Another Cosmological Eclipse

by Fireflower

Rating: mature
Tags: Death, Human, Sad, Lyra, Cheerilee, Gore, Raindrops, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, My Little Pony Comic, Carrot Top, Trixie, Sex, Suicide / Self Harm, Tragedy, Profanity, Non-consensual, Violence, Slice of Life
Length: 57741

A compilation of vignettes from survivors of a tragedy hitting too close to home, each of them struggling to live in different environments and deal with their daily lives, far and wide, to overcome the pain from (not too) long ago.

The land of Equestria, the heart and soul of the world, has seen better days, in spite of the royal sisters and their shared subjects spreading their influences: the war they'd been fighting seven years ago had taken a toll on both the Crown and Country, so much so that even its champions, the Bearers of Harmony, have been severely affected; of course, their stories have been already told.

What had been untold up 'til now was the suffering of many others, common and otherwise: even in a time of peace, the pain of war is still recent on their minds, bodies, and souls, especially considering the devastation; even those undamaged have bore witness to the effects it had on both kith and kin, neighbors and strangers, countrymates and foreigners, hosts and guests, benefactors and recipients.

As with the many, regaining tranquility had become a central objective, especially in the eyes of those select denizens: a damaged magician, a troubled tenant, a lonely farmer, an aspiring cadet, a retired teacher, and a distraught mother; these are the lives and times of the broken individuals forever effected by the war.

In spite of their differences between one another keeping themselves apart, they were nearly destroyed years ago because of said war and the aftereffects that had followed it; as such, these are their stories.

NOTE: Although it also takes place at the same timeframe as War Orphans' Wishes, it's best recommended to start reading Ocular Spectral Therapy first for the sake of continuity before jumping into any other story on one's own free will(power) and time.

Published 2022-12-01 05:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2023-03-26 04:01:46 UTC

Aubade

Author's Note

It's Fireflower again with the eighth installment of my first My Little Pony fanfic going beyond the typical oneshots I'd made from before and already using canon characters as human beings instead of their normal forms; however, this is nonetheless a Mature fimfic for this chapter here will deal with certain subject matters considered unsuitable for those under eighteen, easily offended, and/or quickly nauseated: speaking of which, I'd like to extend my thanks to Rand and Schorl for inspiring me to write it down, so much so that I'm crediting them with the source material.

In addition, I would like to take this time to inform you this chapter is only a nightmare but it can and will bring shock, awe, and outrage out of you in ways too horrible to imagine so it's with a generous heart and mind that yours truly has uploaded another chapter after this as well on the same day no less: for those of you amongst themselves wishing to skip ahead, please do so; I promise, it'll help calm your nerves a bit for the most part.

Lastly, let me also say that I hope you can withstand this chapter now and stay tuned for future chapters later on then again, you've but a few options: stop right there and wait, go back to the beginning, or skip ahead to the next chapter; whatever decision you make, I won't blame you but consider yourselves warned.

Aubade

All throughout the way, there was an abysmal unknown of complete blackness where only such factors of sight, substance, and scent lay buried inside those obscurities best referred to as a void. The exceptions which had given clues to the very location’s identity were surface, sensitivity, and sound: such were the gentle breezes being close to comfort anyone whom would cross paths. Most importantly, the current occupancy was above from simply desolate, let alone abandoned; after all, there were a few colors in many caliginous shades and hues giving off their silent cries.

Then, without any kind of warning whatsoever, a sharp turn in the tides had given off a brief glimpse of light into the darkness, bright and blue as the skies. There was an abundance of items, great and small, decorating the spacious yet finite boarders: boxes, crates, papers, birdcages, plants, instruments, and racks. Tucked in one of the corners facing opposite towards each other was a small couch and armchair; the former, gilded and red; the latter, all scarlet and yellowish.

“Say, Flim, do you think the presence of a slave of her own sex would loosen her shoulders a bit; maybe it’s time to trot out our little surprise, wouldn’t you say…?” a stray voice had emerged from the dark backward when some more colors now came into the picture already so to speak of.

Despite this, the jet–black void had held firm, refusing to leave the premise even when the lights jumped about intermittently as is; in the meantime, a similar counterpart had answered freely, “I think that’s a great idea; trust me, you’ll love this…”

Sure enough, a pair of hard footsteps were being made in the process, each one harder and louder than the last from what’s heard; eventually, some fabric was ripped away in an instant, revealing a predominately redheaded man with skin lighter than jade eyes: his attire had consisted of a stripy coat with gilded buttons, a solid black bowtie, and off–white pants matching his straw hat.

“Wake up, dollface…!” he’d barked, kicking the wired surface with absolutely no hesitation thereof, “we’ve got company…!”

“Hng…?” a weak murmur had escaped into the fold, belonging to the lonely listener whom heard some metal clicking about before a hand reached into the confines.

In the redheaded man’s grasp was some flat silver hand all tangled up and attached to a brightly skinned woman with amethyst eyes: unlike him, she was in the altogether, save for a jet–black collar wrapped firmly around neckline from what he can see clearly about; in addition, her own face was lacking of hair in any shape or form whatsoever, not that it’d matter to her at all no less.

His hand dragged her to the other side of the area without a care as he’d spoken right in her ear, “go on, don’t be shy; introduce yourself…”

The bright skinned woman couldn’t do much at all, except look at the two people up in front of her line of eyesight all the same: one of them had seemed to be an exact carbon copy correspondent of her harsh handler, albeit more clean–shaven and colder; the other was a tanned blonde in dire need of an introduction since, like her, the latter was only wearing the same attire. Even with those emerald orbs, neither of the redheaded men saw eye–to–eye with either woman whatsoever nevertheless herein; as a matter of fact, the cluster of freckles thereof served to differentiate between the two as far as there was a cause for concern: additionally, there were also some signs of discoloration upon the face as well, lightly shaded but otherwise noticeable.

“Applejack, it’s s–so good to s–s–see you…!” the bright skinned woman stuttered shakily after pulling the tanned blonde into a hug, catching the latter off–guard before returning the favor, “I’m so sorry…!”

“Do you two already know each other?” asked the mustached man, sounding genuinely surprised; his clean–shaved correspondent paid no mind, leering at the sight of two barenaked ladies pressed against one another.

Either way, the bright skinned woman was being pulled away from the tanned blonde as her handler changed ownership between the redheaded men, one of whom had said, “huh, small world; in any case, the lovely Miss Trixie is the newest member of the Flim Flam Franchises family. My brother and I have been looking to branch out of marketing into the entertainment industry for a while now; so, when we heard the famous Great and Powerful Trixie was up for sale, well, we just had to snap her up and see if there was any start power left in her, not to mention, she came with this. We thought we’d put her to work doing magic shows, just like in the old days; there was only one tiny problem: she couldn’t exactly do real magic tricks anymore on account of her skill, or, should I say, the lack thereof. Yes, unfortunately, magic wasn’t quite in the cards anymore for ol’ Stumpy: I mean, after all, you can’t be a wizard without a wan, isn’t that right, Stumpy? Go on, tell Applejack yourself…”

“T–tell her what…?” the silver haired individual meekly asked, shaking about due to the clean–shaven man casually reaching down to grasp her bosom, “what is there to talk about it?!”

His brother prodded Trixie with a finger, “tell her why you can’t do magic anymore; say what we’d taught you to say…”

“I–I can’t do magic anymore, not ever again…” the bright skinned woman sniffled after clearing her throat, amethyst orbs welling up with fluid as she tried to choke back the sobs, “b–because… because…”

“Because…?” asked the mustached man mildly.

Trixie tried to look down at the floor but was caught, her chin forced upward as she’d stuttered about, “b–because I w–was a n–n–naughty lassie and… and…”

“And what…?” the warmer man whispered into the bright skinned woman’s ear almost sensually, causing her darker counterpart to gawk, “go on ahead; say it…”

“T–they h–had–had to take my S–S–SKILLS AWAY…!” Trixie had broken out into a fit of loud wracking sobs, burying her face in her own hands.

Applejack had felt nothing but sorrow and anger at her brighter correspondent and their shared handlers respectively as the mustached man purred, “poor girl, I completely forgot how sensitive she was about her skills being permanently culled: how callous of me; anyway, when we started doing shows with her again, we had to rework her act a bit. Now, it’s mostly just making increasingly larger things ‘disappear’ into herself: gets a little repetitive, truth be told, but it’s still good fun; you and Big Macintosh should come out to town and see it sometime. No promises, but I can look into getting you a friends–and–family discount…”

“I wish you had a skill to cull off or, you know, wind to ground but I guess you were born on the earth anyway: can’t miss what you never had…” the clean–shaven man sneered as he took out a cigar from underneath his shirt, lighting it up with a match from his pocket before snuffing its fire, “real shame, too, because I’d pay good money to see you cry. Trixie here gives it away for free, just like everything else, but you? We could charge maybe five or–––”

“Fuck you…!” the tanned blonde interjected without warning, earning a gasp from the colder redhead, a cock from his brother, and some silence from Trixie, her skin even becoming more whiter than her hair.

The clean–shaven man’s concave curved downward as his cigar almost felt out before finding its way mere inches away from Applejack’s cheek, but no further as he’d hissed, “so she isn’t mute at all; you know, maybe I was wrong: normal girls do have other things to ruin, like your pretty face. Personally, I think a few burns here and there might be an improvement…”

“Let’s not get carried away, brother…” the mustached man said calmly, plucking the lit stick off from his brother’s fingers gently as the former tossed it down on the floor before stomping about, “we can’t leave marks on her, you know that; collect yourself…”

“Did you even hear her; aren’t we going to punish her?!” the clean–shaven man had snarled instantly.

His brother looked back evenly before answering, “not like that: I said calm down; you’ll get your chance…”

“Those bitches: the least they’d do is accept that they’d lost, plain and simple; after all, Celestia lost her crown and country too…” the clean–shaven man cerebrated as he’d looked at the tanned blonde more intently than ever so to speak of, brimming with toxins, “I–––”

“You’ll get your chance…” his brother repeated; soon, they were all silent, even Applejack whom had let out a deep breath before it’d became golden again.

Time had passed on through space alongside with the inhabitants whom were drifting aimlessly as the stars amongst the never–ending blackness floated on, each of them to prompt any wayward traveler to harken back to the memories of life when the richest beverage kept their spirits up until there next destination and from the mouth of madness. Of course, time itself was the only thing that remained constant in the ever changing plane of existence where many variables had come in all shapes and sizes, coexisting alongside either in unions or divisions thereof as they transcended boundaries without incident to say the least; then again, almost all of them succumbed to the folding sooner or later. This interval however would prove to be a special case since that there were those who have found themselves still standing rather than stumbling and falling to the depths of their failure nonetheless; either way, not all of them were doing so as the whole wide world turned on its own axis: out of many of those in question, there was indeed a few no less.

In any case, the foursome were without words so to speak of, having nothing to say to each other or to themselves that could be ever heard; still, the only sounds came from the bright skinned woman, currently at the tender mercies of the clean–shaven man exploring her forcefully no less. As for his brother, he’d sat in the armchair with his fingers laced, staring at the tanned blonde: initially, it was an even ratio but he couldn’t resist laying eyes on someone else other than Trixie; nevertheless, the silence was upheld, even though it was far from easy for the lonely women. Needless to say, Applejack was calm on the outside but thinking all throughout the very time: since the bright skinned woman was directly in front of the clean–shaven man, the former froze; the latter’s eyes darted to and fro as teeth were gritting against its own shared surface area as is.

It wasn’t long until the colder redhead decided to break the monotony with but only a holler so loud and abrupt that tanned blonde nearly jumped out of her seat, “STOP! I’m going out, I need some fresh air; I need some fresh pussy too, but I guess this whiny cunt will have to do for now…”

“I think that’s a capital idea…” the mustached man said, not taking his eyes off of Applejack anyway so to speak of herein, “all the more reason for her to know the ropes and, more importantly, her place too…”

“Hah…!” Trixie cried, seized by a hand roughly.

The clean–shaven counterpart dragged the bright skinned woman aside and pushed an area open, presenting them with the heat and light of an outside world. Although Trixie was quick to get a glimpse of the starriest sapphires shining about, thanks to the golden sun, her face had met the ground and the grass too. Of course, the bright skinned woman soon recognized where much of the green was: on the other side of the white fences where many trees were growing up. In the distance faraway from Trixie was a large homestead slathered predominately in crimson and a small orange shed standing upright and running near. Some of the spaces were occupied by other forms of vegetation, more open and brimming with appendages rather than the fruit high up within the foliage. There were a scarcity of workers found in the background, each with only their own collar of but nothing more, much like the bright skinned woman herself.

The colder redhead pushed her further into the ground, growling fiercely, “listen here, you twat: I’m going to show little miss Applejack something along the lines of this is what happens to smug bitches…!”

“Please, I don’t know what you’re talking about; this has to be a joke: Flim Flam Franchises family, right?!” Trixie sobbed fearfully about as he’d quickly studied her entire bared body from top to bottom licentiously, “what in Tartarus is going on here: what did I do to deserve all this; are you one of the vandals from Ponyville?!”

“It’s simple: your country lost because Celestia was a stupid whore who ran this country into the ground and lost the war and now she has to serve her conquerors naked and on the floor…!” the clean–shaven redhead answered as his fingers made contact with the brass teeth directly over his waistline.

As soon as the bright skinned woman had heard some unzipping purr, her amethyst orbs had widened about as she’d pleaded, “please, whatever this is about, don’t do this to me; I don’t want to give birth to a child yet: I’m not even married yet…!”

