Genesis
Prologue
The world around Northern Lights was burning.
Fire and rocks rained from the sky, pummeling into the shoppes and cottages she had grown up among. Terrified foals screamed their mothers' names while pegasi darted back and forth across the sky, desperately trying to put out the flames. Her own body was similarly damaged; it had taken a huge beating back in Tartarus. She tried to push the memories of endless wastelands and dead bodies out of her mind, but the scene surrounding her only left her to wonder.
Will Equestria look like that soon?
She turned her gaze to the sky, where the ominous red dot in the sky was steadily growing larger. The comet was nearly upon them. If there was anything to be done, it had to be done now and with haste. Narrowly dodging some falling rubble, Lights forced her body into a full gallop, heading towards the center of town- and the center of danger.
Shit. I hope Glitter has an idea, she mulled, because I sure as hell don't.
Lights barely caught a glimpse of Carousel Boutique as she ran by, and only narrowly recognized it, at that. It was a pile of smoldering ash and fountaining pipes now, an obvious meteorite hit. It looked like Gem was leading Rarity, screaming, away from the wreck, while Spike had a weakly struggling Leroy slung over his shoulder. Lights didn't want to think of the implications. She simply pushed on, slowing to a canter when the decorative town hall came into view. It was largely untouched, but the area around it was a mess. Ponies scurried left and right in a blind fit of confusion. Only Glitter, perched on a fallen lamp post, offered the hope of any sanity.
The purple unicorn caught sight of Lights almost immediately and mouthed a commanding “go”. Lights shook her head and plunged through the panic, trotting up to Glitter's feet and growling up at her.
“I'm not leaving here until you do,” she told the unicorn firmly. Glitter's eyes flashed with defiance, but she said nothing in response. Instead, she began to bark commands at the crowd.
“Alright, everypony. It's not safe in town any more. Head out to the pastures around Sweet Apple Acres, quickly!”
Somewhere around half of the ponies heard and understood, changing their course towards the western roads. Those left were mostly the young, injured, or severely disoriented. Glitter leaned down, whispering to Lights urgently.
“Lights, I'm serious. You have to get out of here. Go find your family and head to Sweet Apples. The rest of the Elements and I'll be gathering there to set up a shield against the impact. Hopefully we can save most of the town.”
Lights focused intently on her childhood friend. Rebirth via goddess sacrifice really changed a pony. Glitter was now a bit taller and more slender than before, with a more delicate snout and a towering horn. Almost like Luna in miniature, sans the wings. She didn't just look like the bearer of the element- she looked like the personification of magic itself. And that was something she could rely on.
“....Only if you're sure you've got this covered,” tested Lights, giving a scrutinizing glare to the unicorn. Glitter only returned it with an eerie poker face, nodding. Lights then peeled herself away from her friend's side, feeling an empty gap where her magical presence once was.
Not everypony is getting out of this alive. And she knows it.
But Lights was also sure of another thing- there was nothing either of them could do. Instead, she fell into a trot beside none other than Derpy Hooves, who of course had the faint crease of a smile on her lips. Lights always admired the mare's endless perseverance and optimism, even if some of it might be blissful ignorance. The elder pegasus gave Lights a warm glance before refixing her walled eyes on the road ahead. If Derpy could do this- keep calm and canter on through the end of the world- then surely she could do it, too.
The dark sky clouded over quickly with smoke, which had become illuminated with the red glow of the fires below. Bright, shining embers floated skywards and replaced the fading stars. The comet was now comparable to the north star in size and brightness, but it had an evil red pulse that sent shivers down Lights's spine. It was hard to think that up there, far out in space, in a little bubble of existence upon that comet, her girlfriend was now battling tooth and nail for the fate of the world against her own father; Discord, the god of chaos. She could almost feel every blow the primal being struck against Shady's pale flesh, and every rush of adrenaline that came as the griffon swung her sword. The two lovers were connected at the very souls- Nightshade could not wield her powers as the Element of Honesty until she admitted the truth- that she had come to love Lights more than life itself over the years of their telepathic communication.
