mind of the mask. The crashing of bolts around all ponies, soldier or not, shook the ash-tainted roads and utterly demolished homes. Town Hall was tattered the most, to the point it had no longer existed, like it was never there to begin with. The boutique Rarity ran and owned was burning still, the scent of perfume clinging to the smoke emitting from the tragic sight, like a mare and stallion desperately in love, dancing through the night, fates intertwined. The fire crackled and spit its fury about in the form of small pieces of its scorching body. It flailed about in a fit of fury, lashing out at all that was surrounding it.
Off in the distance, barely viewable from the pony's positions, Sweet Apple Acres and all of its trees were set ablaze with no mercy. Every last tree bared the flame, and the Apple Family's barn - and more importantly, home - was not excepted from this cruel end of days. Everything the Apple Family worked for was burning to smithereens, the crashing being audible from what seemed like all of the world. Apples splatted on the ground, trees succumbing to the doom they soon had to face, becoming unrooted and falling on the remains of their once beautiful leaves. And in one short second, the bell took its last possible ding. The only building unscathed was Twilight Sparkle's castle, but even it was not safe from all the destruction, it being lit at the very moment that these words are spoken.
"Celestia dammit, they won't just die!" one of the ponies growled, sounding feminine but very aggressive and experienced. The pony was indeed a mare, and had a weapon scaling monstrously against all the others around hers. It was soaked in the same red seen in much thicker blood, the pony's thin hooves and legs being mere shades from her weapon's. Her hair was gray, and soaked in ash from the burning remanescense around her, her eyes sparkling gold like the golden silk that she wore around her head like a small band. She bore wings, keeping them closed during the transpiring predicament.
"We have to keep on pushing, don't let these bastards catch you off guard!" another called, sounding more than stallion-like. He carried a less bulky firearm, instead having one that resembled a human rifle, scope attached and all. It was plated with smooth steel, and reflected the fire surrounding them. His coat was barely acknowledgable in the steeped blackness of the night, being a dark violet, his mane being a charcoal black outlined with smooth yellow, and his eyes resembling diamonds, reflecting beauty like the ring of a proposal ring. He stayed as still as was ponily manageable, aiming carefully at a spot revealed under the necks of the helmets all the soldiers were equipped with. He was lacking muscle for a stallion, and carried his weapon with novice magic.
There was another whom had not been speaking or letting out a single, solitary sound. Just the figure of this pony was enough to tell it was a mare. She had little muscle, but carried her firearm with ease. She was equipped with a simple bow, which propelled arrows in such a convoluted fashion it was as if watching the twirling of a ballerina. Arrows spun, their heads of glow breezing through the air. Her coat carried resemblance with the color of the clear ocean under the moonlight, being a dark blue riddled with patches of lighter shades, which rippled about her. Her mane was hidden away in the cloak she'd be accessorized in, blending with the artificial night the wake of destruction had been creating. Her eyes shone gray, like opals or silver glittering on the bands of the greatest dresses under a peaceful light. She seemed distant from a pegasus and hadn't any horn, being anything but bulkier than the others when comparing them.
Only one more remained, and out of sight. This pony stayed close to the one basked in red, looking off into the unseeable distance. She glowed a sky blue in the darkness and red light of the flames. They shook and whimpered, voice indicating a mare. She was covered in many bandages, all containing blood soaking up to the roof of the bandange roofing the rest. Her mane was even brighter than her coat, being a light gold, pertaining to the color and texture - excluding the intruding ash - as Princess Celestia's tiara. She held no weapons, nor seemed to be carring any on her. Her eyes carried the burden of blindness, a fog running through the irises of her sunset orange eyes. Though she had wings that marked her as a pegasus, she could not fly if she could not see.
Several minutes of unending warfare finally ceased when the soldiers had begun to retreat. The heavy sound of their hoofsteps echoed with their metallic sound. One by one, they all began to run, ensuring that their craftings were not left behind. The battle was over, the battle only beginning...
"Look what they did to everything..." one of the four sobbed, aggrivation intruding into her tone. Tears formed in her clamped eyes. "I'll make those bastards pay for doing this!"
"We'll have to wait just a little bit, Bloodbound... we're still taking care of Blind Eye."
