Author's Note

This is a one shot for now. Or least until someone wants me to add to it..

Where to Start [Lyra POV]

Celestia had promised all of us that the war would end soon. That it was going to be a great victory for Equestria. What happened was far from great. A friend of mine that was assigned to the frontlines sent word to me that things were going south for the soldiers on the front. Both sides weren't willing to give an inch and that they were engaged in hoof to hoof combat at times.

She was attached to the 501st infantry regiment. They had been hit the hardest during the war and were constantly sending squads on what amounted to suicide missions. She watched as a pony she had known her entire life had their head blown off from a Zebra sniper. I messaged her back that i was praying that she'd come home soon and that the war should end by then.

Gods how wrong we were. As a last-ditch effort, Twilight Sparkle a mare that i had known my entire life as was friends with, enacted what was later revealed to be a series of Doomsday weapons. Through my research of humans, and from talking to their friend Discord, i came to the horrific understanding that she had recreated a device known as a nuclear warhead. And to make it worse it was enhanced with Alicorn Magic with which the nuclear yield had been increased to a horrific degree.

Twilight seemed more disconnected the more I tried to stay In touch with her over the last few years. She sounded less and less like the friend i had known, and more like a complete stranger. The news that she was working on devices like this scared even me. I was the only mare that was deemed an expert on humanity, and Twilight was repeating their worst mistakes when it came to creating nuclear weapons. Most of the human race had been destroyed by those things, and here was a friend of mine repurposing them for Equestrian use.

I found out that both me and her friend Fluttershy had pleaded with her not to do this. These devices had been locked away for a reason. Bringing them back was only going to lead to more harm then anything remotely good. But Twilight refused to listen at all.

"I've weighed the risks, and deemed them necessary,", she said over the terminal connection. Twilight was beyond reasoning. She ignored everything that i was trying to tell her. I tried one last time before ending the connection.

"These nukes were locked away for a reason Twilight so that they'd never be used against someone's enemies again. They destroyed the very race that had created them. You do not understand the dangers they truly pose," I said before i hung up on her. I just sat there and silently cried myself to sleep. I knew Bon Bon would do home soon, but that feeling of despair still managed to set in. The friend i knew years ago, The Twilight Sparkle that i had even considered approaching to ask out, was gone.

The mare that i had been on the line with seemed like a complete stranger to me. I prayed to the goddess that something would make Twilight realize just how wrong she was about this.

I finally got all this equipment back in working order. Of course most of its radio equipment but there were a few parts that belonged to a Terminal. I found the rest of it tossed into a fire pit just out of the Trailer. i was able to restore the terminal and access its core memory blocks.

I should now be able to transcribe my thoughts on it given the training i received before entering the Stable all those years ago. This will be my personal memoir about what life was like before the world ended. There are so many thoughts to convey, so many memories to lose myself in. I wish you were Bon Bon. I wish we could share our last moments together in this blasted-out ruin that was once our hometown.

So many memories here. So many of my friends had just gone in a flash of light. And I was right back where I was standing. It was like the past was calling out to me, begging me to come back. Begging me to save them all and i couldn't. Somepony told me once that Time was like a predator with no teeth. It was something that was both a blessing and a curse at the same time. I can't even remember her name, if i could id have cursed her so much back then.

"Goddess i wish there was somepony to talk to." I thought to myself. I'd give anything to talk to another, i was that alone in the world. I would have given anything.

"Great,",I thought," I'm speaking to myself out loud again." I face-hoofed myself. Before i began talking to myself again i went back to scavenging for supplies. I had to get back to the trailer soon.

I can't even remember how many years its been since it all ended. Sometimes i feel like my mind is playing tricks on me. At night i can hear the whispers of the dead. Ghosts asked me why I survived and they didn't. It's enough to drive anypony insane. I swore i ran into Derpy the other night. She looked disheveled, her mane was a mess and she looked like she was missing some fur in places. She turned to see me and smiled.