Lights bit her lip at the mere thought of Shady being dead again- this time for real. The image of the griffon, rope wrung around her neck, hanging from a dead tree, painted in blood, was forever etched into her mind. That was not going to be the last time she saw her. She was going to save Shady. Her Shady. Her one and only true-
Nice to know you still feel that way, babe, rung an exhausted voice in her head. Thank Celestia (oh, wait, Celestia's dead now...), that dumb griffon was still breathing!
You bitch! Why didn't you contact me sooner? Had Lights said it out loud, it would have sounded more like gleeful sobbing than anything. There was a pause before Shady's response.
Oh, you know... family problems. Sorta got grounded. Lost some privileges. Working it out with Dad right now.
You're still full of it.
And you still love every second of it, hon.
Lights let out a small squeal, to the amusement of Derpy, who rolled her eyes and muttered, “Lovebirds...”. Fortunately they didn't have far to walk now, so she could soon send the mailmare back on her way, to her awaiting family. Hopefully.
I'm getting to safety right now. Did the others tell you about their plan?
What plan? Sorry, I was too busy fighting a big ugly douchebag to get the memo.
Oh. Well whatever. They're gonna make a shield or something to keep the townsfolk alive when the comet crashes. You down with that?
Oh, yeah, totally. Once I slay my dad and -ow!- do a magic pirouette off this damn thing.
Okay, Shady had a point there. A very concerning, unsettling point, but a point nonetheless. Out of the corner of her eye, Lights saw her mother huddled with a group of other Wonderbolts under a tree, waving meekly. Lights forced an awkward smile in return. Things were gonna get messy.
Look,Shady said bluntly, I gotta run. I'll call you when I'm off work, okay sweetheart?
I love you.
But she was only met with dead silence and a searing pain in her loin. It didn't look like Shady was winning that battle at all. Lights choked back a sob, lifted her chin, and marched over to Spitfire and the others. The yellow mare's mane was disheveled and charred, flopping limply to one side. A deep burn was etched across her chin.
The green pegasus stared at her mother in shock, a heavy feeling developing in her chest. Suddenly all those years without a word spoken between them, all those nights spent crying in her bedroom, all those Wonderbolts performances she attended without acknowledgment... didn't matter. The heaviness ebbed away, and in its place was a feeling of soft, warm freedom.
It was forgiveness.
“M-ma...” Lights stuttered.
Funny, how it took near death and the end of the world to reconcile her with her parents. Spitfire merely spread out her wings, allowing her daughter to collapse into her embrace.
“Baby... oh, my sweet little baby girl... what have you gotten yourself into?” cooed the Wonderbolt, burying her nose into Lights's mane.
“A lot of shit, ma...” Lights sniffed.
“Did you kick some flank at least?”
“Yeah, and I got a girlfriend.”
And then Lights lost it. She fell completely limp against her mother, letting out long, wailing cries. She cried for Caramel, whose death brought about their adventure. For Gaia, whose granted Lights the honor- and the curse- of witnessing her dismal life story. For Celestia and Luna, who gave their lives so her friends could live... and for Sweetie Belle, who she was certain met her demise along with the boutique. And the heavens only know, there were probably hundreds more dead, missing, or forgotten because of this whole disaster. Because she was too damn prideful and stubborn and stupid to realize that, no, you don't have to break the fucking light barrier. You don't have to outdo your mothers.
“I- I- I'm sorry, mama...” she croaked. Spitfire only sighed.
“It's okay, baby. It'll all be okay...”
Slowly, Lights pulled herself together and stood up, snot-nosed and soaked with hot, sticky tears. Spitfire merely smiled, her beaming eyes saying all there was to say. She was proud of her daughter.
The moment was interrupted, however, by the shaky nudge of a small snout on Lights's shoulder. She turned to see a filly, battered and bruised, whose ice-blue hair fell in short clumps down her light gray fur. Standing at her side, their flanks touching, was a similarly jostled pink pegasus whose youthful eyes brimmed who hope at the sight of Lights.
“Lights!” the gray filly coughed, “It's me, Chroma!”