"I-I don't want to d-die..." the overwhelmed voice of Blind Eye uttered, sounding shaky even from great distance. "Don't l-let me die, please, C-Celestia..."
"...I know its your name, Silent Storm, but you have to talk some time..." No response. The mare of dark blue shot him a serious glance; she spoke with expressions rather than with words.
"You know as well as I do that she won't, Ecliptic Night."
"It's worth a try..."
The three who could see gazed at each other, nodding, looking at what they were surrounded by. They all shared a single thought: King Sombra will pay for all that he has done...
My Little Pony: Doomed Future.
Author's Note
I made a quick 2-letter edit to ¶5.
Chapter 1: Three Years and Running
The silent hum of the night swayed on through disaster. Embers continued gliding through the air in what was the remains of the most peaceful town of Equestria. Hopes and dreams die with their owner; but these dreams were left behind, only to inevitably perish later. Crippled daisies and roses scattered the rubble of the once magnificent flower shop, several cloths lay in peace with the crumbling boutique, tattered, torn apart, and miserable, much like the ponies there to witness it.
The silence that spread thickly over the city was only interrupted by the clopping of hooves and the sound of wood falling to the thick layer of ash, where smoke arose. Many ponies littered the ground, many of which had already passed, while others would be unable to carry on, awaiting their deaths in acceptance. There was a single cottage still standing, only with three of the four walls that it once contained. The flames hadn't indulged itself upon it yet, only one of its walls, as if planning to save the rest for later like its next meal.
"Hey, gals. Look. One's still standing," Bloodbound sounded to all the others, standing beside Blind Eye, awaiting for her to ask for assistance walking quite patiently. One hoof was on a child of the flame, only big enough to cause minor damage... to wood, that is. The sound of it burning away at her hoof's coat rung through the air, but she had no intention of moving from where she was standing. "You ready to move?"
Ecliptic Night shrugged, aggrivated by Bloodbound's poor sense of respect. "We could really do without your damned attitude. You know I'm not a mare, so act like it," he complained, only to be greeted by Bloodbound chuckling aloud and most definitely loud. "Aside from that, it looks sustainable enough... this house... thing, I mean. Think we could stay there for a bit? Plan some things out?"
"Of course, it'd only make sense--"
"Maybe a date with your marefriend?" Ecliptic Night cheekily interrupted, giving her a taste of her own medicine. It had not been long ago that they found Blind Eye crying, shivering in the cold of an abandoned home outside of any town. She was alone, terrified, and could not do anything with her blindness. They found it after running from a horde of sombra's soldiers, which had gone out to patrol Equestria's extensive boundaries. It was unseen for Bloodbound of all ponies to guide her around; she always seemed like the lone wolf type.
"Shut it, or I'll kick your head in!" she growled. Blind Eye, next to her, nodded, looking forward into the nothingness that she saw. The two of them began moving, Bloodbound being sure not to make either of them step into any fire or burning objects. She clenched her teeth harder with each step, her hoof having a nasty singe mark.
"Please d-don't argue, you two..." Blind Eye uttered. It was the worst possible scenario for her: she was afraid of violence, and had to live in a world completely ruled by it. Though she didn't see it, Bloodbound glared at Ecliptic Night, eyes shimmering. "Also, what d-did he mean when he told y-you that..?"
"He's trying to be funny by saying I love you. You're a good companion, and all..." A partial lie. She was a thorn in her stomach, but she gave her a reason to fight, besides just saving Equestria. "...but I don't love you, really."
"Not yet!" he called from a distance away. The look of Silent Storm facing his direction must have been traumatizing, because he immediately turned away, almost cowering at the mare. She turned, facing Bloodbound; she knew why Ecliptic was fearful. Her gaze was menacing, almost like she was a being from Tartarus. Her eyes pierced through, deep into Bloodbound's soul. She turned back around - thank Celestia - and headed off in the direction of Ecliptic, whom was investigating the building's exterior.