"I wasn't expecting to see another pony here, i think i still have some mail for you," she spoke as she reached into her Saddlebag and passed me a letter. " Bye Lyra!", before I could say anything she was gone just like that.

I could only sit there before realizing that it was Derpy and not another ghost. I kind of smiled a bit. At least seeing her alive brought some comfort to my soul.

Where should I start? At the beginning? yeah, that sounds better than the other idea I had.

My name is Lyra Heartstrings, and i had a good life.

Until i bore witness to the end of that world, and so many ponies that i had once been friends with. You see we were at war with a neighboring nation-state, the Zebra Nation. A number of us had been selected for entry into several underground bunkers called Stables. We were to live in them until the time was needed to exit and hopefully repopulate our homeland of Equestria.

That was the plan at least. I kept hearing on the radios that Stable Tec's own President, Scootaloo, was reassuring ponies that everything would turn out alright and that one day we would rebuild our great nation of Equestria.

Of course, Bon Bon never believed a word of it. Even with us being married, and others telling her how eccentric i was said to be, she was always the one that stayed level-headed for the both of us. It's why i married her.

Lyra Heartstrings, Journal entry #1

end terminal transcribing.

By the Goddess, I miss you Bon Bon. She could feel the tears begin to well up inside her. She could feel her chest heave as she begun to sob into hoof. Transcribing her thoughts and feelings started to dredge up some painful memories. She deluded herself into thinking that she was the only one from the Stable that had left.

She sat there and lost herself in her memories. A lifetime worth of experiences hadnt prepared her for any of this. And yet she still felt like she had a new look on life. How long had it been now? Almost 90, maybe even 200 years since she ended up alone in this trailer? It felt like just yesterday that Lyra and Bon Bon were having their usually lunch together. She had lived to see the Apocalypse and survived.

Most of the ponies she had known throughout life were dead now. Turned to dust long ago and their ashes were swept away by the winds of time. There were times she tried to end it only to wake up and realize that attempting suicide was pointless. The magic radiation from the Megaspells had contaminated her own internal magic and made her immortal. Unicorn magic is strange like that.

Lyra would have gone insane years ago if she hadnt kept herself grounded. She needed something to hold on to so that radio equipment in the trailer gave her something to look forward to. She had found some record players and got them set up to play over the radio. The only other radio station was a place called Tenpony Tower. She tracked the radio signal it was broadcasting and found something interesting.

Ponies. Going about their day, buying goods and looking overall happy. It reminded her of the world she had been a part for years. She trotted up and waited in line behind two others. When it was her time to purchase she pulled a bag of bits from her saddlebag and dropped it on the wooden stall's counter.

"I'll take some of those garlic bread loaves in back, and a few radishes if you have any."She said. The stall owner nodded and came back with her items. She levitated her bits into his hoof and thanked him.

"Btw, Do you know if there's a radio station in town? I'm kind of new here." after that, he pointed her toward the tall tower at the end of the street. "Thanks", she said as she walked off in that direction.

The Tower was decorated on the outside with a large neon sign that read " Welcome to Tenpony Tower, next broadcast will be in a few hours". Lyra noticed the guard pony and walked up to him.

"Is there anyone in there, or should i come back at another time?" She scratched her head as she asked the Guard if anypony could enter or not.

"You can go in just make sure not to break anything ok?" he opened the door with a hoof and ushered Lyra into the building. As she entered she saw a ton of posters all over the walls. All of Vinyl Scratch at various points in her life. As she walked down the halls of the tower a voice came over the intercom.

"Come on up," The voice said. It was almost familiar to the mare, but still distinct. She walked up the stairs till she came to what was obviously an office center that was cluttered with DJ equipment scattered everywhere. In front of Lyra was a grey coated unicorn with a spiky electric blue mane.

Was Lyra seeing things or did this mare look like VINYL!? The one in front of her could tell she was a bit confused at the sighting.