Lights gave the child a warm grin, warmer than any she'd ever given her before- and watched Chroma's face light up like A Hearth's Warming Eve tree. The earth pony barreled into her idol, sobbing and squeaking and babbling like an idiot, trying to spit out her own story.
“And there were t-timber wolves, and I fought them! And I saved Berry from the h-hive! And now she's my marefriend! And I got to see Derpy beat up living trees, and there's so much more, and I used your dagger, and everybody says I'm a hero-”
“Hey, kiddo- chill out. You'll have time to tell me later,” Lights said with a fake grin. She knew she was lying. She didn't know if, in a few minutes' time, any of them would still be here. But it got the filly to quiet down and take a breather, new marefriend nuzzling her all the way. It made her realize the gravity of the situation- and now she wanted nothing more than to find the others and get the inside scoop on the plans. She turned to Berry, who looked exhausted but at least cognible.
“Say, Berry, is your sister around here?” she asked softly. Berry perked her ears nodding slightly.
“Yeah, she's over by the barn with that stallion of hers and 'Couz. Gosh, she looks really... they all look.. sorta...”
“Different. Yeah, I know. But thanks, Berry,” Lights cooed. She turned back around to face her mother, who had watched the scene unfold blissfully, paying no mind to the rumble of the earth and the loud murmur of ponies all over the town shouting. “Ma, I'll be back. I need to go talk with my friends.”
Spitfire practically purred in response, “Go get 'em, tiger.” With her mother's blessing and Berry's insight, Lights sped off in the direction of the barn, weaving between all manners of distressed equines.
It wasn't a long run for a fit pony like her, and she soon found herself skidding to a halt next to Bourbon, who was standing beneath a few fallen beams and scaffolding in the doorframe. The stallion was eying the sky nervously.
“We don' have much time, Lights,” he fretted, locking eyes with her, “Aqua's tryin' to figure out the most effective way t' disperse the force field, an' we're waitin' on Gem n' Glitt.”
“Good to know,” Lights panted in response. She eyed Sweet Potato, who was too busy watching Aquarius sadly to acknowledge Lights. The filly looked almost like a full-grown mare now, with less of a stringbean build and a more filled-out body. Her cousin had bulked up, looking far more like his Uncle Mac than any other Apple. Aquarius hadn't changed much, but his hair now seemed to shimmer with the reflection of stars that weren't there, and his movements suggested a pony far more sure of himself. However, the same dark gloom that seemed to cover Tater also dripped off of him, as though he was hiding a dismal secret.
“Are you guys okay? You all look a bit-”
“We're fine, Lights,” Bourbon assured her. She still wasn't convinced.
“Shady's fighting Discord right now,” she pointed out, as if the fact was of any use right now. Bourbon nodded curtly.
“Good. Ya'll can keep us updated, then.”
Lights sighed and shook her head. He was no Element of Honesty, that was for sure. She turned her head just in time to catch the first glimpse of Gem and Glitter galloping over the smoky landscape, their manes an umbra behind them. The most drastic change had occurred to Gem- the once-runt was now nearly as big as Bourbon, and has a full set of horns as well as a firm, accented jaw line and a handsome mane. Didn't make him any less awkward than a school filly, though.
Glitter was swifter on her feet, arriving with a gust of wind and leaping up onto some scaffolding above Aqua. Gem pounded by after her, coming to a clumsy, panting halt below.
“Alright,” Glitter began, already taking her place as designated leader, “Aquarius, have you determined the direction in which Gem and I will dispel the force field?”
“Yes,” he chirped in response, “At fifty degrees, south-southwest.”
“But won't that miss most of the town?” Lights pointed out, raising an eyebrow at the gray stallion.
“We're not trying to cover the town,” Glitter explained, “Just the area around the farm. I sent a few teams out to round up any survivors and bring them here ASAP. “
“How many dead?” The question was raised cautiously by Tater, who had relocated herself next to a grief-stricken Gem. Lights concluded her earlier fears were right.