"What was life like for you before all of this, Blind Eye?" Bloodbound asked, the gulping sound coming from Blind Eye being very audible. Was it a bad idea to ask her? Her answer was a shaking of the head. She didn't want to discuss it, most likely. Silence took over again, the both of them walking along the display that Sombra had created through his slave army. It only took a short minute for the two to reach the others and this suspiciously intact building. None of them could climb through the hole; Bloodbound was keeping Blind Eye moving, Ecliptic Night was only a novice in magic, and Silent Storm, well... she never took her clothing off, so it is unclear if she could fly through it or not, meaning everypony used the front door.
Inside, it was like a dream. Nothing but the wall was destroyed. There were also a couple bottles of specialty wine; must've been Berry Punch's house. Several, if not dozens, of wine glasses covered the dining room table, and some were filled with wine still. The attacks only happened a couple of hours ago, so that made sense. The aroma filling the room, being closed, smelled of exotic fruits and berries, some not even from Equestria. Berry Punch may have been an alcoholic, but she was a wine taster for some big, corporate business before all this happened. These were some really old bottles. How fancy.
The quadrio were lucky enough to find a map of Equestria in the bedroom. Berry Punch did use to travel a lot for taste-testing. They had to avoid the markings on it, such as circles around areas of different towns with notes pointing at them, showing both dates and times. The Crystal Empire was not on the map, but Punch had a note on the map about it, and to the relief of the three who could see, there was an arrow, notifying of the direction. Of course, only Silent Storm was even looking at it; both Bloodbound and Ecliptic were having some of the wine. Even Blind Eye was, with assistance from both of the other two, who were almost fighting just to take the position of doing so.
It didn't take long before they were a bit tipsy, now visibly enjoying simplicity. It also didn't take long for the door to be bust down, a loaded shotgun - banned from Equestria, if you are wondering - in the hooves of the one who'd broken down the door. Everypony stopped, shocked at the sight... excluding Blind Eye, naturally. Though, when a voice rang through the interior, even she froze where she was sitting. "What are you doing here?!" exclaimed the voice, feeling uneasy about them being there given that the voice was uneasy. It was also apparent from the subtle shaking of the gun's parts. Everypony in the room knew who it was, even Blind Eye, based on the voice alone, but this pony was wearing a dark cloak, so it could be manipulation of one's voice.
With no warning, the hoofsteps of Silent Storm were loud and screached from the wooden stairs. The pony at the door looked in Storm's general vicinity, their gun falling to the ground as the both of them wasted no time running to each other... hugging. Now the facts stood that this was indeed not the work of devious magic. For the first time Bloodbound and Ecliptic Night had seen, Silent Storm lifted her hood off... appearing to be a bat pony. Before, her eyes were mostly masked by the darkness of her drapes, the crescent irises being hazey to make them appear normal. This could explain her constant use of the hood. What could not be explained was the elegance of her mane. It was a smooth, shining light yellow, the fully-functioning light inside being reflected off it. The end was tied into a ponytail, neatly. After around thirty seconds, they had not stopped, and the other pony also lifted their hood, revealing the all-too-obvious mare, Berry Punch. After revealing herself fully, Berry Punch began to cry into Storm's shoulder area on her drapes. Even Storm let a tear or two drop from her crescent eyes.
"What's up with her..?" Ecliptic whispered to Bloodbound, a mentally placed red arrow piercing through Storm. She did not hear him, but she knew just what he said...
"Why would I know you--" Bloodbound was cut off not by an interruption or que, but rather by the sight that lay just ahead. The second her eyes saw it, she almost did... well, Celestia-knows what. She looked like she was going to laugh like crazy, but her face burned an unseen red due to the color of her coat. Ecliptic was deeply confused and just the slightest bit revolted. The sight that lay in front of them was a moment shared by those who are in love: a kiss. Both of the two went from clean faces to those plastered with deep red.
This only lasted a short couple of seconds, but it was enough to get the two other ponies in the room who could see them to shut up. After this, they returned to normal, face color and all, looking at the three sitting down. Silent Storm went from smiling at Berry Punch to having her usual blank expression, whilst Berry Punch looked amused at the three. "So these are the ones you talked about? I've seen better, but oh well..."
"Hey, don't you go mouthing me!"