“That’s too bad, because, you see, all of you women don’t get to have a say in these things anymore, not since they fell…!” he’d snorted, his face now up close and personal more than ever as far as she can feel; at the very least, there was some distance, “it’s quite a shame really: with your body, you could’ve been on the way to motherhood in about a few years’ time no less. Anyways, my brother Flam and I were about to make a stopover in Ponyville to show off our latest invention for the season: The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, a machine capable of making homemade apple beverage in record time so to speak of; at the very least, we would’ve been able to give the people what they’d wanted so badly, more than these Apples ever could. Many a mistake was made when it came to people and economics and the denizens of Ponyville were all the more reason why; even in the age of rapid progress, there are still people in and out of Equestria whom fail to understand supply and demand: in order to turn a profit, supply must outweigh demand so as long as there’s a big enough of a surplus to give everyone a chance. Previously, before this land ended up under new management, selling a dream was only going to work as long as people want something: as kids, they were just something to help us stay still with our eyes closed for six to twelve hours, provided they were safe from harm; speaking of which, legends and myths of people sleeping for much longer seems to be much the staple point. In any case, people these days want something brought to them in the real world, more than just a good dream rather than nightmares: sure, Princess Luna had a good run but the world wasn’t ready for the likes of her to come back after what she did a millennium ago; after all, she’d betrayed her sister and their country all because people would rather sleep at night anyways. Consequentially, Celestia’s decision to welcome her back after the Elements were done with her was buts one mistake too many: even with their combined power, they couldn’t save the day together like they’d used to, especially considering their loss; if anything, all it has done was enlighten us brothers to the reality of our situation at hand, alongside with the rest of Equestria. Only then, we’d come to realize how weak and pathetic the Princesses were, especially since they couldn’t protect their niece; not only that, it has made us more willing to try our hand at something we’d never imagined in an otherwise free country like it: the business of pleasure and pain, but mostly pleasure and what better way than the labors of lust with lasses such as you.”

“Forget it: I’m the Great and Powerful Trixie, not some generic and pathetic trollop to be passed around like a baby doll for show and tell; I definitely refuse to be your commonplace harlot…!” the eponymous outsider spat out angrily, even with the close proximity between themselves already made apparent.

Nevertheless, the clean–shaven man licked the bright skinned woman’s ears as he’d hissed on, “I regret to inform you that you don’t have much of a choice anymore, not like years ago when she was alone on the throne; magic or no magic, you’re a slave, just like Applejack and her precious friends, the Bearers of Harmony, and this jet–black collar is proof of that, plain and simple. Every single woman between your age and senior years has that collar around their neck as proof of their place in the new world: even if you’d managed to grow old enough to endure all of this to menopause and beyond, it won’t ever matter any other way; once they find a solution to reverse the ageing and restore all fertility to the sterile and the like, the elderly will become past. Depending on whatever child you give birth to, you won’t even be able to see them any which way, no woman will be able to: should they be a lot like you, they’ll be at the mercy of any man great or small, once they come of age in this new world herein; on the other hand, they’d be able to have any woman waiting at their disposal to bear any and all their children, ready or not. Suffice it to say, your days as a magician as well as your daydreams to become powerful have already come to an end here: today, you’ll come to know your place and embrace your role as a slave for the men under the new regime such as us alone; after all, you’d already given your body to someone else and have birthed more than you had before, so here’s a little reminder…”

“No, please, sir: I don’t wanna; somebody…” she’d struggled to speak before finding something entering her from abaft with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever, “EEUUUUAAAAAAGH…!”

Trixie became quadrupedal as he’d started wrenching her head back with a fistful of white hair in his left hand while the opposite was stuck between her thighs, violently massaging the space between them. Every time the clean–shaven man thrusted himself forward into the bright skinned woman, their bodies slapped together wetly as she’d started to yip; this was all that she could do at this moment alone. At the very least, she began to cry, albeit quietly than she’d done before as her eyes were closed to the world at large; for what it was worth, no amount of darkness was going to distract her from the suffering. This was nothing to him as he’d pressed onward, uncaring of Trixie’s position, their state, or his dishabille: the trousers around his ankles were already undone, no doubt the work of their owner in all of this. In any case, the bright skinned woman sniffled and snorted about as the tresses remained firmly in the clean–shaven man’s possession, restricting what little movements to be made, voluntary and otherwise. Moisture had started to gather about between the twosome in question, forming from their brows so to speak of; in her case, she was become hot and heavy as his rubdowns became more intense than before. Eventually, the clean–shaven man started to move faster than he’d prior, causing Trixie to open her eyes again as they were leaking about along with her teeth, panting and heaving, all despite her attempts. Soon, the bright skinned woman felt something warm and tacky bursting about from the other end as he’d let out a loud grunt; afterwards, they’d broken away, creating a hot pink trail betwixt themselves.

As soon as she was down on the ground flat on her wet face, she’d let out a long melancholic howl, blubbering about uncontrollably as those numerous tears were currently pulled down by gravity so to speak of no less.

“No use crying about it anyway; after all, mommy and daddy ain’t going to save you, much less help you out of this situation: if anything, I’m pretty sure they’re making more babies now…” the clean–shaven man taunted as he was watching Trixie leak with both kinds of fluids from her unprotected waistline as it were.

The bright skinned woman squirmed about as she’d turned to face him again, his prepuce in full view leaking about with the same compound while weeping, “you’ll regret this day, you bastard: just wait until he catches up with you one day; you and your brother will be wishing you had never been born…”

“And what difference would that make: suppose if we brothers hadn’t bought you, much less never existed at all, then what?” the clean–shaven redhead taunted as he’d pulled her closer to him by both legs, dragging the rest across the terra firma underneath, “it would’ve been only a matter of time so to speak of before someone broken you in place, much like the others here. Even if you had managed to find the will to fight, it would’ve been all for nothing as it were, much like your hopes and dreams: you women were already outmatched long before your nation fell to the conquerors by your own men, Equestrian and otherwise; the magic you’d once relied on for strength and temperance has now been used against you to secure their holdings already. In the grand scheme of things, your livelihoods were just a fantasy enabled by that slut of a princess who was weak anyway; as for the dreams, all that her sister can do now is be helped into knowing her place as she and all the women should nonetheless: Rarity and Fluttershy were more than welcome to embrace their new roles now that their dreams are already over for them. Of course, there will always be others like you whom either had yet to be broken or are still trying to put themselves back: aside from Applejack herself, Rainbow is still defying their new masters and Pinkie can’t decide between either red or purple; either way, their struggles will be nothing but a challenge to overcome, whether or not they ditch the black collar all the same. Until then, I’m gonna enjoy watching you break into so many pieces, no amount of magic or science will put you together again; failing that, the least I can do is get as much as we can out of you before selling you off to the highest bidder, with a few changes: I know for a fact with all these drugs we’d been pumping you, it’s only a matter of time until you bloom into a perfect one. You can cry and curse all you want but there’s nothing you can do anymore except know your role and shut the fuck up now: Applejack has been doing a damn fine job keeping her mouth shut up until she’d said those words to my face so suddenly; I was about to put a little burns on her face but you’ll do for now, especially with your wet cunt, make no mistake about it at all now!”

“AHNNNN…!” Trixie cried aloud as he’d now stuck his shaft in between her legs, feeling two of the solutions mixing in her without a care therein.

As much as the bright skinned woman had screamed and shouted about, no one at all was going to arrive in aid her whatsoever; even though there were a few bystanders passing them by, the majority of them were much like herself, in or out of the fence: not even a sneak peak from the tanned blonde could change anything about the situation the former was currently in nonetheless. Much like before, Trixie had to close her eyes again, this time more aware of what the clean–shaven man was doing to her; no matter how much pain she was going through, this was the only option formulating within her mind as she’d struggled thru: soon enough, her amethyst orbs were starting to embrace the darkness, its form more comfortable than his concupiscent visage thereof.

Gold

Author's Note

Ah, you've made to chapter three of Fireflower's fanfic that goes beyond the typical oneshots made from before, a Mature fanfic no less on the grounds that a previous chapter has dealt with heavy subject matters proven to be unsuitable for those under eighteen, easily offended, and/or quickly nauseated; suffice to say, this was by far a strong note for many readers complete and therefore you were all given an option to skip ahead to this chapter: whether or not you had taken this offer, it was only up to you to do so nothing more.

As always, My Little Pony, or rather Friendship Is Magic, including its settings and characters belong to Lauren Faust and Hasbro; however, this concept of my fanfic belongs to me so I will say this line one time only: please do not steal this story or I will sue.

Lastly, let me also say that I hope you enjoy this chapter now more than the others and still have the strength to continue onward in staying tuned for future chapters later; henceforth, I will leave you with but one saying only: thank you very much.

Gold

Light is the only way of how the small world worked, let alone the realm that is reality in and of itself; after all, they were both interchangeable to a fault. At the very least, its absolute presence had served to provide a sense of identity for the corporeal dimensions, sensory information needed greatly at once. Now it would seem that just about everything could be found instantaneously irregardless of its very importance, imminent and otherwise so to speak of.

There was a lone metropolis now bathed in an elegant afterglow thanks to the eternal golden sun taking residence above them in the heavens with the cottony clouds traveling about in its wake. In them, the big bright blue skies contained a variety of lifeforms flying across the way over the rhythm emotion of the surface’s hustle and bustle flowing about without even so much as a care. There were towering behemoths ruling and governing their own landscape for though they were all divided, these constructs nevertheless shared the same power wielded over this very placing. Aside from a variety of vehicles running about the asphalt with its sights and sounds contributing to the atmosphere, there were ships of various sizes surfing directly across the dyed deep blue. What had made it stand out the most were the massive flocks of herons and seagulls which could run so far to and fro but couldn’t get away with even the largest of wingspans as they’d cawed. On the other side of the vast and magnificent waters where the many ships had sailed in and out of were a mountainous valley donned in a dark green growing upon the massive beautiful earth. Most importantly, the very denizens themselves were abundantly commonplace coming and going inside the city by any and all means necessary as they pleased in sheer density whatsoever.

Of the areas in question, one place in particular stood out and about: it was a small house in a neighborhood full of them with their own variances in acreage and materials as well as coloring. For starts, the pattern roofing was composed of the same asphalt, this time in tiling colored in a sweetly silver chariot requiem with some wafer–thin crystalline rectangles in the moody blues. Much of its surface area had been already split into two different materials: both the white–hot woodworking and blood–red bricklaying were mostly enough to build this very house altogether. Out of the quadrangular windowpanes discovered in clear viewing, one in particular had been already adorned with a metallic awning, similar to another above the entranceway all the same. Speaking of which, a white door added the finishing touches to the very domicile, gently surrounded by the beauty of the brilliant green lawn, hedges, bushes, and trees within premise.

Anyways, one of the rays from the sun managed to pierce through the looking glass within the frame, illuminating a rather small area of it with some distinctiveness. In that very location thereof, it had instantaneously stopped itself against a singular wall; as a result, its color was sparkling about in an off–white scheme as it were. Within that very small space which had lit up in the process, there had remained an opaque fabric colored in a raid blue reminiscent of a raging ocean spray so to speak.

What little details that had been provided were but a nonissue as there was nothing but snoring in the predominate darkness here: it was bereft of everything but a singular and steady pattern of unchanging notes and resting silence all running roundabout; despite the guttural drone therein, it was calm and peaceful nevertheless, all quiet on the western front for the lack of a better term.

“Lyra, are you awake…?” a tender contralto cut across the golden silence with some gently knocking upon the wooden surface.

At first, there was no reply whatsoever, even as the rapping about had only repeated itself within but mere intervals so to speak of: the silence then reforged anew like it’d never happened at all, unharmed and unscathed as far as the lonely listener was concerned; however, it was only a matter of time until a significant impact could be made, even though the initial impact was small. It wasn’t even long until the softest shuffling about had came about in a slightly reckless abandon, lower and quieted than a careless whisper all the while even with the organic groaning; soon, some quick footfalls were found to be creaking on and about, its surface area underneath them becoming more than where its owner had lain before subsiding into the nothingness again.

Although the void was unhurt, a low and husky voice with resignation had betrayed that notion almost immediately, thanks to a sigh, “I’m so fucked up…!”

At long last, a creak was heard after a metallic click so to speak, inviting a similar light source from beyond the very darkness: out had came a brightly skinned woman with eyes of goldenrod and some short spiky minted tresses with but white midpoint; her attire had consisted only of a blue shirt and skirt combo as well as some white socks now touching the floor beneath them all.

It didn’t take long for the observant inhabitant to pay attention to the world she was currently inside of, already bereft of the blackness compared to her place of origin altogether as it all were. The background serving as the general foundation thereof was surrounded in a shade and hue lighter than the bright skinned woman’s hair combined, more spacious by the sheer comparison. Underneath her feet was a series of dark blue carpeting which had spread far beyond what she could ever see so to speak of, having much of it all backed into a corner but otherwise restricted. The bright skinned woman could see as many as five doors in front, all of which were painted in brown; of them, almost all were adjacent, especially considering the furthest was near a window. Emanating from the glass pane in question were but the largest rays of golden light currently piercing throughout in full force compared to the one in the very room from before so to speak. Speaking of something fragile, she’d become wary of the reflection cast abaft her body, symmetrical to a fault but more clouded compared to the eyesight on the waking world at large. Above the bright skinned woman was a piece of string hanging from the ceiling within the very same hallway, pointing her to the rectangular outline etched about as it’d blended in all too well.

In any case, she was walking about past a picture before stopping at a door on her right already; afterwards, her hand had knocked upon its wood.

“Lyra, is that you awake already…?” was all that the eponymous listener had heard, already to the same voice from before no less, “I’ll be out of the bathroom soon enough; just give me few seconds…”

“What are you doing in here, Bon–Bon…?” the bright skinned woman had asked the aforementioned inhabitant almost instantaneously.

It wasn’t long until Lyra had heard some fluid gurgling about before it was being swallowed up tightly in a matter of seconds; soon, there was splishing and splashing about nearby until a small whine had snuffed the rushing downpour out so to speak of: to her, it was nothing more than a simple signal for her that the user on the inside was about to leave the place immediately no less.

Needless to say, the two women were finally face–to–face as soon as the door was opened, presenting themselves with the same similar traits alongside with some certain differences too. Like Lyra, Bon–Bon wore her hair with two clashing colors vying for absolute dominance; however, the latter’s style was long and coiled, bearing both dark blue moon and light hot pink. The user’s very eyes were tender for they were colored in a true blue scheme within the rightly balanced temperatures, crystal clear like the outside world beyond which of the minty tenant. Bon–Bon’s integuments were colored brightly like that of Lyra standing afore, beige yet lightly tanned as if the former had embraced the light and warmth of the whole wide world altogether. The beige user’s attire was just nothing short of only being rather simplistic to a fault currently: a royal purple blouse, a jet–black skirt, and some snow–white shoes served as a variance therein.

Out of the twosome in question, Bon–Bon was mindful enough to answer at last nevertheless, “using it; anyways, I’d stopped by your room minutes ago to check in on you earlier ago: are you okay, Lyra…?”

