The End Is A One Way MirrorView OnlineOne Shots from EquestriaThe End Is A One Way MirrorAaron charged down the street, hardly able to think straight. His breath was ragged and his heart was racing. Sirens blared a warning that would go unheeded. All around him people ran around in a mad panic. Cars ran people over in a futile attempt to flee. Windows were smashed as people broke into stores, trampling over each other for whatever junk they'd always wanted but had never been able to get. "Fat lot of good it will do them now," Aaron thought. It had finally happened. He didn't know who'd done it, why they'd done it, or even where they were from, but some idiot had finally done it. The button had finally been pressed, and the whole world was about to die. As the sirens continued to sound off, Aaron found himself unable to continue running. He wasn't even really sure where he'd been trying to get to. Was he trying to escape? No, there was no point. To find a store to loot? No. Again what good would that do him now? To his home? No. There was nothing for him there. No family, no loved ones, not even a pet to see out the end with. Aaron's run slowed to a crawl before coming to a complete stop. He found himself outside a local high school. The one with the horse statue outside. Canterlot high was it? Whatever. It didn't matter at this point. He looked up at the sky. "That must be it," Aaron thought. He could just barely make out the trail it left behind. Walking over to the statue's pedestal a different thought briefly flashed through his mind. "I hope the cockroaches do a better job than we did," With that he sat down, closed his eyes, leaned back... ...and fell. The sudden feeling of weightlessness caused Aaron to pop his eyes back open. surrounding him was a bizarre, technicolor vortex. After a moment he could feel a force pulling him backwards. Was he dead? Was this what death felt like? It wasn't so much painful as... weird. Weird and slightly nauseating. The pulling increased until, all at once he found himself flung across some sort of library. Aaron looked to where he'd come from, and saw what looked like a fancy mirror. He didn't have much time to think about it though, as a deafening explosion reverberated through the room shaking the very ground. The mirror he'd come through cracked, and the pieces fell from the frame. Aaron hadn't needed to ask what had happened back there. He'd known exactly what the shattered glass meant. Soon enough the owner of this place, one Princess Twilight Sparkle, had run in to find out what had happened. With her help he'd been introduced to this world of ponies. At first it had seemed like a perfect world. No wars, no crime, no traffic accidents. But something continued to eat at Aaron. As far as he knew, he was the only human to survive. He'd done his best not to think about it, to push it to the side, but this world seemed intent on reminding him. Everywhere he went he saw names like Las Pegasus, Manehatten, and Trottingham. He kept seeing ponies who looked suspiciously similar to famous humans he'd known in his own world. It was like this entire universe was some sick parody of his own, intent on reminding him every day that he'd fled like a coward, and now he was completely alone. Maybe he should have gone back through the mirror and faced the end with everyone else. Maybe he could have saved someone, anyone, else. Why was he the one who found that portal? Surely there was somebody out there who deserved to survive more than him. He could hear the voices of those left behind. Screaming. Louder and louder. Aaron held his hands over his ears to block out the noise but it did no good. He sat on the ground, curled up with his head on his knees, begging for it to stop. And then it was silent. Aaron looked up. Standing before him was a midnight blue pony with a mane full of stars. He recognized her as one of the first ponies he'd met after arriving: Princess Luna. "What's going on?" He asked. "A nightmare, friend Aaron," Luna replied, lowering her head down to where the human sat, "I sensed your mind crying out. Please, tell me what is troubling you." Aaron looked down at his feet. His breathing was still heavy despite knowing that he was dreaming. "Nothing. You wouldn't understand." A hoof under his chin turned his eyes toward Luna's face. Her eyes showed concern and no small desire to help. "Try me," She said simply. And so he did. When Aaron had first arrived, he hadn't told the whole truth about the circumstances of his arrival. He'd quickly decided that this pastel world wouldn't be able to handle knowing the horrors that man was capable of. But now he told all. "When I came here," He began, "it was by complete accident. There was a weapon coming. It was designed to destroy everything and leave what was left barren for decades. And there wasn't just one. Every major power had who knows how many, and they were using them all." He paused, taking a deep breath. "I fell into your world just