Trinity of Time: Fate and Change

Why was this happening?! Never before had I experienced such a problem, let alone in midair. If my wings were this weak, then they would not have even left the factory. Plus, every month, I schedule a checkup with my mechanics. At least the cloud bots were there to save me. This thought helped alleviate my panic a little, and gave me some thinking power.

I flipped over on my back, as instructed in such an emergency, and awaited the arrival of the cloud bots. They were basically synthetic, equine-like creatures of liquid metal. They served no other purpose but to catch those who fell from the heavens. Personally, I've never seen one face to face, but just the mere idea behind such a thing tore me apart.

On one hand, I was grateful and fascinated by the wonders of technology. However, I was also frightened by this new-found power of ours to create synthetic lifeforms, that look and behave just like we do. What if they decided they were better than we were? Would we be able to stop metallic versions of our race? No matter how sturdy our implants, they were clearly not made for battle.

That fact always troubled me; how is it that we were able to strive without conflict? Conflict between each other and oneself is what pushes the equine spirit forwards. Without it, we wouldn't progress as a species. Evolution itself is a conflict. Earth ponies have stronger bodies, and a sturdier anatomy because they have to overcompensate. Unicorns, like me, possess greater brain power in order to understand and mold magic to our will. Pegasi are born with lighter bones and stretchier skin, as to ease flight, and maintain proper wind resistance naturally. These were once common facts; universal truths to our kin, if you will. But this... Being able to become whatever we wanted, just a payment away. I felt a little cheated...

An alarming observation, actually two, brought my hooves back down to reality. I noticed something very abnormal, the island seem to have shifted positions; floating down closer to the clouds, and spread apart far more than usual. Movement wasn't irregular, but never as extreme as this.

And there was another problem; why haven't the cloudbots arrived yet? It's at that moment that I realized not only how high above the clouds the islands were (which were very high above the clouds), but that nopony was there to catch me. I tried whailing around, screaming for help, but no answer. Where the heck were the cloud bots? In fact, why was nopony in the air? I know it's late, but there's usually a few policemen and guards flying around! Ugh... This sharp feeling of pain... My body felt much heavier than usual. The remaining beams of my artificial wings felt burdensome, and quite painful as well. They seem to be jiggling around, the inner tips moving back and forth on my spine. It was a dull rubbing sensation, but bothersome enough to trouble me.

I turned around. The clouds seemed less that ten meters away. Already, my surroundings took on a slight dirty white hue.

Nine. Pressure's dropping...

Eight. Feeling a little light headed...

Seven. Everything seems a little foggier...

Six. No.. The parts were falling with me!

Five. They're gonna hit me!

Four. What is this red? Am I still bleeding?!

Three. My fur feels wet... Losing feeling of limbs...

Two. I can barely see the islands now...

One. Nothing but white... The sharp edges of the beams are gonna hit me...

Zero. Everything faded to black.