“Yeah, sure: I must have been real tired last night anyway; I hope you’d gotten a goodnight’s rest as well like Star Dreams did…” the minty woman yawned about, catching it in her right hand as she’d turned away before facing the beige counterpart once again, “I’m actually real sorry about last night by the way: I didn’t mean to scare you…”

“Don’t worry about it at all, Lyra: I’m just glad that you’re safe and sound though; you mean the world to me and I don’t think I could take it if–––” Bon–Bon had struggled to speak before the titular tenant wrapped both arms around the former without anyway, caught off–guard in the process.

In turn, the minty woman spoke back at her beige correspondent with more hesitation instead, “just stop it: as far as I remembered, I wasn’t the only one who was singled out by changelings because of what had happened; if anything, what happened to us is not our fault and you know it…!”

“I know that; I’m just a little worried about you, that’s all: you’ve just been sleeping during the day more frequently than ever…” Bon–Bon sniffled about, breaking the icy surface tension between herself and Lyra as the former was the first to shed a teardrop, “if it’s any consolation, Star Dreams has been trying to help you recently as well; after all, your friends in Canterlot are. In any case, I also remember that Twilight’s still reeling about the wedding years ago and how you, Minuette, and Twinkleshine were all captured and brainwashed by changelings in the interim; even now, I still worry about what her family’s going through since they’d watched Princess Cadance get burned alive, especially since she was this close to becoming true royalty. It’s not enough that we’d came close to losing everything before then, we’d to face an enemy that was living among us too; I still have nightmares about what they did to us all in the past and even talking about it already has been a hot–button issue: one thing that bothers me is how did they even managed to sneak in undetected, but I guess it’s better to not think about it at all now. If there’s anything I can do for you, then just say the word and I’ll do it; it’s the least I should worry about until my dying breath, especially since we’d gotten this far together in life: please, let me help you as I’d done before in Ponyville…”

“Just let me have the bathroom this time; I just need to take a shower here: at the very least, I might as well use this opportunity to think things more clearly before I head back out again…” the minty woman responded, breaking away from the hug she’d recently initiated as her feet took off to the area abaft of her beige counterpart anyway.

Lyra now had the bathroom all to herself now, leaving Bon–Bon right out of the picture for the time being as the former took note of how narrow it was. To contrast against the cold color scheme from before, the area was hot pink predominately, save for some repetitive wallpaper cordoned off the tiles near. Up in front from where the minty tenant had stood upon the hard surface underneath were its accommodations: a closet, sink, mirror, bathtub, and toilet. Etched outwardly from the left side of the hanging fixture were a quartet of lightbulbs showing the way throughout but otherwise cordoned off no less.

Walking up to the larger fixture on her right, she’d soon taken her precious time studying what was out on display: a nozzle already guided straight overhead hung in from the walls with one mixer tap and its three handles resting beneath it all. Calmly, Lyra had started to place her hand onto the handle at the leftmost before arranging the others as well; before long, a heightened pitch whine was followed by a deluge of water now splashing directly in the porcelain surface area below. Hot moisture had traveled around to meet the minty tenant’s nostrils from top to bottom, its vapors wafting straight into them as her cheekbones had soon burned brightly enough to be seen upon the visage like the longest cleared daytime sky. In a matter of seconds, a fog was developing around herself due to the small area of effect it was currently inside, prompting her to lock the door she’d walked into earlier before going off to open another with the very same room all the while. Finding nothing but fabrics of the same materials, Lyra pulled out a blue towel and washcloth from there, throwing them both over the steely railing only but a feet away from the still arching deluge nearby with careful consideration no less.

As seconds had passed by, there wasn’t much else the minty tenant could do but cast aside her clothes from where her feet had stood: both the blue shirt and skirt were the first to go, quickly baring both her bosoms to the inner universe as is. In any case, all that had remained were her striped knickers and socks, something she’d wasted no time removing until there was nothing left to claim upon her own flesh; at long last, she was in the altogether, briskly reacting to the open air.

Lyra stepped inside rather slowly and carefully at once, quickly taking the time to close up the violet curtains along as well so as to shut out what little cold air had remained before it’d even got the slightest chance of following right at her. It wasn’t long until the minty tenant had discovered the heated compound now instantaneously embracing her dry integuments immediately as the frigid oxygen thereof had been transmutated by the conflicting liquidly temperatures already. Although she was becoming at ease by the water clothing her body, the fact she was in the way was more than enough to burn her moreso; after all, her feet were firmly planted upon the moist surface underneath thanks to how it was running.

If the reality of Lyra’s solitude didn’t put her at rest, then the current location thereof cemented it instantaneously: although the compound itself was lacking in variation, the heat and pressure alone were more than enough for herself; after all, she was sighing at the reality of having the whole place to herself, free from the outside world as she knew. As far as the minty tenant could tell right now, she was more than relieved irregardless since that what had happened prior was a burning memory left in the past like the yesteryears of youth and yearning she, the beige correspondent, and their compeers had experienced one second too many to remember each and every single detail therein so to speak of. Nevertheless, she had nothing more than the flowing fluids themselves to keep herself hot and heavy, especially seeing that her face was inches from the stream nearby; its simplistic qualities in and of themselves, if at all, were more welcoming than the darkness she’d recently emerged from alone, including the fog thereof still taking formation here.

Anyways, Lyra had found a small orange bar within in an embedded space on her left, removing it to wrap around the washcloth now. Within mere seconds alone, the minty tenant had started lathering her body from top to bottom with the item in question all the same. Now taking careful aim at the face, she’d wiped away the stains from those yesterdays before bristling around her neck mindfully. It didn’t take long for the foam to start laying claim onto Lyra’s integuments, spreading downwardly throughout in an instant. Nowhere around the minty tenant’s body was even given a second’s reprieve from the soapy onslaught since they’d also slid abaft. Generally speaking, all the suds and bubbles were found to be quickly slathered about around both her bust and abdomen at once. Soon, Lyra bent over and began washing her shins from the kneecaps to forefeet before standing back up to rinse it off immediately.

Already the minty tenant’s tresses were now being directly supersaturated gently by the same water from before, soaking it all in completely. Nearby the showerhead above herself was a small slate bottle resting freely; after putting the washcloth and soap away, she’d now opened it. No time was wasted in its contents being used onto Lyra as the azure solution alone was now etched into a fraction as it’d tinted her own hair. Almost instantaneously, every strand was being cleansed away before another round was made, no doubt the work of the minty tenant herself. Before long, her hair was being lathered up with increased fruition before being washed away; afterwards, she’d switched bottled without fear. Even though it was the same shape as the first, its contents and concentration were more colorful despite being rubbed into Lyra’s tresses no less. Likewise, its solution had followed the same fate as the previous one, all because of the minty tenant’s repetitive interfacing nonetheless here.

Afterwards, another area about herself had gained attention as she’d found the time to lathering her washcloth again with the very same soap. Covering it up, Lyra quickly padded over and started rubbing around slowly, feeling its slowly tightening reaction already chaffing runabout. A suppressed moan had escaped from the minty tenant, even as she’d begun to nudge throughout thanks to the contrasting textures altogether. In no time whatsoever, they’d been increasing in quantity and volume as well, especially now she’d spread both legs apart and moved slow. Still, the washcloth scoured in between Lyra’s soft, tight velvet underground, causing her to let out a high–pitched mewl in the process as is. A jolt had traveled up the minty tenant’s spine as she’d quivered about, stroking up and down the very same place afore wedging itself back in. With such contents gathering around, she’d squealed about as some droplets of crimson splashed in the otherwise achromatic compound here.

As the nerves and stamina inside of Lyra’s whole body finally regained control almost instantly, she quickly found the resolve to flush it all beneath the running water, red and white, but no blue. The minty tenant had rinsed her washcloth again as well on both sides, cleansing it all of the foam and her flow completely all before creating another layer of white once more with feeling. Upon applying said soap onto the area betwixt her legs with dispassionate dissonance delicately, the solution was doused with the fluid once again, leaving her with time to wash her hands clean. Eventually, Lyra turned the knobs back to where they were before, shutting the water off so as to stop her skin from being further saturated altogether as she’d still dripped on and about already. The minty tenant had opened the curtains back up and stepped out the bathtub, her feet landing right back onto the tiled flooring as she was wet with indifference and anticipation all the while. Since she was still moist from top to bottom, it was more than enough for her to remember the matching towel hanging around, taking the time to dry herself off and clothe most of her skin.

As soon as Lyra had reopened the same door, she’d met Bon–Bon once more, the latter asking, “is everything okay now…?”

“Mm–hmm…” the minty tenant had squeaked, freely nodding about all absentmindedly so to speak of no less, “I feel better now…”

“I’d taken the liberty of setting some clothes on your bed after making it for you in the meantime; I hope you’d like it all the same since we’ll have the hamper empty later on soon…” the beige counterpart had said to Lyra instantaneously, clearing a path for the latter whom was now returning to the place of origin all the same.

It didn’t take long for the minty tenant to see it all bathed in more light than when she’d been in, all thanks to a ceiling fan with a bulb in its dome. The white partitions currently holding up the general composition were more spacious compared to the bathroom she was recently inside of there. The flooring itself was already basked in a tufted and orientated carpeting, a sea of slate studded with faint blues and hot pinks already absorbent. A set of butterbean curtains were found to be covering up the windowsills and gateways to the outside world beyond the time and space, all still. An enormous bed had rested nearby the frame, all donned with a flowery comforter alongside an indigo sheet and pillowcase combo betwixt doors. A long dresser stood adjacently from the other, boxy brown as hardwood as a solid jet–black electronic was cornered away by a circular clock.

Lyra had turned her attention towards a set of fresh new clothes already laid out halfway from the pillows: an amber blouse, sapphire skirt, and pink undergarments. First, the minty tenant had begun putting the brassiere and knickers over her cleavage and legs respectively after drying herself off completely with much intensity. Even though that she was no longer in a towel or the altogether, the rest of her skin was enough to remind her of the cold air from before, moreso than in the shower. In any case, Lyra had still wasted no time whatsoever in covering herself even further, especially considering how modest they were, compared to her previous attire.

Soon, the minty tenant started to walk over towards the smaller appliance and began to press one of the buttons on the side as it’d spoken up, “it has now been three years since the infamous Peachtree Shooting Deaths up in Rosewater Beach; as of yet, the perpetrator, Drayer Beamer, is still serving a life sentence in HMS Prison Down Haigh after being transferred. Drayer, as many could recall, had plead guilty to all three counts of murder by admission and was sentenced to death after being tried as an adult; however, citing extreme prosecutorial misconduct, improper procedures, and a poor roles execution, his trial was treated as a gross overreach of jurisprudence in the eyes of the Crown. In spite of being offered a full pardon, he’s made it an effort to reside in this prison indefinitely so to speak; this comes after having a petition sent by people all over Equestria, especially its eastern seaboard, courtesy of an anonymous author: given the witness testimonials by his neighbors, his sentence, as well as that of his two accomplices, was met with shock and outrage. Out of many figures aware of all this, Princess Luna was one of the key figures in the aforementioned petition, expressing her contempt at the turn of events resulting in the demises of the three Meloni sisters, going so far as suggesting that Peachtree Acre is nothing more but the rotten pits of suburban living masquerading as an idyllic escape from the excesses of city living. Taken to a similar note, her sister, Princess Celestia, has decided that, rather than being sanctioned on par with Hilltop and Cirrus, that all of New Ponyland will be barred from competing in the upcoming yet delayed Equestria Games until notice, citing lack of harmony and hospitality in one area alone would mean other instances would’ve been easily revealed. At the very least, this decision was met with reluctant approval from both Parliament and the E.E.A., the latter currently under its management by Chancellor Neighsay; additionally, he’s said to have felt nothing but disgust and disbelief all the while, seeing how the schools have stood by and allowed these troubles to bubble up on and off campus. Still, Drayer remains behind bars as of this day and, according to the administrators, has continued to demonstrate model behavior; with that said, he and his family have not been reached for comment nor have his friends or neighbors still currently living in Peachtree as of yet–––”

“Princesses and Parliament, if only if they were much stronger than they were; maybe perhaps she would’ve been still alive…” she’d sighed sadly after shutting off the soliloquy all so suddenly, turning around to face the bed before collapsing all facedown, “I’m so sorry for all this; I’m so sorry for letting you down most of all, Tornado Bolt: I wish your family’s alive…”

It was now Lyra’s turn to cry softly but surely, not for help or attention; as such, the door was still open wide but nobody came.

Bushel

Author's Note

Hello there and welcome back to yet another chapter of my fanfic that goes beyond the typical oneshots made from before which I've given you since inception; suffice to say, the past chapter from before was going to end on a strong note for you all though I had decided against it altogether .

As usual, My Little Pony, or rather Friendship Is Magic, including its settings and characters belong to Lauren Faust and Hasbro; however, this concept of my fanfic still belongs to me so I will say this one time only: please do not steal this story or I will sue.

Lastly, let me also say that I dedicate this chapter to my half-brother Gary who died in the summer from the CCP virus: the sibling dynamic therein was inevitable despite and because of it but it'll be a nice break of sunlight to shine through all the same; as such, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Bushel

If there was one thing which had proven to be noticeable, then it would be the many things which were keeping things on the lighter side as of this moment in time. For starters, the rather big blue sky was clear enough to see the very same gaseous giant already shining about over the log horizon with flocks of birds flying on. Within a large dream drop distance was a civilization defined in such various materials, most of which having been ones fit for the likes of even three little pigs. The calm gentle breeze surfed across the grassy knolls, the brilliant green now surrounding it all on a solid lower plane of existence to the point of being uniform. Even the dirt road which had guided its way over from a nearby forest, a curvilinear line worth holding as much as it is crossing did little to make a difference. In the background, a valley and ridge of mountains had raged on with growth and erosion in the process of their trying times as the burning star hovered overhead. The town had bustled about with an utter abundance of lifeforms all from various demographics: age, gender, finances, and social standing all coexisting within.