“More than we thought. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Bon Bon, Snips... just to name a few. We found Vinyl and Octavia at the same time, their hooves linked. And there were a lot of bodies we couldn't recognize. It was really hard...” Glitter trailed off, tracks of tears forming down her face. Lights dug her hooves into the ground, gritting her teeth. It shouldn't be like this.
“Glitter,” Gem began, his ear frills drooping, “we should get started.” His marefriend cleared her throat and nodded, turning to address Lights herself.
“Listen, Lights, I'm going to need you to go back to the townsfolk. They need somepony like you to protect them. But first- have you heard from Nightshade at all? Whether or not she's killed Discord will determine how we go about this.”
Lights frowned slightly. Glitter had that look again, the I'm-not-telling-you-what-I'm-about-to-do look. Even so, she responded to the unicorn's question with, “We only chatted briefly. It didn't look good for her.” The Element of Magic blinked and bit her lip, obviously making a quick judgment. Below her, Gem and Tater exchanged uneasy looks.
“So this means we'll have to go with Plan B, guys,” Glitter sighed. Plan B? What the hell is that, and why doesn't it sound good? “Gem and I will start by casting the spell once the comet enters the atmosphere. I'll maintain it while Gem and Bourbon set up the annihilation perimeter. Tater, Aqua- you two will have to handle the time dilation on your own. I don't know how long I can hold the force field, but I'm guessing I have about a century to burn before I start fading. Hopefully the planet will be hospitable once more, then. And Lights- please, just don't say anything. Just get out of here.”
The other ponies instantly got to work. Tater flitted over to Aquarius and dug her face into his neck, taking a few long, deep breaths. Gem and Bourbon stood next to each other awkwardly, the tension of Gem- well, killing him once- still present. Lights merely stared up at Glitter, her face a melting pot of defiance and shock and hurt and confusion.
“What the hell are you doing?” Lights challenged, stamping a hoof, “You're gonna freaking kill yourself!” Glitter merely repeated her previous words.
“Please get out of here. The others will need you. I need you to look after them.”
“No!” shrieked Lights, “You're all planning on killing yourselves? If anybody should be sacrificing themselves, it should be me! I got you all into this, and you expect me to stand here and watch as you all... all... blow up or whatever the fuck you elements do- in order to fix things?”
Glitter's hard face softened. She slipped down from her perch, padding over to the shorter pony. She pressed their noses together gently, their eyes locked in a silent battle. Lights could almost see the regret and hurt flashing behind the unicorn's eyes, but it was accompanied by an intensity and sureness that made her stomach churn. This wasn't like when they were kids, when Glitter would selflessly take the blame for Lights's misdoings. This was real life.
The purple mare spoke in a soft, gentle, motherly voice, “This is our job. We can't escape it. I think I've known for weeks now that this was how it was going to end. You just need to be strong for us now. We're only ponies, Lights. And ponies are weak and cowardly by nature. They'll only make it through this if there is somebody to follow. Someone like you.”
“But I'm nothing, “choked Lights, “You said it yourself back in Tartarus. I'm selfish and lazy and just a plain old bully. I can fight off bad guys and take everybody else's pain all day, but it will never make me a good pony.”
“Shhhhh, no. You're the best pony I know. You're not selfish- you make sure everybody is treated equally and you never let somebody suffer more than they should. You're diligent, not lazy. And you're aggressive and tough-skinned. That's not what a bully is. I said those things because, yeah, you can be an ass. But I think we all can. And to be frank, I was jealous of you. Jealous of the fact that you were so amazing, so beaming, that ponies could see right through your hard shell. Dark times are ahead. Our world is ending. But when the force field goes down, it will be the beginning of a new one. And for all our sakes- let there be Light.”
Lights didn't realize it until after Glitter finished- she was sobbing. Once again her minty green fur was hot and matted with salt water, and her throat was tight and constricted. Glitter gave Lights a gentle kiss on the cheek before pulling away. It was time, but it took every ounce of strength Lights had left to force herself to her feet and back away. Before turning to head back to the orchard, she caught one last glimpse of her friends, exactly as they should be.