before one of them landed in my home town. I didn't see what happened, but when the mirror cracked I knew I was alone. Ever since then I... I've just wondered..." "Why you survived and the others did not?" Asked Luna, "If perhaps you could have saved one of them?" "Yeah. How did you..." "Equestria is peaceful now, Aaron, but it is no stranger to conflict. This peace was hard won and not without loss." Luna fell silent for a moment. "Did you know there used to be more alicorns?" She asked. "No," replied Aaron, sitting up straighter, "I had no idea." "It was so long ago that it is little more than legend to most ponies, if that," continued Luna, "but indeed there was once an entire nation of alicorns." "What happened?" "Gone," said Luna, "They fought for control like so many others before and since. They meddled with forces they could not hope to control." This was starting to sound familiar. "Celestia and I were in Equestria studying under Starswirl the Bearded when the war truly broke. By the time we returned, it was over. all that remained was a desolate wasteland." Luna sat down and looked Aaron directly in the eye. "Not a day has gone by that we haven't asked ourselves the same questions troubling your mind. If anypony understands, its us." "But what do I do?" "It will not be easy. You must learn to accept that you are not to blame for the actions of others and that your survival does not make you guilty of wrongdoing. And as for those who were lost," Luna closed her eyes, "pray that the guilty receive justice, and the innocent find peace." "Does it ever go away?" Aaron asked. "No," said Luna, "but with help, perhaps it can be eased." She stood up and held out a hoof to the seated human. "Will you let me help you?" Aaron said nothing, but he reached out and took the offered hoof. Author's Note I wasn't sure about this one. Hope it turned out okay. Let me know if you liked it. Let me know if you didn't like it. Be sure to let me know any way I can improve!
Save Our ChildView OnlineOne Shots from EquestriaSave Our ChildA storm raged as two ponies made their way through the Everfree Forest. One, a stallion, carried an old book. Its binding was falling apart, and its pages were yellowed with age. The other, a mare, carried a small bundle wrapped in blankets. After what felt like hours of searching. the two finally reached their destination: a small clearing in the woods. The trees around it grew in bizarre, twisted shapes and the ground was dry despite the pouring rain and in the center was the remains of a throne. "We found it, Igneous," said the mare, pulling off her hood and revealing a gray earth pony, "the Throne of Chaos." "It looks like the map was right after all, Cloudy," replied her partner, removing his own hood, "maybe this will work after all..." "It has to," Cloudy Quartz's eyes began to water as she unwrapped her cargo, "for her sake." With the blankets removed, she held up a small gray foal, only a few weeks old and fading fast. The filly had been born sick and nopony could identify just what was wrong with her. Igneous and Cloudy had sought out every doctor they could afford, and even some they couldn't but they'd all had the same response: there was nothin they could do. There daughter wouldn't last another month. In desperation they'd turned to... less savory methods. Lost artifacts, forbidden rituals, occult practices. At their search had unearthed an ancient book with a map inside. The tome was in terrible condition, and parts of the text was virtually unreadable, but it provided one last hope. The writings described a ceremony where, if certain symbols were inscribed in a certain place, a mysterious entity would appear and grant a single wish. The map led to a spot deep within the Everfree, where Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz now found themselves. Igneous quickly etched the appropriate symbols into the ground in a circle around the throne. The letter Q, a stylized cobra, two faces: one square and one pointed, and the letters JDL. With that finished, he ran back to his wife's side. Cloudy lay her daughter on the ground inside the circle. She felt her husband put his foreleg over her shoulder and give a gentle squeeze. "Ready?" "Ready." The two of them turned to the throne an shouted over the sound of thunder. "DISCORD! Awaken from your sleep, and grant our wish! Rise, Lord of Chaos!" Time froze. A bolt of lightning stood still as it arced across the sky. The entire clearing glowed with an ever-changing kaleidoscope of light. A ball of lightning formed above the Throne of Chaos. Over the course of a minute it changed its shape, developing limbs, a head, a tail. Finally, there before the astonished ponies floated a monstrous hybrid of creatures cobbled together by the mind of a madman. "Well... this is unexpected," It said pulling out a pocket watch and examining it closely, "I'm not supposed to be woken up until the second season." "D...Discord?" questioned Cloudy. "Indeed, my little