"You alright there?" she asked Lyra.

"Yea, it's just that you remind me of somepony i used to know," Lyra was a pony from another time and she was still trying to act as if nothing had really changed.

"If it's who i think, Yea she was my ancestor. btw, the name's Homage." She was so calm telling Lyra her name. Homage knew who Lyra was and didn't want to scare her off. She knew who she was, just not that she was from the past.

"My name's Lyra, nice to meet you Homage," she said as they shook hooves.

"So what brings you to our town?" Homage said as she showed Lyra around.

"Needed supplies while i get some equipment i found working again." It really was like being around Vinyl. She felt calm around her even more so then with Bon Bon. They had been friends in Music school before Lyra went off to Celestia's School for Unicorns. Homage even had that same cocky grin that Vinyl would get.

"Why dont you stay for the night? I have a friend coming by later and we can all chill together." She was also straight to the point , just like Vinyl. Lyra figured why not. She needed the company.

"Sure," She said. With that Homage showed Lyra some of her music collection until her friend showed up later tonight.

"Btw, whose your friend?" Lyra asked.

" Her name's Pippers", Homage said sitting in her office chair. It was more of the gaming chair to be honest. She had found it in its box just tossed next to the trash cans down the road from the Radio Station tower. She hauled it back to her place before anypony could complain.

"I look forward to meeting her." Lyra was going to have heart attack though. Pippers could be a striking reflection of her. There was a knock at the door right as Lyra sat in the other office chair. This thing was more comfortable that lawn chair she had back at the Trailer.

"Im back Homage," a familiar voice let out. Pippers was carrying three bags of groceries with her magic. Lyra walked and picked one up her own. Homage had to do a double take. As Lyra and Pippers stood next to each other, it was like seeing a mirror image. Same manes, size, and type of fetlocks.

"Im Lyra btw," she said as she and Pippers shook hooves.

She wasn't aware that her friends had the same misfortune happen to them and now they were searching for her in what was left of a dead world. Lyra lay back down in her bed and closed her eyes hoping that her dreams would carry her away from this world. She dreamt of better and happier times in her life. She prayed to the goddesses for the strength to make it through the next day.

She knew they were long dead by now but she still did it out of habit. There were times it felt like Luna's presence was right there next to her, easing her pain. Even if she did see Bon Bon again, would she still be the same mare that she had always known or would this violent wasteland strip her spirit away from her.

Flashback.

It was a calm day as far as she was concerned. Lyra was in the process of transcribing her latest Anthology Report onto her computer terminal. Right as she finished her thoughts and hit the enter button with her hoof, she heard Bon Bon call out her name.

"Lyra, are you on that computer again?", Bon Bon looked at her partner with a stare that screamed get over here and help with the cooking on it.

"I was just transcribing my thoughts,", The mint green unicorn said with a look of annoyance, " Ever since the discovery of that human skeleton last year, Celestia has asked that i keep her apprised of any more findings,", and it was true, even though Bon Bon still thought that Lyra was crazy when it came to the existence of humans.

" Let's get ready for lunch,", Bon Bon told Lyra as she stuck her head in their fridge. While she was doing that Lyra sat down and turned on the television, TV was a recent additon to every home in Ponyville. Little did she know that had been around longer then Ponydom had existed. It was one of those things that Celestia had kept secret apparently.

As it started to get mid day, the news came on.

And Lyra and Bon Bon froze where they were standing when newscaster started talking. Both of them could tell that something was wrong when they watched the expression on his face go from that of , " everyday forecast", to ," Oh my god," .

"We're receiving word of massive explosions taking place in Fillydelphia and Manehattan,", there was an unbearable amount of silence,"By the goddesses, we've just received word of a megaspell being detonated inside of Canterlot,", with that both Lyra and Bon Bon turned when they heard a knock at their door.