"I'm sorry..." At that exact moment, the look on Berry Punch's face changed into something so incomprehensibly mortifying it had Bloodbound sweating. There was more than meets the eye to Berry Punch, quite literally; her eyes were a bloodshot red, and the rest of her face was blackened out, as she put her hood up as she spoke. She looked scarier than Sombra would if he wore a pink dress. "...did you say something?"
Bloodbound gulped and cowered before her. "N-No, ma'am..."
"That's what I thought..."
Silence pervaded the room after that. There was no words to be said for many minutes. Each pony had their own thoughts jn mind: Berry Punch and Silent Storm thought of each other, naturally, Ecliptic Night was more or less trying not to regurgitate, since he had never actually seen two mares do anything like he had just seen, Bloodbound was trying to get a grip on herself, still mortified by Berry Punch, and Blind Eye just wanted to know what the Tartarus was going on. Of course, Bloodbound also thought of Blind Eye as she always had. She was overly concerned with keeping her safe all the time, and it showed. About her thinking, she would be looking at Blind Eye half the total time. Many things were questionable about her differentiated behavior towards Blind Eye, mainly being for aforementioned reasons.
Finally, the silence was broken, with the three ponies sitting down nearly jumping off their seats. "So... what brings you all here?" she asked, as it was now uncommon for ponies to be in or even near Ponyville. It was a place that had been plotted against since the first day of Sombra's reign. The thought of this brought back some memories for Bloodbound...
"H-Hello..? Is a-anypony there..?"
"Ecliptic, you go look around, I'll help her."
"Who are y-you..?"
"My name is Bloodbound. Are you all right?"
"Y-Yes... I'm fine..."
"Are you sure? Can you get up and move on your own?"
"N-No... I'm blind, s-see..."
"You poor pony... come here..."
"W-What are you..?"
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I'd never hurt you."
"Thank y-you..."
"Come with us, we'll keep-- no, I'LL keep you safe. It's an undying promise."
"You w-would do that..? F-For me..?"
"Of course I would. What's your name, miss?"
"Uhm... i-it's Blind Eye..."
"Well, Blind Eye, I won't let a single thing hurt you in the slightest. You have my word."
This memory made Bloodbound bring out a smile. Ever since that fateful day, she had a reason to keep fighting, a reason to stay alive if she ever came remotely near death. Blind Eye more than acted helpless; she had little control of her wings, and could barely walk straight, but with Bloodbound, these problems seemingly just vanished.
"We were trying to save Equestria, what else?" Bloodbound boasted, chuckling immediately after her snarky comment. She could have added in "and Blind Eye", but that wasn't necessary; she was in Equestria just like they were.
Berry Punch laughed. "Who isn't nowadays? It seems like since Sombra took over, everypony's become the heroic type. I'm just trying to stay alive, to be perfectly honest..."
"Who isn't?" mocked Bloodbound. This only made Berry Punch laugh even more.
"I guess you're right." Berry Punch was pouring herself a glass of the wine everypony had been drinking. She prompted Silent Storm enough to drink some with her strange charm over her. Of course, one trying to intoxicate Storm would be unsuccessful, as bat ponies held liquor a lot better than others, enough to the point it used to be illegal for a bat pony and regular pony to face each other in a drinking contest. Celestia was only half-aware, yes, but she was aware of what ponies deemed biased or unfair. Berry Punch had indeed tried many times, only getting herself put unconscious due to excessive liquor; though, Berry Punch was the #1 non-bat pony drinking contest contestant in Equestria.
Bloodbound kept looking through the window and at the rubble of a once grand town, now in complete despair. The fire had been simmering down, though the rising of smoke had since not changed, still blanketing the night sky. The house of Berry Punch lay directly next to where Town Hall once was, getting a perfect view of the lost dreams that died with it.
Then, out of blue - or gray, rather, as it was smoke - many figures began approaching the building. Each were lined up perfectly in both columns and rows. Could it really be..? It had been three years since Sombra took over, and Bloodbound knew exactly what this meant.
"Get down!" Bloodbound whisper-yelled, bringing Blind Eye down under the table and into safety.
"What is it?" Berry Punch asked.
"More of Sombra's soldiers... they're headed this way!"
Author's Note
Finally complete! Thought I would leave some suspense.