pony," Replied Discord, taking off his horns like a hat and bowing, "And thanks to you two, I'm free! Free at last!" Discord threw back his head in maniacal laughter before snapping his fingers... only for nothing to happen. He looked down at his talon confused. "Huh, that's never happened before," he turned to the ponies who'd summoned him, "I assume this is your doing?" Igneous held up his book and pointed a hoof toward one of the pages. "Your power is limited to the inside of the circle. We've summoned you to grant our request." "Such gall! Such impetuousness!" Shouted Discord, crossing his arms and turning his nose up, "Tell me more." Cloudy gestured towards the foal lying before her. "Please. Save our child." "hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." Discord levitated the tiny pony up to eye level seemingly pondering his response, "Sure, why not?" "Really? That's it?" "Of course! I just need to know her name." Discord grinned. "Its Pinkamena," said Cloudy, "Pinkamena Diane Pie." "Very well then," Discord looked at the filly, "Pinkamena! Would you like to have 50 CC's of pure chaos injected directly into your blood stream? You would! Wonderful!" "Wait," Igneous held up a hoof, "what does that mean?" "Oh, its very simple," replied Discord, "Your daughter will become an... agent of chaos, if you will. She'll be perfectly healthy, but never quite, well, normal." "Wait a second!" "Oops! Too Late!" Discord snapped his fingers and the child he held began to glow pink, "You didn't really think it would be that easy did you? I can't just go handing out favors like I'm your friend or something. There's always a cost to these things. Or didn't your precious little book mention that?" The glow intensified until, in the blink of an eye, it stopped. Discord floated Pinkamena down to her mother's waiting hooves. "There, you see? Perfectly healthy. Just a bit more interesting than your average pony." Cloudy looked down at the child now nestled in her arms. Her dull gray coat had changed to a bright, pastel pink, but more importantly, her eyes were finally opening and she was moving. She was finally safe. "Thank you," she whispered. "Don't mention it," replied Discord, "Like seriously, Do Not mention it. I don't want ponies getting the wrong idea about me. One minute you're healing one pony and the next you're helping a team of unlikely heroes save the world from shapeshifting bugs. But lets not tempt fate." As he spoke, Discord's body began to fade away. "Well in any case it looks like our business here is complete. Back to Celestia's garden for me. Phooey..." Igneous and Cloudy turned to leave but were stopped by the sound of Discord's voice. "Oh, one last thing! You two might want to check the side effects of that little ritual you used. So Long!" With that he vanished. "What dost thou..." Igneous began only to stopped when he heard the sound of his own voice. He cleared his throat, "That is, what art thou.." He flipped open the book. The storm was clearing, and in the growing light text that (somehow) neither of them had noticed before was clearly visible. "Please note: The use of this spell will cause anypony who uses it to speak like a pilgrim for a period of time ranging from four years to four-ever -----Discord " This prompted the only response either of them could conceive of. "What?" Author's Note The true origin of Pinkie Pie! Let me know if you liked it. Let me know if you didn't like it. Be sure to let me know any way I can improve!
Magical Filly Macintosh (part 1)View OnlineOne Shots from EquestriaMagical Filly Macintosh (part 1)"Just another day like any other," Thought Big Macintosh as he loaded a barrel full of apples into a his cart. Not that he particularly minded of course. A nice calm orchard, a mug of cider, and some time alone with his thoughts was all Big Mac needed. He preferred to leave the more exiting stuff to his sister. Sitting down for a brief rest, Big Mac looked around at the now empty trees surrounding him. At this rate he'd be done with today's work well before dinner. If he kept this pace up he'd probably have most of the orchard harvested before Applejack got back from whatever shenanigans she and her friends were mixed up in. As he got back to work, Mac wondered to himself what sort of thing it might be this time. Maybe some ancient unspeakable evil, perhaps a misguided sorcerer trying to seize power, or maybe it was a problem that could be fixed with a simple talk to clear up a misunderstanding. "Ah bet Rainbow Dash would be mighty annoyed if that was it," he thought with a chuckle. Of course, it wasn't as if he didn't appreciate all the work they did. Heck, he and everypony else in Equestria owed them their lives several times over. But even the greatest heroes couldn't be everywhere at once. As Big Mac filled yet another bushel with fruit his mind flashed back to a fateful meeting in the Everfree forest. He couldn't help but wonder what the odds were that he, of all ponies