Out of many buildings in this rather quiet place, there was one that had stood out amongst others: a large homestead in the very outskirts remained within the long distance by the sidelines overall. Rather than the amber waves of grain that shined onward thanks to the rays of sunlight bouncing off, leaving behind sparkles of glory in the process, an abundance of carrots surrounded the barn. The encamping white fences around the premises had served as the borders to the open hillside where its lines had been drawn inside the very dirt, each of them home to plants sprouting freely. Three barrels were found to be nestled up against a small stack of haybales, the same number in which was found on the other side where a pile of the same material was discovered so to speak. A thin trail of dirt was found to be curving inward away from the rest of the roads out therein, providing an entranceway to the farm as it’d avoided the crops and other free spaces altogether. It was enough to show a tall orange house not on the lone prairie sitting at the top of the terrain, round as the barrels for some parts yet larger all the same with its own balconies and railings.

Anyways, one of the rays of sunlight had managed to go and pierce on throughout the looking glass deep within its framework, illuminating a rather diminutive area with some distinctiveness. In that very location thereof, it had instantaneously stopped itself against a long singular wall; as a result, its color was sparkling about in a faint hue of blue with a hint of goldenrod accents too. Beyond the small space which had lit up in the process, there had remained an entire area already exposed to light, thanks to a ceiling fan above it spinning about with its wooden panels at once. In what had seemed to be brimming with life, the whole place was decorated with a set of furniture: a singular wooden table with matching chairs stood out in the middle of the same floor. Lined up were a set of cabinets and shelves lacquered with varnishing as they’d displayed all sorts of plates on display, a fraction of which was lounging about in a lake of frothy dishwater. Edging right nearby the far left corner was an empty rack with a photo taking up the surface area: it’d consisted of a predominately ginger family smiling about with the same house further away.
No more than two windows to the outside world beyond the single area where communications remained probable, despite being hidden away by the plum curtains thin yet opaque all the same. Establishing itself inside the otherwise naked space was a deep aroma cloaking the wispy smoke, reeking of the savory goodness telling of a sale set off on the course to provision and pleasure.

Stuck in the middle of it all was a lonely woman out and about, staring off into the long and cold walking distance through the glass space. Her skin was bright enough to light the way within her area of influence, tinted with a hint of goldenrod but without the glittering as is. Much like the vegetables growing outside, the lonely woman’s long curly locks were orange, all fresh with vitamins and minerals therein. Both pupils trapped within the calcium sea were encrusted with but an emerald splash capable of being unleashed by a redhead schoolboy. Cloaked over her integuments were a hot pink dress with matching slippers; in addition, a blue apron and headscarf combo made way.

“Ten minutes to go until this dessert’s ready: my brother’s will be here shortly just to check up on me; as for Dinky, I’ll have to pay her a visit later on today…” the ginger woman had said to herself softly as she’d turned her very eyes downward to the liquid underneath her chin, both hands resting firmly onto a tableware.

It didn’t take much for her to wash away whatever microorganisms clinging to the flat surface of the object in question so to speak: the heat and foam around the solution was soothing to the fingers as they’d pressed themselves against a sponge intently no less; as far as she was currently concerned, they were becoming a nonissue to those naked eyes, within and beyond eventually.

As soon as the ginger woman was done, she’d soon heard a knock on the door nearby followed by a sound off immediately, “little sis, you there?”

“Carrot Cake, is that you already?!” she’d exclaimed in shock and awe as her eyes were facing the other windowpane where the aforementioned caller’s silhouette stood on the other side, “well, speak of the devil, I wasn’t expecting you to be here so fast; I’ll be right over here soon enough, big brother…”

Almost instantly, the ginger woman had walked over to the very door in question and opened it at once; afterwards, she was greeted by the sight of another bright skinned ginger with jade eyes. Unlike her, Carrot Cake had so many significant differences to compare and contrast with as is: his shorter hair, angular face, some freckles, and saturated tones were close enough as they were. Much of the man’s attire was cyan, save for some brown boots along with a red and white hat and bowtie combo; apparently, she could see his own apron being more cleaner than hers alone.

“Hey there, Carrot Top, how are you today: pleased to find that I’d made my acquaintance now; by the way, what’s in the oven…?” he’d said to the titular tenant tersely as possible, smiling about faintly in the meantime for her to notice rather immediately.

In any case, the ginger woman wasted no time giving her brother a hug as she’d answered freely, “fine as usual, I still haven’t gotten used to your punctuality after all these years: I was just making some cake for the Hooves family to eat along with some other stuff; I know that Derpy prefers muffins but I’m pretty sure they’d appreciate my services all the same, like friends do…”

“I’m pretty sure they would: you two used to be real close together before the you–know–what; Derpy may as well be willing…” he’d chuckled lightly as she broke away from the embrace to focus in onto the oven within the very same kitchen they remained, “I still can’t believe what had happened to her daughter Sparkler though: she was so pure and innocent, gone in a heartbeat…”

“I know, it’s actually sad having to think about what’s going on inside her mother’s mind since; as a matter of fact, I couldn’t help myself but to think of what kind of world we’re living in…” Cake said to Top whom was now starting to wear a pair of oven mitts before attempting to open the appliance afore herself all the same no less.

It wasn’t long until the ginger woman stopped herself in place and felt the heat rush over the face as she’d struggled to speak back, “you’re not the only one here: I’d never imagined I lose her and grandma too in the same year; perhaps, this is how Applejack felt when she’d lost her brother, Big Mac, as well as her Granny Smith too, amongst other things. As a matter of fact, I had no idea of how on earth she would end up in the hospital no less when the dust had settled: even though this farm of ours had been right next to Sweet Apple Acres, I was too far away to see what had been done to them at large; to think this would even happen to her of all people no less. Nonetheless, I’m too afraid to even think about leaving Ponyville, much less this farm so to speak of; even if I end up awaking to the night of the living dead, I’d rather stay and fight all the same no matter what: at the very least, Noi and our grandma wouldn’t have to die so pointlessly like them…”

“Then stop talking about it; it’s bad enough that this war has changed us for both better and worse just because they’d died…” her brother had interjected rather instantaneously, quickly bringing her out of the trance and back to reality where the food cooked, “I miss the both of them too and they’re the reason why Cup and I had gotten married in the first place many years ago.
It hurts me enough to hear you saying those things at such an age, especially when you have so much more to live for right now: you used to be the happy–go–lucky kind of gal any man would’ve had the decency to go out on a date night with you all the same; now, it seems that you’re suggesting that this war of ours would’ve rather killed you if it’d meant they live instead. Nobody normal, not even me, would ever want to go through the pain of losing their loved ones all the same, wartime and peace; Grandma Amber would’ve wanted us to be happy just as much as we’d wanted her to live long to see that very happiness bloom: it’s natural for homes to have families like this and you of all people should know that by now, even after what had happened.”

“At least your employees and apprentices have been clean as a whistle since youth; I, on the other hand, have a traitorous host from up north as a farmboy living upstairs…” Top gasped briefly as she’d pulled out a metal tray wrapped in foil from the heated confines afore herself almost effortlessly so to speak of.

He’d closed the door right behind them and said, “yeah, I heard of Eugene few years ago: never thought he’d end up in here of all places, let alone be allowed to leave Peachtree; how come I’d never heard of him anyway…?”

“Trust me, as far as the courts were concerned, he was a minor at the time but so were plenty of his friends and his neighbors…” the ginger woman had answered Cake without any hesitation, unwrapping the container to find something golden brown beneath, “if they were, at most a decade, younger, then this would’ve been a nonissue all the same no less, nothing more if at all. I’d never understood why in the world would people do something like this and think they could get away with it all the same: I’d heard of stuff like this happening in the Old World in the time of our ancestors, especially the most extreme of events as is; now, to have something like this right here in Equestria, perhaps even without the war, it still would’ve happened nevertheless. Needless to say, I can’t ever imagine what would drive a teenager to pull such dastardly schemes like this and still not go to jail: I know for a fact Eugene would’ve still gotten a pass, rich dad or not, but now everyone thinks that Peachtree’s full of crooks; even the ones who haven’t been a part of his schemes are look down on with suspicion, just like the folks at Hilltop and Cirrus…”

“It’d not have mattered all the same, sis: whatever went on in their mind was obviously due to their parents; even if their relationships were good, suburban life wouldn’t be as crystal clear…” her brother sighed as he’d approached her already in the middle of removing her oven mitts after being presented with the pleasant aromas therein.

Top turned back around to face him and reply, “tell that to Lyra and her friends: I know for a fact that most of them were there on the day of what should’ve been Cadance’s wedding; even Moondancer’s sister, Morning Roast was there when the bomb went off. No one had imagined what would happen afterwards when they’d seen the Princesses’ niece getting splattered with acid; I can still remember how putrid the smell was for all of us and every which direction we’d all ended up running off to in the mad dash of an escape plan. To be honest, I don’t even want to think what would’ve happened if it weren’t for Time Turner saving me somehow: all the pain that Derpy had went through, alongside the likes of the bridesmaids, Lyra and Minuette, at the hands of the invaders; even Bon–Bon’s been hush–hush about the whole ordeal ever since that day in Canterlot. Speaking of which, I could never forget the aftermath when Princess Celestia had confirmed suspicions regarding our attackers: to think that they were waiting for the signal from a queen who’s not even alive so to speak, only to lash out all the same no less; I still have nightmares about it all, especially with how Cadance’s still carrying on like it never happened whatsoever.”

“Yeah, I’d known about what happened at Canterlot too; come to think of it, I’d remembered that Twilight Sparkle was there also…” Cake whispered gently as his sister took a seat at the table, her emerald eyes focused in upon the ligneous surface area underneath, “I’d even learned about her brother Shining Armor and how devastated he was about this turn of events altogether then.”

“Emphasis on the word ‘devastated’ now that you’d mentioned it: I couldn’t imagine anyone wishing such a fate on anyone else, especially Written Script of all people; I just couldn’t at all!” she’d sniffled about softly, both orbs becoming more fluid than before as her viewpoint became distorted eventually.

The ginger man sat down nearby Top and sighed all the same, “same here: I can understand how hard we had to fight against the invaders yet the acid bomb thing seems a bit much, even for me; I don’t even think I could ever live with myself if I happen to be throwing the darn concoction myself…”

“Would it even matter if you didn’t; I’m more worried about these changeling: how many more are still living among us here…?” the ginger woman had sniveled about steadily, raising an eyebrow from him almost immediately after what he’d heard of her as is, “up until that special day, all I’d even think about was finally getting to see Canterlot before that day so to speak of. Even before they’d cancelled the rodeo, I’d wanted to go to the Grand Galloping Gala as much as everyone else in Ponyville; the fact that Twilight had gotten invited to the event wasn’t the only reason I’d been interested in all of the very festivities alone: I knew for a fact that Lyra and her friends at their old hometown, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and Minuette, were going to go. Everyone seems to have gotten so used to these parties, it’d have been at least a foregone conclusion, especially with Pinkie; as a matter of fact, I’d figured that given a few years’ time, Noi would’ve been able to go there for her first time instead of home: I’d never imagined how precious these memories would be when we start to lose someone closest to us in so little time. Keeping up with work has been a real pain even since the war had ended, but I’m pretty sure you would’ve known that already, bro: much like my grandma’s farm, our family is smaller compared to the Apples and they’d taken a lot of damage, especially right here; I still can’t help myself but to think what it was like to survive long enough and watch what was left over since. Looking back on it all, if I could do it again, then the least I could do was keep a closer eye on my family more than I’d done: Noi wouldn’t ever have to get sick and die nor would Granny Amber pass away in her sleep, like all the others her age would; it’d be even better if I’d given up my life to fight these changelings if it’d meant they’d live instead of me, poor old Carrot Top. You know, you seemed to be the most successful guy in this generation of carrot farmers and bakers alike, now that we’re alive: you have a great wife, two beautiful children, an adept apprentice, some great friends, and a successful business in spite of it all; as for me, all I have is this farm and a worker who should’ve been in prison instead of his victim but isn’t nevertheless.”

“Let me ask you something, sis: do you honestly believe with all your heart that your death would change anything; better yet, let’s say you did somehow, would she and Noi be happy…?” Cake asked her sternly, his face becoming cross but otherwise nonthreatening all the same no less.

Top wiped away her tears and quickly replied, “but what am I supposed to do instead…? I’m one disaster away from losing the entire farm and that’s not counting financing but I can’t even think about selling it either knowing how close it is to the graveyard altogether; all that this war did was remind me how powerless I am, so much so I can’t even hire any more workers to help me like Eugene is doing. Even now, I’m nothing more than a drain and a freeloader compared to the prewar; I owe it to the Hooves for saving me from the changelings and your family’s been a big help since the war had ended but how do I end up repaying these debts: do I end up going on some competition to win money, sell my wares in Canterlot like nothing happened, or go off on adventures as them? No and it’s not like that I’m lazy: I can’t afford to sit around and do nothing just because I own the place but I sure as Tartarus can’t keep going on much longer either; somewhere in Ponyville, there are carrots that need to be sold away, be if in part or parcel, and already I don’t know how many need to be sold to break even, let alone turn a profit. Sometimes I ask myself how I’d ended up this way: how is it I lived but they’d died; better yet, maybe it would’ve been better if they’d gotten to me instead so I wouldn’t have to see the life fading away from their eyes…”

“Top…” the ginger man started to speak to his sister more softly that before, “I’m not very good at coming up with the right answers but I’m sure they’d have wanted you to live anyway, just like everyone else. You may think you’re alone in the world and that’s okay to feel this way: there are plenty of people that going through similar situations such as yours; but, don’t forget about the people who love you, friends and family alike so to speak. Even if we weren’t family, we’d not have to go and forget about you had it not been for either granny, Noi, or both; everyone cares about you real much not to let these hard times break you so easily, if at all, and they already know that. You have a long life to go and I’d hate to let you throw it all away after everything has happened, everyone does: even Derpy would probably break at the notion of it all and she’s trying to stay strong in spite what this war did to her; as a matter of fact, Applejack seems to feel sorry for you more since you’d loved them both. As far as anyone sees it, your survival, is a miracle and an opportunity to make something of yourself as I have; no matter how devastating it may seem to you right now, just remember the ones counting on you to press on as you’d be doing too: this farm of yours is proof of that.”

“How can I…?” she’d asked him at once.