Gem and Glitter were sharing a passionate kiss while Tater smooched a startled Aquarius. Bourbon was simply beaming at Lights, giving her a small salute with his hoof. She gave him a meek smile before plunging down the road, silently screaming on the inside.
The first ponies she passed were Twilight and Pinkie, who were huddled at the trunk of a red gala tree. They had their snouts pressed together and their eyes closed, muttering soft things to each other. Occasionally one would peek open an eye and gaze up at the barn, or study Lights. She had a feeling they knew what was coming, and decided to leave the mourning couple in peace.
By the time she reached the main assembly of ponies, a soft purple aura had already began to coat the sky above them. A few unicorns illuminated their horns and seemed to offer their assistance, which was futile but touching. She found her mother exactly where she left her, huddled with her fellow Wonderbolts and sheltering Berry and Chroma beneath her wings. Lights felt a horrible twang in her heart as she watched Chroma scan the crowd for signs of her parents. How on earth was she going to break the news to the filly?
She took a moment to observe which of the Wonderbolts were, presumably, still alive. Blast, Spitfire's stunt double and the team's resident bitch, looked shaken but in good shape. Tyco and Hurricane were present too, but Hurricane's sodden face suggested her brother, Blizzard, was no longer with them.
Too much freaking death.
What concerned her further was neither Rainbow Dash nor Soarin' were to anywhere in sight. Lights turned to her mother, her voice wavering, “Ma... where's mom?” Spitfire looked calm and peaceful as she replied.
“She's somewhere around here, no doubt. I left her to care for Soarin', who was struck by some debris. It was a little while ago, so she probably got him here safely.”
Lights nodded, settling down on the ground next to her and the fillies. Berry gave Lights a somewhat worried look, but didn't say anything. Though they were twins, Berry seemed so much younger than Sweet Potato now. Tater had been through Hell and back- literally- so it was no wonder the quiet, soft-spoken Berry was dwarfed by her so.
Tater is going to die, though.
Most ponies had their heads turned to the sky by now, their attentions caught by a loud, blood-curdling cracking sound. Lights was surprised by how big the comet was now- it could almost rival the moon, had it been visible. It was glowing brightly now, reflecting the light of the burning planet. It was surely only moments away from entering the atmosphere. The last openings in the violet force field sealed. Hopefully it was strong enough to withstand the impact of a big-ass space rock
Right then, Lights remembered something. Her heart sunk and her breath caught in her throat.
Shady. Oh fuck, oh shit, damn, crap, SHADY.
The griffon was sealed out. Even if she did defeat Discord before the impact, there was no escape for her. Lights's best friends- and her love- were going to surely die taking down the Lord of Chaos.
But she didn't cry. She could barely even think. Things had just gone too far. It finally suck in that, yeah, she wasn't going to see the six friends she cherished most in life ever again.
Hush, Lights, said Shady's silky voice, Don't be afraid.
How can I not be afraid of life without you?
There was another pregnant pause, followed by a rush of adrenaline. Lights broke the silence briefly with, I love you. I'll never stop waiting for you.
I know. See you next time.
The world was shaking. The comet crackled as it hurled through the atmosphere, sending down burning debris and hellfire. The force field flickered and wavered under the strain. For as far as Lights could see, ponies were embracing each other, gasping, sobbing, crying... She saw the barn, where 5 specks of heavenly light were beaming, growing, and consuming all they touched.
She pictured each of her friends; Tater, the sweetest, most insightful filly ever; Bourbon, strong, gentle, and forgiving; Gem, fiercely protective and loyal to the last breath; Aquarius, who had the courage to go on a deadly mission with four strangers; and Glitter, who kept the group together through thick and thin. The four best ponies she'd ever met. Soon to never be seen again.
Her chest numbed. Again she recalled that this was all her fault in the first place, the repercussions of a dumb child's grudge. And that dumb child was expected to lead her people into a new world, like some earth-bound deity. She was no god. But she was expected to be one.
Then let there be light, she thought bitterly.
And the light that filled her vision, blinded her, and lulled her and many other fearful ponies off to a deep sleep... was good enough.