would've been in just the right place at that time. Well, in any case, he had more harvesting to get to. Just as he was getting back to work, a blood-curdling shriek shattered the silence. The sounds of ponies screaming could be heard from town. "Another one already?" Thought Big Mac, "Ah swear to Celestia, its like those darn things can read my mind." He looked up and saw a black cat sitting perched on a branch above his head. Not that he needed the reminder. He already knew what he needed to do. (One year ago) "Here Winona! Here girl!" Big Macintosh called out for the Apple family dog. He stood at the edge of the Everfree forest where she'd just run in while chasing a cat. Now it wasn't unusual for Winona to chase after some critter, but normally she'd stop short of the forest. This time though, for whatever reason, she just kept on going. Big Mac hesitated for a moment, but he couldn't just leave Winona in there by herself. "Here goes nothin'," he thought as he stepped into the trees. Even with the midday sun overhead, the thick foliage made it seem like dusk. Winona had left plenty of tracks to follow but Big Mac couldn't help but worry that one of the Everfree's many monsters would get to her before he did. Even though she could be a bit of a hoof-full at times, he could bear the thought of her getting hurt out here. After nearly half an hour of searching, he finally heard the sound of excited barking. Big Mac hurriedly galloped towards the source of the sound. It seemed to be coming from inside a small cave. Cautiously, Big Mac poked his head inside and sure enough there was Winona standing over some sort of lumpy bundle. "Winona! Oh thank Celestia," Now that he was no longer concerned for her safety, Macintosh adopted a sterner tone, "You know better than to run into the forest by yerself girl. What if Ah hadn't..." Whatever Big Macintosh was about to say next never came, because he suddenly realized what the dog had found in the cave. A pony. He quickly scrambled in and to the strange pony's side. The pony, a pegasus mare as he could now see, had clearly been victim to some sort of attack, though by what he couldn't say. "Miss? Miss can yah hear me?" She opened one eye part way and looked at Big Mac, but said nothing "Can yah move at all?" Again no response. Realizing this was going nowhere, Big Mac decided to stop wasting time and simply take her to someone who could help. "Ah'm gonna give yah a lift inta town alright? There's a doctor there who can help yah." But before he could make a move, she held out a hoof. "Don't bother," She said weakly, "Its too late for me." Before Big Mac could object, she continued. "I need you to listen to me. They're coming for Ponyville. You need to stop them." "Who? What's comin'?" Rather than respond the mare pressed her hoof to his. "Please promise me." she whispered, clearly struggling to speak. For a fraction of a second, Macintosh hesitated. This whole hero thing was more Applejack's forte. But as soon as that thought entered his mind, he shook it out. He couldn't just shrug off a dying pony's request, especially when the lives of everypony he knew could be at risk. "Ah promise," he said with a nod. With that, a golden glow surrounded the stranger's body, working its way to the end of her forehoof. Where their two hooves met, the glow spread to Big Mac. As it covered him, a strange tingling sensation engulfed his body. Finally the light faded and the mysterious mare gave a small chuckle. "Heh. A stallion. I don't think anypony ever expected this," She looked Big Mac in the eyes, "Thank you." With that, she closed her eyes and her body simply faded away. Big Mac took a few steps back, trying to process what had just happened. The tingling sensation was still there, and now he found himself fighting back a sudden wave of nausea. He turned to leave, took a single step forward, and passed out. With start, Big Mac awoke. He was in his room, lying in his bed. Had that all been a dream? He couldn't remember coming back home, and one look out the window let him know that it was night and had been for some time. Just as he determined that it must have been an incredibly vivid dream, he felt his stomach lurch. "Well that was real at least," he thought, rushing to the bathroom. After vomiting up the remains of yesterday's dinner, Big Mac happened to catch his reflection out of the corner of his eye. But... something seemed off. He turned his head to get a better look. Staring back at him was the face of a young mare. Author's Note So, a while back I published the beginning of a story called Weremare. It was based off a spur-of-the-moment idea, and was written entirely off the top of my head. The point is: I don't look back on it too fondly. This short story is essentially an attempt at a more polished version of that , and hopefully provide an idea of where that story might have gone. As always, let me know if you liked it. Let me know if you didn't like it. Let me know any way I can improve.