Cake had answered in turn, “just take it one day at a time, that’s what our Granny said: we’d already made it past the first step so there’s no going back to the beginning; at the same time, don’t think of these events as the end of the world, at least for yourself – everything you know in the now is not over yet…”

“I know that; I just don’t want more people to die in vain; as a matter of fact, I don’t want my life to be amounting for nothing…” Top countered on, barely finding the strength to look her brother in the eye as she’d turned towards the appliance from before, “besides, the Hooves need me and I don’t know what else I can do for them until Derpy gets out of the hospital someday. Since Sparkler died, Dinky hasn’t been herself if at all but it’s not like the feeling’s unique; I understand how much the others miss her, even the people at Appleloosa had mourned her: Braeburn came by to lend a hand before Eugene came along and I don’t know what else then. Plainly seeing it, his newfound responsibilities as a father means I can’t keep relying on him or his surviving kin to fix it all up; after all, I wouldn’t blame him for not wanting to stay in Ponyville too long after what had happened to Applejack recently: he says it’s because of all the bad memories congregating where their family’s farm used to be before the war had broken out.”

“I know, but I’m not gonna let all of this get to me anyway; besides, we only have one life to live at least so the best we can do is make the most of it: we’re still living and so is everyone else…” he’d soothed his sister, bringing her attention back to him almost instantaneously so to speak of as they both were.

She’d soon slowly stood back up from her seat steadily and said, “of course and right now, Time Turner is going to be expecting a meal from me today; I won’t leave home without it, that’s for sure…!”

“Would you like for me to help you along the way, sis…?” Cake asked as he’d followed suit as well, watching as Top took another look at the foodstuff in question, “I’m pretty sure there should be some loose ends to tie up in the meantime…”

“At least it beats being alone…” the ginger woman had laughed, a simple sentiment shared by her brother as well no less altogether.

Blight

Author's Note

It's Fireflower again with the seventh installment of my first My Little Pony fanfic going beyond the typical oneshots I'd made from before and already using canon characters as human beings instead of their normal forms; however, this is nonetheless a Mature fimfic for this chapter here will deal with certain subjects unsuitable for those under eighteen, easily offended, and/or quickly nauseated.

In addition, I would like to take this time to inform you this chapter is still only a nightmare, one in which starts out mundane but ends more unexpectedly; as a matter of fact, I'd taken inspiration from a playthrough of an arcade game called Zombie Raid, infamous for its inclusion of an alternate ending, a bad ending so to speak: in any case, I'd actually meant to make this longer but had ran out of time and energy so this is what I have that's finished.

Lastly, let me also say that I hope you can withstand this chapter now and stay tuned for future chapters later on; hopefully, I will have this story finished no earlier than next week because of New Years: have to focus on something else after all.

Blight

Darkness had prevailed throughout its boundaries, serving as perhaps the only way of how the small world worked, especially since it was an irreplaceable part of reality itself interchangeably. The jet–black void was all that can be experienced as of this moment, all devoid of sounds, feelings, tastes, and scents as not even a modicum of light bore any hue whatsoever to permeate. For a moment in time, it’d have seemed all was completely lost, a dark fate already sealed up and set in stone to say in the very least before the very beginning, utterly unchangeable to a fault.

In any case, it was quiet like a mouse living long enough to hear and embrace faith by virtue of proximity alone so to speak of: no distractions were found in the darkness nor of it could ever upend the otherwise uneasy peace between the dimensions herein; of course, that isn’t to say that all was calm and tranquil even though things were stagnant, especially considering all unknowns.

“Miss Carrot Top, are you there?!” a loud masculine voice had shouted out into the jet–black void after some rapid footfalls no less.

Even with the golden silence being scared away, there wasn’t even a reply whatsoever for the speaker to hear, at least initially; nevertheless, some resounding knocks were being made against a hardened surface area, tearing it all to pieces within the process: eventually, someone had done answer the call only after a few seconds, bearing a haggardly and husky huff le puff, “hmm…?”

“Miss Carrot Top, are you there?!” the primordial speaker repeated, this time more frantic than before as there was some shuffling about more quieter compared to the voice above, “please respond…!”

“Okay, I’m waking up now; this better be important…!” said the listener whose groaning had gone from confusion to irritation thanks to all the noise pollution being made by the rapid raps about.

In contrast to the speaker’s rapid rendezvous, the creaks were soft enough to absorb the steady movements even as the former shrieked to the latter all the same, “MISS CARROT TOP, OPEN UP…!”

“CALM DOWN, I’M GETTING THERE…!” the listener replied in turn as the soft noise came to meet the hard knocks in due time so to speak of, “what’s up?!”

“Turn on the radio; you’ll never believe this: it’s about the graveyard…” the primordial speaker had answered, stuttering about as the door was finally opened up for them both to meet face–to–face.

Instantaneously, the light finally shown its way into the darkness and upon the identities of the two entities opposing one another: a man and women staring each other down intently with strong emotions lacking in rhythm or beats all the same as they both are; sharing a tall stature, orange locks, bright integuments, and cold eyes were more than enough commonalities already. Of course, like many people, known and unknown, there were significant differences between themselves made apparent now: the man’s angular face was filled with fear in his aquamarine orbs, donning light underwear with thin hair and withered muscle; the woman’s roundabout fury emanated from the brilliant green, bearing goldenrod bra and panties with thickness and freckles.

She was the first to speak since he was now panting and wheezing about to the point of clutching his stomach afore herself here, “Eugene, what’s wrong?! You’d sounded like you’d saw a grizzly car crash before your eyes…!”

“Worse, it’s these things that are popping up from the ground; they ain’t the kind of things we’re eating as we’d been in our lives!” the eponymous speaker answered as he’d struggled to control his respiration all the same, earn a confused look from Carrot Top, “do you have a portable radio with you…?”

“Of course…” the green eyed tenant said softly.

It didn’t take long for the lanky man to brandish a flashlight and hand it over to her almost immediately, its photons shining: though at ease, he watched as she was in the midst of an imminent discovery when the pathway rested on a brown drawer soon; in any case, her ears had picked up to the sound of his voice, “I had to turn all of the lights out completely before this…”

“Why did you do that; you’d have at least told me about it beforehand: come to think of it, did you get this from downstairs?” Carrot Top asked him as she’d opened it to pull out a predominately yellowish contraption from its confines instantly no less, “it must have been real serious considering how frantic you were acting; by the way, this what you been talking ‘bout?”

“Yes, turn it on please…” Eugene had panted.

Rolling both eyes, the ginger woman turned the dial to hear a soft click and an announcement, “this is the emergency alert system – the following message has been transmitted by the Ministry of Health; this is not a test: tonight at 2:16 AM Central Time, a state of emergency was declared by order of Princess Celestia. Civil authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the deceased are rising from their graves and attacking the living; follow the messages onscreen that will be updated as information becomes available: do not attempt to approach or apprehend these bodies, as they are considered extremely dangerous. I repeat: civil authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the deceased are rising from their graves and attacking the living; follow the messages onscreen that will be updated as information becomes available. Do not attempt to approach or apprehend these bodies as they are considered extremely dangerous; this warning applies to all areas receiving this broadcast: tune into 920 AM to get updated information in the event that you are separated from your television or that the electrical service is interrupted. Civil authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the deceased are rising from their graves and attacking the living; follow the messages onscreen that will be updated as information becomes available. This station will now cease transmission, so please use your battery–powered radio: tune into 920 AM for further information.”

“Shit, I don’t believe this at all: zombies in Ponyville of all places; I thought we had the dead all buried in cement postwar…!” she’d snapped, her eyes widening about as a wave of static mesh emitted from the device in question while another turned, “how the fuck would they crawl out of their own graves in spite of that; did somebody cast a spell over the town for some reason?!”

“That’s what I’ve been thinking about myself, miss; to be honest, it kind of reminds me of what happened seven years ago: I’d watched some lunkhead take a bite out of some stuffed animal…” the man said to Carrot Top whom was sweating about profusely, so much so she couldn’t help herself other than to practically smell it getting on and off any elevator near and far altogether.

In any case, the ginger woman sorted herself through the mess of voices until one had stuck out from the contraption already, “an unknown hostile force was declared present at Sweet Apple Cemetery and several other locations in the confines of Ponyville, Hearthshome. As of 3:43 AM Central Time, Princesses Celestia and Luna have issued prerogative orders to withdraw all ground forces and begin immediate airstrikes over Sweet Apple Cemetery and surrounding areas beginning no later that 4:44 AM this morning. For your own safety, an immediate evacuation order has been issued to the entire town of Ponyville: to all subjects inside and nearby, leave all of your personal belongings, take a battery–powered radio, and only essential supplies with you; do not remain in your homes, seek shelter at your nearest military zone outside the town of Ponyville and await further instructions. If you cannont find your nearest evacuation routs, seek assistance from local authorities immediately: if you have military, gunpowder, and/or similar weapons training, contact your nearest military officer immediately; meanwhile, please stay tuned to frequency 920 AM for further information including updates on this emergency and remain calm. Remember there’s nothing to be gained by trying to stay inside instead of evacuating as soon as possible from the area as is: in doing so, you could be exposing yourself to greater dangers – starvation, dehydration, privation, and hypertension; the hostiles are far more dangerous if you’re directly in range to them without proper clothes, steel armor preferred. Make sure gas and other fuel supplies are turned off and all fires are extinguished; if mains water is available, then use this time to fill any and all of your largest carryall containers for consumption because it may not be available for much longer; also, water must not be used for whatever scale of flushing lavatories until you’re told that they may be used again properly. In the meantime, use your water only for essential drinking and cooking purposes for it means life so don’t waste it; also, to make your food stocks last, ration your supply because it may have to last for a fortnight or more: if you have fresh food in the house, then use this first to avoid wasting it but food in tins will keep. Don’t, in any circumstance, stay inside the house – the hostiles will kill: if you can see and/or hear them, then they are there; if you stay inside, the hostiles will come to you and/or your family and you may die. Head out of the area and stay out until you are told it is safe to return or you hear the ‘all clear’ on radio: here are the main points – leave your homes and stay far away from the area where the warning was given until you are told it is safe to return; we shall be on the air every hour, on the hour so stay tuned to this wavelength but switch your radios off now to save your batteries…”

“Unbelievable, out of all the ways that Ponyville perishes, this is the worst: eaten up and digested in the stomachs of the dead…” she’d shivered about as her skin became wet with perspiration, the emerald splashed façade now faltering about in the process, “I’d remembered being scared of zombies since Derpy and I went to see them in theaters but this is all too real for me, for us…! To think that it’d happen here in Equestria of all places; this is like watching a movie coming to life in the real world with real people made of flesh and blood, the same flesh and blood they’re going to feast on like we’re an all–you–can–eat smorgasbord potluck: who knows how many people will be left alive once the dust settles, let alone uneaten and unscathed so to speak of. Zooming out of Ponyville’s already a big problem considering that everyone’s going to be crowding up the escape routes: planes, trains, and automobiles will be filled with so many people trying to get out, no one will have time to check for zombies; even if they could, public transportation will have them turned in a bloodbath trying to stop the spread, part and parcel…”

“Miss Carrot…?” he’d asked the aforementioned tenant whom was now tearing up all of the sudden.

Despite Eugene repeating himself, the ginger woman was lost in a cerebration station of her own, “why is this happening: first it was the bombing, then the Apples got razed, next was the bastard’s regicide, followed by the changelings, and now this; is it because I’d let my grandma and sister die back then no less? What point would it serve in having all these people in Ponyville died at their maws if that were the case just to get me: there’s only so many ways out of here and even that won’t be enough if at least one of them follow them; how many of us will be left after tonight, if not tomorrow, if it all falls down like a house of cards? I don’t mind dying all the same if it means that I’ll get to see them again: after all, I’d made my peace with that possibility all the same, especially if I don’t kill myself; still, what about all the others, my friends and family as well as my neighbors, what if they end up dying this time before I could, if at all? The Cakes have so much to live for and now they’re going to have everything torn apart from them like it were nothing; come to think of it, what would even Pinkie do if any of them ended up turning into one of them no less: would she end up burning herself to death starting a fire just to stop the madness from spreading? I also know a bunch of people in the hospital who are going to have a harder time getting out of here, able–bodied and otherwise; Applejack, Rarity, and Derpy are already in a world of hurt as they were: all of them watched their kinsfolk perish before their eyes like I did so what if they see their faces amongst the living dead? What would the Cakes do if Pinkie Pie gets bit and turns into one of them: even though they’d treated her as a daughter before they’d become actual parents themselves, it’ll be just like the pain I’d felt watching Granny Amber and sister Noi all over again but manifold, too great to be confined to a digit; would they live afterwards for her sake or give the kids up and then some? Up until this evil night, I’d taken solace in the fact that the family name and business would live on through my brother, Cake: even though that he was all fine and dandy, I’d remembered the darkness he’d slept and ate thru all just to power on tomorrow; still, what if he fall first tonight, to himself, the living, and/or the dead in his mad dash to get his wife and kids outta their way? What if this is the night our family goes out harder and faster than the Apples themselves, especially with their experiences: we’re smaller and less resilient to them and they’d lost a bunch of kinsfolk, some even younger than my sister herself in the war; will this be the last time I’ll get to see my boyfriend alive and well rather than dead or worse off like the zombies hereon out? What if they get to the capital and finish off this Crown and Country worse than the changeling tried to do themselves earlier: all it would take is a single bite and you’re done, no amount of magic or science could stop the spread, even with amputation; will the Princesses save us if the Bearers fall or will they be joined into the march of the dead like everybody else, rich and poor?”

“MISS CARROT TOP, SNAP OUT OF IT; WE GOTTA GET THE FUCK OUT OF PONYVILLE WHILE WE CAN!” the lanky man shouted as he’d twisted her arm a bit, bringing her out the trance from not too long ago and into his own frantic gaze, “you’d already heard what the radio said: the longer we both stay here, the more likely it is they’ll kill us, airstrike or no…!”

“Alright, I’d kept a shotgun in this room along with a box of ammunition; my grandpa, Raw Umber, had the foresight to leave it at home in the event we had Timberwolves and thieves…” the eponymous individual had replied to him as she’d given the radio up to his very possession yet keeping the flashlight all the same nevertheless.