Lyra got up to answer it, and found a Stable-Tec rep standing in front of their house. To cut it short he told them that they were both on the list to gain entrance into the local Stable. Stable 21. Both of them grabbed what they could carry and rushed outside in time to see that the Royal Guard were evacuating Ponyville. The Stable in question had been built into the ground close by.

As they made it to the entrance, Lyra turn around to watch Ponyville become engulfed in the blast of a Mega Spell bomb. A part of her died inside when she realized that not everypony that had been accepted into the nearby stables would be able to survive. Half of the town was leveled from the shockwave. The outer portions of the town would burn down from the fires that were formed as a result.

As they entered the Stable, Lyra let her mind wander. How long would it be before they could go top side again she thought. It had been estimated that the radiation from the magic used in the Mega Spells could last at least 50-100 years. And that was according to the so called experts that Celestia usually relied on.

Lyra got the feeling that it could be longer then that. Being down here though made her think of the pony that was right beside her. Could her and Bon Bon last that long. Would they be among those to leave when the time was right. Or would she die down here.

She snapped back to reality when Bon Bon nudged her and told her that they were at their Stable certified quarters. Apparently Bon Bon could tell something was weighing on Lyra's mind. But she felt it wasn't place to ask what was wrong just yet. They were both tired from the trip down here.

As they both lay down, Bon Bon began to silently cry into her pillow. All those ponies that didnt make it were gone now. A flash of light, and poof, turned to dust.

What none of them realized was that it was only a matter of time before life in the Stable spiraled out of control. And that Lyra would be at the center of it all. Out of one hundred and twenty ponies that entered the Stable, only four would walk out of that place.

Getting to the door of the Stable was more difficult then they thought. Upon the Overmare's orders any and all ponies that tried to make it to the door after Lyra left were to be shot on sight. What happened next was nothing short of a blood bath. One of the first to charge the barricades erected near the hallway to the door was Amethyst Star, one of Derpy's eldest daughters. It would have broken Derpy's heart to find out that security guards gunned down the purple unicorn in mid gallop. The bullets tore right through her neck, chest and abdomen, sending the mare vaulting through the air before she fell to her side with a sickening splat.

"By The Goddesses, Vinyl they KILLED HER!,", Octavia screamed. That was the first time in the cellist's life she had ever seen a pony die in front of her eyes. Her and Vinyl had alread made it to the Stable door when the megaspells had Ponyville. Octavia didnt look back like some of the others had. She had been to scared to.

Vinyl had a look that no pony had ever seen before, not even Tavi. It was a look of pure unadulterated rage. Vinyl dropped the concealment spell on the double barrel shotgun that she been hiding, and opened fire on one of the Security Guards. The buckshot from the 20 gauge round tore right through his chest, killing him instantly. That and the slugs were laced with magic, so they tore the Guard's stable barding like it wasnt even there.

Before the next Security guard could open fire she put a slug right through his left eye socket. His body hit the ground with a sickening thud.

"I'll be right back,", she told her friends. There was a coldness in her voice that chilled Octavia's soul. When she returned she came back with the passcode for the Stable 21 Vault door.

Her coat was also covered in blood.

Vinyl had put a slug into the Overmare's chest. The Three of them had to leave now she said or risk getting caught. With that they opened the door to the wasteland. None of them had any idea of where Lyra had disappeared to. There was no note, no "hey I'm heading this direction", nothing.

They were completely in the dark. But what they did know was that the three of them had to stick together. Vinyl quickly realized that they were on the outskirts of Ponyville. As they walked back towards the town, Bon Bon noticed a trailer parked on a cliff over looking the town.

"Maybe we should check over there,", she told Vinyl and Octavia. The three of them headed in that direction, unaware that somepony was watching them. When they got there they found a camper trailer filled radio equipment and a haypile bed. But what caught their attention the most was what was spray painted onto the inside wall. It sent a chill down their spines.

" I'm all alone. Everypony else is dead. My name is Lyra Heartstrings. Let it all end."