Eugene watched as the ginger woman found a pair of white doors in their shared line of collective eyesights immediately: opening them both, they were filled to the brim with countless sets of textiles lined up afore her emerald eyes directly so to speak; although she’d show no hesistation throwing a few out of there, it was only a matter of time until something came along. Instantaneously was a long and slender firearm revealed to her, its slim line barrel of iron resting against a wall on its wood stock: a curving sling of black viscose was underneath, all trailing from the bottom to the near top while a scope resided above the fabric; nearby was a steely box with nothing more to the imagination as far as she and the man abaft her were still concerned.

Out of the two items in question Carrot Top pulled out with little effort whatsoever, the weapon was over her shoulder while another hand grabbed the container’s rubber handle as he spoke, “miss, do you think now should be the time to get dressed? I don’t mind fighting the dead myself but not in the cold so to speak…”

“As long as we’re both fast, I don’t mind it at all either: just make sure not to make much noise, like you did before, Eugene…” the ginger woman said to the man who had sauntered out of the confines in little time altogether, leaving her alone like earlier, “living dead, of course – fuck, it’s genius; why didn’t anyone think of that…? Equestria used to be a land of plenty meant for being shared wholeheartedly with those wishing to live in peace and harmony; now, thanks to war and what came after it, everyone is paying the price, but in part and in full, even the innocents like Noi: lives were lost, liberties were curtailed, happiness was fleeting, and opportunities became dry, just like any other country, now and then. It’s nothing more than a shadow of its former self, filled up to the brim with garbage people littering the streets with trash: papers, plastics, and metals of all sorts which should’ve been all recycled mixed in with rotting foods and expired beverages; there have even been times when used contraceptives and dirty needles were left to rot in at least one community swimming pool! Our Princess, with or without Luna and/or even Cadance, may she rest in peace, would tell us sooner if a stunt like it happened; but, if there’s one thing I’d be willing to think about, then it’d be whatever may as well be causing all of it to be taking root: even if it’s the work of some bioweapon or forbidden spell, they’d have been done sooner if not for the timing so to speak of! Unless Canterlot is safe from these zombies, then we’re all going to be dead, living or otherwise as far as anyone else would see; even if we kill every last one of them first and destroy them for good, someone and/or something may as well come into finish us: the war was bad enough for all of us, with and without those damn changelings, but the future’s going to be looking dimmer! Yet, despite everything that’s happening in the now, I’m not going to go out like this, no matter what the odds may bring us all: this town has withstood stampedes, chocolate rain, and a few mortal shells to boot but these zombies are still nothing to me; we’re gonna get out of this house, find my brother and his family, search for some friends, and leave this fucking Tartarian trench!”

“Miss Carrot Top, I have my clothes ready for now; are you getting ready as well: do we have a plan to get out of here…?” he’d told her at once.

At this point, the aforementioned tenant was now in a heavy overcoat matching her eyes with boots thicker than snow itself: on the surface, she’d now looked calm and ready to drop bombs without having to forget about what was written within white; in any case, an answer escaped from her mouth, “meet me in the kitchen; I’ll be waiting for you in a few minutes, no further…!”

Using the same flashlight given to the ginger woman by Eugene earlier, she’d taken one last look at the closet before to search; in a matter of seconds, a blue tote bag was now in her possession, sharing the same fate as the set of clothes from not long ago: this had served as an opportunity to fill them all inside, quickly but neatly as possible, focusing in on making the finite space count. Now that she’d zipped it all up compactly as possible, her eyes had rested on the shotgun in her grip, now opening its breech; next, the box from earlier was opened, filled to the brim with predominately red shells which she’d taken the time to load: although it was brief to a fault, the deed was done as all hands cocked it ready rocksteady and rolling out to face the danger lurking. In any case, Carrot Top had closed up the container and took it alongside the tote bag right out of the very darkroom immediately: although the former was heavy in her left hand, the fact the latter was over the other shoulder opposite of the weapon eased it; either way, her emerald orbs were more hardened than the gems, be if from the ground or launched in midair by a hierophant. Xenofiction was a nonissue for the ginger woman in question, especially since she wasn’t the type of character found therein; after all, she was a person no matter the time of day or the environment of place, just like the man she’d met earlier altogether: irregardless, the situation at hand was critical for the both of them, even though she’d wielded the shotgun above the ground.

Her right hand now held the shining tool firmly enough as it were, guiding her throughout the rest of the dark territory already; although she came across a windowsill along the way, the beam of light was furthest away even as both feet neared it adjacently: she’d now see a few others like her either running from, hiding away, or fighting off the pale and decrepit lifeforms shambling. Of course, there were a handful of people whom were successful as they were assaulted either alone or in packs so to speak of: no matter how much they’d struggled, the hordes had collectively feasted upon their flesh and blood almost mindlessly no less; even the few cuts and bruises found upon their bodies meant a foregone conclusion for themselves and Carrot Top too.

“Miss Carrot Top, are you done…?” he’d called out to the ginger woman, his voice still trapped in the same building as her despite being further away, “I’m getting the cans and bottles in the bags now; please hurry up…!”

“Okay…!” she’d shouted softly to say the least.

Finding a stairway nearby, Carrot Top walked on down gently as possible, the moving frames of the dead’s attack burnt in mind; suddenly, she could hear some loud knocking upon wood, reminiscent of Eugene’s attempt albeit more louder and harder already: this had made her hair and ears stand on endwise as her eyes widened about in shock and awe, shaken but not stirred. Either way, considering the noises being made from the outside world looking in, the ginger woman’s feet scurried further; eventually, she was down on the ground but not out of the fight that she and the man were preparing for, if not prepared: no matter what happened next, she’d taken a deep breath to build up her resolve and pay no mind to what she’d seen and heard alone.

In a matter of more seconds ticked away, she’d found him in another room with a table filled by cans and bottles along with bags: he was all dressed up in a blood red hat, greengrass shirt, and jet–black shorts matching both his shoes overlaying his underwear; he’d stopped to face her and speak, “thank goodness we’re ready; now, let’s go and face the zombies together so to speak…!”

Before that could happen, something loud and booming had come their way, moreso compared to either of the knocks on wood: in a split–second, shrapnel had been sent their way courtesy of the wood, glass, and metal which had made up their own area; after the dust had settled in, both Carrot Top and Eugene were lying on the floorboards underneath, battered and bloodied no less.

“I congratulate you two: you’d made it, friends; however, you two may not know that this place has a mystical force which silly normies can never understand…” a dark raspy voice had wheezed on through, belonging to none of the gingers sprawled about with splinters deep into their fractured skin, “you know, you’ve made a mistake. In order to see it, think about the arrangement of the three crystals: I’m looking forward to others’ effort; ha ha ha ha ha ha!!”

“Written Script… wherever… you are, I’m… so sorry… I should’ve… let you come… I’d stay in… Canterlot… living in… luxury… but I’d still… be alive… I can’t… imagine… how brother… must fell now… sister’s dead… I may not… have chased bits… but I did… love you so… Eugene’s dead… just like me… whoever killed… was armed too…” she’d coughed out.

It was at this point some footsteps came, trampling all over the debris as a somber voice hissed, “rest in peace, brave souls; be at peace…”

“PRAY FOR ME…!” Carrot Top cried thunderously before melting into the pool of blood below, shrapnel and all, “I AM CLEAN…!”

The same fate befell Eugene before there was nothing left of them but red liquid and the debris which had embedded the duo all the same so to speak of.

Sunshower

Author's Note

Hello there and welcome back, this time to the second half of Another Cosmological Eclipse, the one story out of many of my craft to go above and beyond the oneshots I've given you since the inception; suffice to say, the past chapters from before were by far a strong note for all of you, just like what this one is going to be.

In this case, I'm going to warn you in advance that the chapter after this is going to be verging into some dark territory, no relation to that Steven Seagal movie mind you; while it'll be nothing more like a nightmare, it alone will be a stern reminder of why this story is nothing like the movie, no action but not for kids either so to speak of nevertheless.

In any case, just take solace in the fact that this is just a breather since it was such a challenge having to write for a certain character in question; the only good thing I can say about it is that she'll be able to meet some familiar faces who would be joining in for this ride, albeit briefly.

Sunshower

In the perceptions of many, moisture is usually formed with water, one out of many elements that provide subsistence: one of them was in the form and function of perspiration, seeping out from the skin of many as it usually had a similarity to saltwater itself; however, it was already accompanied by fear and fury conjoined together in a rather slow yet steady boil in the mix. Although there was some of it found within its liquid and gaseous forms coexisting altogether, its very concentration was currently being overwhelmed by the utter abundance of such clean water washing it all completely as its crispy cool sensation provided joy and relief; suffice it to say, it was but a feeling to be shared and acknowledged by so many lifeforms of different backgrounds. Nevertheless, there was a matter of balance needing to be maintained, especially in this particular moment in time with the driving precipitation centered in on one direction, courtesy of gravity’s pull that held everything together on the surface belonging to the ever–changing world where every single thing, imaginable and otherwise, took place: the waters being amongst one of them.

One lifeform in question was already found to be standing out and about in the direct path of the concentrated artificial rainstorm: a light jasmine woman with bright eyes and long hair all in teal. She’d possessed a curvaceous build thanks to the sheer fact that she was already standing underneath the very faucet where the compound in question rained downwardly on her very skin.

“Hah… glad that training’s over already: it’s been a real slice of Tartarus lately around here; we’re only a few months in and I still feel useless…” the willowy woman wheezed, her face in the same direction as the wet tiles below her feet alongside the drain where the hot water was circling into it almost instantaneously.

Aside from a few whistles and bells beyond her place, the waterworks were basically barren in the very least; as a matter of fact, it’d looked like that she was the only one standing about as is. Basic lighting above were also found to be carrying copious amounts of sights and sounds to and fro, bright enough to throw off the nightly shades and shadows which would’ve occupied them. Calm on the outside but thinking all throughout the time, the willowy woman’s damp visage had straighten out slowly but surely, the colorless warm currents regulating and massaging her flesh.

Speaking of which, her bright eyes now had focused in onto the rudimentary interface nearby the waistline, a harmony of handles: out of them, she’d placed a left hand onto the middlemost one before turning the remainders alongside without any hesitation; before long, water had stopped shooting out of its nozzle and onto her body, the reluctant coolness within the mist taking place. The willowy woman soon left the stall, dripping with the achromatic fluid but indifferent to the lower temperatures hiding out deep in the evaporating atmosphere, the heat now being expended; right into the thick of the fog, all that was left for her was merely the wind and water themselves clothing her integumentary system as she was in the midst of looking for a way out of this area. Unsurprisingly, she’d discovered one upon looking to the right in so little time of this limited space her body had still resided in: it was glassy and solid compared to the running archway she was recently under so to speak of, not to mention reinforced by steel; both of her hands had spared no thought whatsoever in latching onto the colder handle before opening it to face it all.

The willowy woman had now found herself in a more sterile environment, clean and pristine to a fault due to being high and dry compared to the showers. Its flooring was made up of soulful silver, reminiscent of the lining within the clouds traveling through heaven and earth in pasts, presents, and futures. The walls were painted in a star platinum overworld, a much more colorful recreation of the raw power and potential brimming throughout the universe. As far as she was concerned, the skylight up above the same flooring from before had borne the textures of crazy diamonds shining on brightly already. Now, there were also some white lights guiding their way thru the new area of influence, bearing similar accommodations like sinks near adjacent mirrors. Some running water was also being heard, albeit further away from where the willowy woman had stood up, especially considering its spaciousness.

Amongst the couple people whom were found in attendance, there were at least several more women like her present and accounted for, all sweating about from their brows varying in their states of undress and the like as well as their differences between herself and the rest already. Out of them, one was a tall, dark, and ample blonde with thicker hair compared to her willowy counterpart so to speak of: unlike the latter, the former had eyes of cerise staring up and at them all topside, seemingly avoiding eye contact already; despite being drier, the skin remained bare. Another was white as a cloud yet bearing fruity shade of a ripen peach, moreso considering how her bosoms had rivaled the likes of both the jasmine onlooker and her nearby correspondent; likewise, the eyes and hair were matched, bearing a rich shade of true blue by sheer comparison. The willowy walker witnessed another blonde in the same room as them, except she was just a bright as her nearby compeer; there were eyes of orange circling around the pupils, matching the towel which covered the wearer from the bustline to kneecaps as far as the others were aware. Lastly, but not least, was another woman with the same skin color as the jasmine onlooker, albeit brighter enough to differentiate altogether; unlike the latter, the former had tresses of wisteria stopping at the nape of its owners neckline but shared the same eye color as the modest tenant.

In any case, the willowy walker was treated to the secondary blonde speaking softly, “you okay, Raindrops…?”

“Who wouldn’t be; then again, Rainbow would’ve enjoyed this most of all: is it true that she won’t be applying for the team…?” the aforementioned onlooker answered in kind, keeping her distance away from the rest of them all the same as water dripped on, “I’d never imagined having to do this full time, especially being so faraway from Caramel of all people no less…”

“We all have to make sacrifices, especially after what had happened seven years ago; even without Cloudsdale falling apart, dad passing away meant I don’t get to see my sisters much…” the blue haired maiden had interjected, turning around to find a small locker slathered in gold experience.

The tall blonde had soon chimed in quickly, “at least you still have sisters; all I have are two cousins, Flitter and Cloudchaser, and people are confusing me with them all of the sudden: I don’t even have the same hair or eyes for that matter yet everyone keeps asking me about them both almost every chance they get…”

“Who wouldn’t be…?” the wisteria woman asked, raising an eyebrow almost instantaneously, already heading on out to where the jasmine onlooker escaped from, “apparently, they’d been staying away from Ponyville lately since the war ended, not that I blame them of course: anyone who has the money is more than welcome to leave, especially if their home’s still intact…”

“Speaking of which, they’re still rebuilding Cloudsdale as far as I remember: this city survived long enough through one generation after another yet one war was all that it’d taken to break…” the orange orbited onlooker sighed as she’d went to another locker, albeit faraway from her peachy peer so to speak of.

It didn’t take long for Raindrops to reply almost instantaneously no less, now finding her own place in the row thereof, “I know for a fact this is just like that other city in the sky that was attacked about a millennium ago: Rainbow Dash told me all about Timbucktu when we were both young at camp and how they were also attacked by an unknown enemy. Somehow, we’d all forgotten about it like it was nothing to us: a great city as old as Equestria’s founding get brutally conquered and nobody bats an eye yet losing much of Cloudsdale was enough to get us all on edge and the changelings didn’t even touch us; why couldn’t they think of it when they were busy tearing apart all of Canterlot from top to bottom and vice versa.”

“Changelings… I never knew they were in Equestria the whole time: I wonder how in the world did they manage to blend in…” the jasmine onlooker’s counterpart shivered about, despite wearing a long towel around much of the similar body so to speak of, “shapeshifters perhaps, not a big surprise but having all of them coordinate an attack on our Capital, who lead them all?”

Before an answer was made, the quintet were greeted by yet another woman, bright as the most of them but otherwise darker than Raindrops here. Like the one with hairs of wisteria, the entrant’s tresses were short: composed of amber and gold to the point of matching the latter’s eyes along too. Unlike the rest of the tenants in question, she was wearing a midnight jumpsuit with thin gilded accents covering herself from the neck downward. Even the uniformed blonde had a face which was so warmer than the very visages her peers were wearing: symmetrically depressed brows and grin.

“What are you slowpokes talking about…?” the midnight woman asked them all without hesitation.

It didn’t take much for the jasmine onlooker to answer the uniformed blonde all the same as is, “the invaders, or rather, the real reason why I’ve stayed in the Wonderbolts as well as Parasol had joined them too; they took a lot from us at Canterlot on the day that should’ve been Princess Cadance’s wedding, and not just her: lives, families, friends, neighbors, I could go on with this.”

“You don’t need to remind us all of what happened seven years ago: I was there at the scene of the tragedy as well, Raindrops…” the darkest tenant had replied in a mild–mannered minor annoyance whilst reaching in for something in yet another locker, “saw all that flesh and fabric melt away as if she were nothing to us; I can still remember seeing Twilight being there too…”

“I know, Cloudkicker… it’s just that I’d remembered her from the newspapers most of all when she’d been taken to the hospital since the library she’d been staying in burned to the ground…” the titular tenant had wheezed nasally as she was backing away from the midnight woman gently but surely.

The blue haired maiden pulled out a set of white undergarments from their confines and started chiming back into the fray already, “I was faraway from the carnage as soon as it’d begun: at first, I was caught off–guard by the gasps and screams everyone had been making at the time; but, then I saw the reason why it’d happened all the same. I couldn’t do much except run away for that matter, especially considering I was the first to escape the antechamber; of course, there were plenty of people who had the same idea when the explosion happened before their very eyes: who could even blame them knowing it was that bastard Mercury Promenade who did the deed…? What none of us had counted on was who else was there the second Princess Cadance was killed by him: apparently, it seems that the term ‘seeing double’ is no longer reduced to hyperbole, not that it isn’t impossible; I want to remind everyone else that I’m not making light of this whatsoever, especially considering how close we were to losing it all. If anything, I should say that was lucky to escape this place alive and well; still, I feel guilty about how many people weren’t so fast enough, especially considering who was waiting for us inside and out: hearing their stories was more than I need to stay away from Canterlot at all costs so to speak of. In spite of that, I still want to serve the Crown and Country all the same, much like everyone else would: the Wonderbolts are basically the first place to be and even I know for a fact she’d have been proud; I don’t know if Rainbow Dash still wants to join considering what had happened ever since that fateful day…”

“I’m pretty sure she’d do the same; it’s the whole trauma issue she must work thru: I heard she’d watched someone get stabbed…!” Raindrops responded reluctantly, quickly earning some gasps from perhaps almost everyone in close range immediately altogether, “apparently, a young girl was accused of espionage despite her age; in any case, the changelings must have backed it…”

“How the fuck would they back a false flag operation of all things: as far as I’d known, they were capable of mimicking anybody we knew; if anything, then why go after both of them in particular…?” the uniformed blonde had asked as a purr was being heard, coming from a steely zipper up in front of its owner no less.

Cloudkicker simply answered the midnight woman with but slight exasperation altogether, “maybe for the sake of dominating them: I recalled of how these changelings took advantage of any women they could get their hands on in Canterlot; of course, I don’t remember any of their attackers being changelings, especially considering how far away they were from the capitol…”

“I heard that Applejack’s assailants were also far away from Canterlot on the day of her attack, long before the wedding no less…” Parasol peeped, prompting the others to peek at her almost about to enter the showers the jasmine onlooker had departed from earlier, “not only that, some women whom gave birth after what these changelings did either perished or came close to…”

“I was a sister of these women: I’d learned of how they’d ran afoul of them; we were sextuplets – me, Opal Water, Chocolate Blueberry, Wind Chill, Electric Blue, and Bluebird Happiness…” the secondary blonde had jumped right back into the conversation, both hands already full of undergarments colored in a pale turquoise.

This had prompted their peachy peer to raise an eyebrow almost instantaneously as she’d said to the colder woman rather slowly, “I heard about what happened to Wave Chill’s wife, Sassaflash; I’m honestly sorry about what they did to her and your sisters, you know: I’d never imagined how far they would go about it…”

“Neither did I, White: I wasn’t expecting to lose three of my sisters in the process, especially considering how so alike we were…” the eponymous individual had sobbed, struggling to stay in control as she’d sat down on a nearby wooden bench with little warning, “my mother, Eclair Creme was so happy giving birth to all of us, no matter how much pain she was in so to speak of. As far as I’d remembered, my mother, Eclair Crème was happy to give birth to us all like it was nothing to her at all whatsoever; as a matter of fact, it’s rather rare for any woman to be bringing more than three children all into the world on the same day alone: she was the talk of the town since my sisters and I were just newborns, especially as far as Canterlot was concerned about us. To this day, I still couldn’t get over the fact of how often I’d gotten confused with someone else on a regular daily basis no less: between our mother’s skin and our father’s eyes, I happened to resemble her mostly of all, so much so they’d called me mom; of course, our cousin Dewdrop was also more resembling of her as well, especially considering how small his household was. Anyways, it was just a few years shy of Nightmare Moon’s return when Wind Chill had gotten hitched to that Wonderbolt Wave; at that time, her old birth name was Emerald Wind but it seems the marriage gave her a perfect opportunity to branch out from us: speaking of which, mom was ecstatic at the idea of being a grandmother when she’d heard the whole news no less. Likewise, I’d wanted to get married as well much like any other women would’ve wanted, something many of you related to; in my case, I almost had my hearts set on one of the four assistants at what should’ve been their wedding day as you already know: Caramel had looked so much dreamier up close compared to where I was on or at least compared to what happened next. It only took a matter of seconds when that bottle of acid made its way over to Princess Cadance’s face and broke off so to speak of; after that, everything started to move so fast, I’d barely enough time to get the fuck out of here as soon as I’d came in to see it unfold: even to that day, my legs still felt weak compared to when I’d entered the palace expecting a wedding to go as planned. Yet it seems no matter how hard I’d tried, I could never escape the reality of what happened here, that was my downfall as is: a princess slain, many soldiers injured, countless commoners brutalized, a city bombarded, and a homeland mourning in one day; of them, three of my dearest sisters die giving birth to their attackers’ bastard spawn all thanks to their changeling genetics. As such, ‘twas the life of a survivor with family in tears since that day, spared for the fallen kith and kin along Princess Cadance; even now, it’s no secret as to the severity of the ordeal and its aftermath, especially for a family like mine whose pride had break: even the Chills were on the verge of a breakup all because of what they to our sisters the second it melted off her very face.”

“I’m sorry to hear that: I knew that the Canterlot Tragedy was something to behold but I’d never imagined how much suffering would be inflicted; these changelings must be really awful…” the midnight woman said, already midway of shedding her uniform to the point her own turquoise tank top was on display for her peers to see.

The secondary blonde wasted no time snapping at her mostly uniformed counterpart all the same, “what do you know, Lightning Dust?! As far as all of us were concerned, you were faraway from the changeling onslaught much like every other citizen of Cloudsdale; meanwhile, us attendants had to lose our precious princess at her own wedding along with other people close to us before, during, and after; aside from me, Raindrops lost Icy Rain and White Lightning lost her father. It wouldn’t have matter to you or your buddies, Short Fuse and Rolling Thunder, if you had been free of any actual attachments, on or off the team; after all, you three live life on the edge regularly like it doesn’t matter to any of you or your fellow teammates, while many of us had to plan accordingly before signing up to join the Wonderbolts like everyone else. Nevertheless, I’m willing to wager if you’d an ounce of consideration for the others, then you’d be off in a rush to making these wretched unrepentant insults of an excuse for vermin rue the day they’d slaughtered Princess Cadance all the same like Shining Armor would’ve if he’d ever gotten himself the chance instead everyone else here…!”

“Who are you to make an assessment of my life, you second–rate copycat: I try to be nice to you and this is how you repay me; how about I oughta–––?!” was all that the aforementioned blonde could say as she was on the verge of lunging at Sassaflash with every iota of anger summoned from underneath the former.

The modest target was about ready, willing, and able to defend herself from the oncoming onslaught Lightning Dust attempted before Raindrops stepped between themselves and pleaded, “Sassaflash, Lightning Dust, please control yourselves: I don’t want anyone fighting in front of me, especially since we’d been talking about changelings to and fro in the past few minutes…! Besides, I don’t want Fleetfoot to give us all a penalty because of what was about to happen; speaking of which, I was supposed to go see her anyway: she has an assignment for me and I don’t want to be late because of it, not to mention I need to dress up in uniform now that I’m out of the shower as is…!”

“We all need to be in uniform before we leave, Rain; besides, I was just about to take a shower all the same: you know that too…” Parasol panted as she’d watched the two women on either side of the jasmine onlooker break out of their shared petrification no less, “training’s been hard and heavy ever since Cloudsdale but we need to work together; this can’t go on all the same…”

“Agreed: unlike Lightning Dust, you four are under my responsibility in essence; we may not make up the entire military branch but we’re expected to do more than just put on a show…” the tall blonde lightly boomed, catching the rest of her peers by surprise as they’d all looked at her, even the titular tenant too.

The uniformed entrant looked away and said calmly again all the same for the rest to hear clearly, “you’re right: I didn’t mean to go off on you like that, Sassaflash; I’m sorry for calling you a second–rate copycat earlier…”

“No, Lightning Dust; I should be the one who ought to apologize: I’m still stressed out about the loss of my sisters all the same…” the eponymous blonde replied, looking downwardly again this time in shame as the others had looked on and about as they were, “I shouldn’t have taken it out on you just because you’re alone and aspiring; matter of fact, you remind of Rainbow Dash…”

“And so does Fleetfoot but we need to focus on the now: as far as she's concerned, Rainbow Dash isn't a part of the Wonderbolts at all; when we'd joined, we'd sworn to protect Equestria…” Cloudkicker said as she'd started to get dressed in her own undergarments, a light lavender lacy combo of a thick brassiere and knickers no less.

The other blonde did the same as is with White, prompting Raindrops to follow suit as she'd meant to not long ago so to speak; as for the wisteria woman, she'd finally entered the showers for the rest to take note of, especially Lightning Dust herself: although the turquoise set was on display, both eyes focused in onto the door that was fogged up in front of the rest nevertheless.

Needless to say, Raindrops was alone with her thoughts even as the tertiary blonde was now in the altogether for the others to see, “now that she'd mentioned it, I wonder if Spitfire and Soarin' are still going to be back later on this week: I haven't seen them both lately since they'd tied the knot years ago unlike everyone else whom had worked with the two, not even Rainbow Dash…"

Now it was just the tall blonde dressed in a similar uniform as her absent correspondent, more lighter in comparison all the while; Sassaflash and her peachy peer were following suit as they'd begun to enter the thicker textiles without any hesitation whatsoever: either way, the jasmine onlooker had to put something on to cover herself and the thin fabrics over the integuments too.

Moonshot

Author's Note

It's Fireflower again with the eighth installment of my first My Little Pony fanfic going beyond the typical oneshots I'd made from before and already using canon characters as human beings instead of their normal forms; however, this is nonetheless a Mature fimfic for this chapter here will deal with certain subject matters considered unsuitable for those under eighteen, easily offended, and/or quickly nauseated.

In addition, I would like to take this time to inform you this chapter is only a nightmare but it can't and won't bring shock, awe, and outrage out of you in ways too horrible to imagine: it's tame to a fault so there's no need to skip to another chapter like I'd offered in the past, a common choice of my own free will so to speak; nevertheless, you won't like how it goes, especially considering the track record recently all the same.

Lastly, let me also say that I hope you can withstand this chapter now and stay tuned for future chapters later on then again, you won't like how it'll be written all the same: besides, had any of you readers been aware of my works in the past, you'll find them to be a breather for the things to arrive hot and ready so to speak of; either way, consider yourselves warned all the same, especially since it'd taken so long to finish this chapter all the same so I'll apologize for the delays.

Moonshot

The world as it’s known was now the color of night, fine–tuned for the most advanced darkness shown to its inhabitants, sleeping and otherwise. At the very least, peace and quiet was found in every corner imaginable no matter how uneasy is was to eyes and ears, untrained and beyond as is. Unspeakably safe and sound as it were, one could assume there was nothing to observe and/or report as it’d be the same the other way around.

Suddenly without any warning whatsoever, but somehow as if on the cuff required, and perhaps collar opted, brass barrage began: it was fast and sharp, shaking away the golden silence with experience points from pastimes yet resonating into the present world; not only that, the darkness was vanquished instantaneously, all thanks to an abundance of photons in a singular area alone. In this place, concrete and steel had provided the area with much structure, its background being self–sustaining enough to hold: around its limited airspace were a series of bunk beds resting abaft pillars with lights above in betwixt the red carpeting used; in addition, large lockers were holding them in place, standing against while facing the shutters closed off to the outside world. The main point of contention were the inhabitants scrambling about in a haphazardly manner, awaken to the noise out of sync; despite this, not only were they able to keep their comforters neat and clean, they’d also found the time to wear a jumpsuit too: it was predominately blue with some goldenrod thunderbolts covering up almost the entirety of their wearers’ bodies altogether.

Walking between themselves was a man in a similar uniform, a wide–brimmed hat and shirt colored in blue with a black necktie matching his pants and boots: the integuments were just as dark but borne more of a lighter shade and hue than the primal darkness from afore, not that it’d mattered in the slightest for many of them at large the way his hazel orbs could see it all clearly.

“Sir…!” was all that the people in blue could say to him walking down their way collectively, a collection of sounds both masculine and feminine in every octave possible on a perfect note so to speak; either way, the air of anticipation was awash over themselves as far as he was concerned in general altogether.

In the lonely man’s eyes, everyone on both sides held their own right hands in a firmed salute, prompting him to reply at once, “at ease, Bolts…! Alright, grunts, listen up: you’ve all been called back from breakfast because we have an emergency situation going on and I need you all at your best; we’re not a hundred percent filled in on exactly what’s going on as the situation is developing but you’ll be given your orders when you reach the LZ which is on base; this is not a training exercise. Remember the rules of radio discretion and I’ll be in contact and coordinating the remaining aviation auxiliaries; then, Sergeant Wilcox will be coordinating the military mission: good luck, everyone…”

Afterwards, he’d left the room in silence, its inhabitants almost stuck in place yet otherwise breathing freely all throughout; out of the personnel in question, one woman in particular stuck out and about for the rest to be aware of in the meantime as is: her skin was like jasmine, bright and colorful, while her thin turquoise tresses matched both eyes as she’d observed her environs.

“What was he talking about: we’d just woken up and we haven’t been to breakfast yet; more importantly, what’s going on…?” she’d cerebrated about as her feet broke rank from the rest and had started following after him almost immediately in the process, “I haven’t even been able to finish basic training yet and I’m already in the barracks with the others; who exactly is he…?”

“Raindrops…!” a feminine contralto escaped into the jasmine listener’s ears, prompting the latter to face the former as soon as an exit was made.

Face–to–face with the titular tenant was another female in uniform, darker than the former but lighter than the man from earlier: the latter’s tresses were as white as a cloud out of perhaps many traversing the sky of mornings, past, present, and future all alike; staring back at turquoise orbs were that of brilliant cherries freshly picked from its herbages of the now and current world.

It didn’t take much for the jasmine traveler to respond all the same, considering the situation, “Fleetfoot…?”

“The Commander wants you at the briefing ASAP; this is a Prerogative Order from high up, courtesy of the Crown, I’m afraid…” the eponymous eyewitness said to Raindrops rather instantaneously, gently pulling the latter aside from the egress in question, “your colleagues will arrive as well; since you’re close to the ground in Ponyville, this should pique your interest…”

“How…?” the jasmine traveler asked her tanned onlooker.

Fleetfoot wasted no time answered Raindrops all the same no less, “she’ll tell you everything all the same; I’m not at liberty to discuss it all here: we can’t take any chances after what had happened years ago…”

“I understand then…” the jasmine pedestrian said as she was led out into the open world by her tanned onlooker already, “lead the way…”

Raindrops could now see the darkness above herself and Fleetfoot in due time, far more colorful than the one from her place of origin overall. For starters, a sea of stars were shrinking away due to daybreak fast approaching yet the crescent moon still stood out and about in quicksilver. The other things that were providing illumination in the still present nocturne happened to be an abundance of lampposts filled by electricity. Yet, all that the jasmine pedestrian could see was an empty landscape of the same materials she been in the process of departing from earlier.

“It’s right down this trail to the left: they’re all waiting at the Tactical Operation Command on the first door to the right as soon as you enter; they’ll start in about several minutes so move…” the tanned onlooker commanded Raindrops firmly yet flexibly, approaching a sign in amidst the curvy fork in the rocky road: one leading to the aforementioned area; the other, more opened.

Either way, the jasmine pedestrian walked down this side of the pathway, promptly presented by a set of glass doors up in front: adjacently nearby was a green square flashing about in a slightly larger rectangle imprinted into the stony edges altogether as is; in any case, she’d end up pressing it inward, splitting the barrier in two as her presence became welcomed by nothingness.
It wasn’t long until Raindrops became reacquainted with a bare–bones environment from before, this time presented by doors: unlike the beds she’d stood in between, there were only a few doors, each of which were already painted in the brilliant green; out of them, her hand had rested upon one of its knobs, turning it around slightly to hear a small click instantaneously so to speak.

As soon as the jasmine pedestrian had opened the door, she was quick to hear another contralto, this time gruffer on the flipside, “okay, listen up, people; we have an extremely hostile situation on our hands: recon has not been able to determine the amount of opposition so let’s keep this tight. As you may all know, it’s been seven years since Equestria had went into open warfare, initially against foreign threats but also hidden ones as well: of them, the perpetrators whom had attacked the capital city have been known for using their magic to blend in with locales more easily to the point of mimicking anyone and anything to their hearts’ content, or in their case lack thereof. Still, this is a completely separate issue, especially since we’d not heard of the changelings in any shape or form whatsoever; although we like nothing more than to pay them back for the crimes they committed in Canterlot, that’s not why we’re here now: since the end of the war, a new threat has, for the lack of a better term, taken root in an old location familiar to all of us. Insider sources working on behalf of an Iorian publishing company had stumbled across a series of events within Everfree Forest: this area was known to people in and out of Ponyville as the site of the first major firebombing in said war, claiming so many lives; oddly enough or not, depending on how you all look at it, it’d regrown much quickly compared to Whitetail Woods. To put it simply, ever since the tragedy and its speedy recovery, the locals have begun to notice the carcasses of its own fauna; each of them had been all found abandoned more frequently since the first year anniversary in such certain haphazard instances: dismembered appendages, eviscerated abdominals, extracted brains, and disemboweled entrails, all of except for the hearts. I know for a fact it’s disgusting to hear about this, much less see it outright in a photograph, compared to the real thing here: considering you’d all been pulled out of bedtime and into uniform, we’d hoped to feed you after briefing to spare you the strife; nonetheless, it’s extremely imperative that we must do a quick reconnaissance all the same for the good of the town anyway. Considering the reality of the situation at hand, we need to approach the issue of Everfree Forest with utmost caution all the same: both the Princesses have been hounded with complaints by neighboring communities and the tribe living inside are at wits end; Thicket’s King Aspen is having a harder time trying to shield his son Bramble and his fiancée Skystar for their sanity.”

“The Everfree Forest… I’ve not heard of that place since that day years ago; as a matter of fact, I’d never even been near it at all…” Raindrops ruminated as she’d found herself entering the room to find more of her kind already in attendance, seated upon the chairs, “come to think of it, didn’t Fluttershy happen to have lived near it; not only that, wasn’t there a foreigner inside too?”

“Ah, Raindrops, you made it: your friends were all wondering when exactly were you going to show up; but enough jokes anyways, please hit the lights since there’s info to be shown here…!” the source within barked at the jasmine pedestrian from a small platform nearby a white screen: a bright skinned ginger with darker eyes as far as the former can see clear as the day which begun.

Although startled by the inhabitant’s appearance, the titular tenant wasted no time find a switch on the wall with affirmation, “yes, ma’am…!”

“As you can see here in these photos, Everfree Forest has seen better days since the postwar period, despite our history…” the bright ginger stated bravely, even as most of the lights above them subsided into the darkness unlike the dawn outside of it, “even though it’s recovered from all the fire damage, it’s safe to believe that whatever layout was there has changed dramatically. Even with Zecora’s journal and the map provided, we can’t expect this excursion to be so simple and straightforward so to speak: as far as Equestria is concerned, it’s still too dangerous because of how many strange organisms have populated themselves here; not even the Bearers of Harmony can go in there alone, not that they ever would after what this war had done to them. To insure there won’t be any further unpleasantries between Equestria and their allies nearby, it’s vital that we must put a lid on it: a simple search and destroy won’t cut do since it’d only took less than a month for the problem to worsen, especially for civvies; the woodcutter mentioned hearing hundreds of screams late at night for two whole hours, too similar to the likes of people. Henceforth, locales in Ponyville were advised to stay away from Everfree, especially at night considering the ongoing events: of course, this wasn’t enough for the screaming to stop as far as the patrols were concerned the following morning so to speak; as a matter of fact, they were reported missing the day after their formation, vanished without a trace overall or so it seems. Either way, the town’s police department had been on edge for several years since their disappearances as well as others: their attempts to remedy the situation, though admirable, had led to near destruction, leaving a sole survivor from twenty–seven; however, another unit also returned, obtaining critical information courtesy of a photograph taken of a third–party entity. Recently, its involvement, however minimal, has been confirmed to be hostile as well as anthropoid but here’s the kicker: despite bearing the appearance of a person, it’d made up of both metallic parts and some wood pieces, hence species unknown; as a result, us Wonderbolts and the Royal Marine have been searching for this individual supposedly responsible for all of it. Even though it hasn’t been found yet, we’ve made it an effort to undergo quarterly patrols ever since the patrols’ absences here: up until now, all that was found were nothing more than ten dismembered animal bodies and a townsperson’s cadaver overall; speaking of which, that body was the only thing of interest to both local and provincial authorities, hoping for a link therein. Afterwards, it was all quiet for the rest of Ponyville in spite of the ghastly discoveries, no new vanishings of any kind at least; however, everything changed this season when we’d all received a report of the first quarterly reconnaissance over Everfree: twenty–six fatalities, vehicles destroyed at a loss of over a million bits, all thanks to the return of this third–party in particular. Looking at what we’d gathered today, the last thing Ponyville need is another round of people ended up MIA or worse already; as such, the Princesses have decided to send out a small unit of Wonderbolts to engage the entity in lieu of another ground unit: the operation’s name is Ackerman, a search and destroy mission to ensure that the people will be safe from harm again.”

“Permission to speak freely, ma’am…?” the jasmine observer stuttered a bit, her turquoise orbs widened at the sight of a smiling steely skeletal subject already plastered on display so to speak of.

It didn’t take long for Raindrops’ commander to reply, “granted…”

“Ma’am, I may have not been up–to–date with the life and times of Ponyville ever since the war though I need to know anyway…” the jasmine observer said to the bright ginger for the others to hear loud and clear, gathering up some resolve from within overall, “if what they’re saying is true, then how come this thing hasn’t gone all–out on Ponyville more often than afore recently?”

“It’s believed that this entity’s planning to build an army with small soldiers of some sort, either alone or assisted, using the limbs and organs for reasons unknown but it’s as far as I know…” the commander answered as the lights came back on, this time from another man in a similar uniform to the one everyone in the room including Raindrops was wearing all the same no less.

Like the bright ginger, his skin was on par yet stuck between the likes of the jasmine observer and the darker officer recently: although the tresses were blue, they were darker and richer to the point of being compressed like a still ocean, warm and liquid; additionally, both orbs were but an emerald splash, focusing in onto the former with steadfast and straightforward stare so to speak.

As far as the uniformed man was concerned, he was quick to walk over to the platform and give the commander a small folder with a whisper, “ma’am…”

“What’s up…?” the bright ginger asked as she’d opened it gently, surveiling the contents quickly yet carefully at large, “I see then; everyone, we’ve just receive some intel from the Crown: another set of bodies were found nearby the forest in the Pet Cemetery just recently. Our mission is to locate and eliminate the hostile residing at Everfree: head on out to Ponyville and recon with the auxiliaries; under no circumstances are we to let this sick son of a bitch escape into the heart like before. The reason you folk were chosen for this operation is simple and plain: seven years ago, you were civilians whom had lived in Ponyville with the rest of your neighbors, including the Bearers of Harmony themselves; although, the sights and smells will be hypothetically gruesome as shown on display, your training as Wonderbolts helped process the past memories all the same. As such, I expect nothing more but the best from you as the rest of this country does from each and every single Wonderbolt: be mindful that teamwork is key to our success and survival so I don’t need, want, or like any Blue Falcons in the making; everyone fights, nobody quits, you fuck this up, better hope I let you live it down in peace so here, do y’all get me loud and clear?”

“WE GET YOU, MA’AM…!” everyone had shouted, standing at attention with little warning whatsoever.

This alone was enough to put a smile on the commander’s face as she’d said softly, “welcome to the Wonderbolts…”

“EQUESTRIA’S WONDERBOLTS…!” hollered almost all of the people afore the bright ginger, including Raindrops herself of all, “EYUP…!”

“ALRIGHT, LET’S MOVE IT OR LOSE IT: THE FATE OF PONYVILLE RESTS ON OUR HANDS; IT’S ABOUT TIME THAT WE RETURN THE FAVOR FOR OUR HEROES…!” their commander had barked as she’d quickly headed out the other door onto her right, leaving it opened wide for every single one of the others still in attendance to follow suit no less.

The jasmine observer was no exception as her blue boots stomped down the metal stairs into a fluid lockstep with colleagues: they couldn’t do much but make a sharp right turn into another wider doorway, entering the corridor before shifting on left; after finding another similar pair, they were now treated to the sights and scents of the outside world she’d traversed thru earlier. At long last, they could see the sunrise taking place right up in front of them on the log horizon but it wasn’t the main focus here; instead, it was lines of aircraft resting around the runway as they were adjacent to their collective position closing inwardly overall: each of them all matched the color scheme of their uniforms but the frontal region resembled grimacing dentitions herein. Underneath the lampshade hanging directly from the stonewalls were open crates of the deepest green present and accounted for: the people whom were already there were handing off backpacks to those approaching them into a single file despite their agility; as soon as it’d now quickly touched their back, they were all in a rush to run up to the machines almost immediately. Raindrops still proved to be no exception whatsoever as she’d climbed a ladder held up against it, taking her off of solid earth: it didn’t take much for her to notice the manifold buttons making up the majority of the interface she’d gotten acquainted with; in addition, a helmet and some goggles were also found on the leftmost side, prompting their equipment to take place altogether. Upon covering the hair and eyes, the jasmine occupant had pressed one of the smaller shapes up in front of her without hesitation: sure enough, the canopy above herself had begun to close in on her, shutting away much of the fresh oxygen around the aircraft; nevertheless, another apparatus was also within the line of eyesight, picked up by the very same hands as it’d bore a tubular trail. Soon, she was breathing into the mask covering her muzzle as she’d smelled the air going in and out of her nostrils already as is; after taking a deep breath, her fingers made contact with another button, this time slightly larger in circumference, all the same: this had caused the machine she was in to move slowly, something that many others were doing right in front of her eyes at once.

Raindrops first took sight at one of it already moving down the runway as she’d composed herself, watching as a line was beginning to form while she’d thought about the situation at hand, “of all the reasons to go fighting, this is most scary; why did it have to be like this: a monster in Everfree skinning alive people and animals alike as if they were nothing to them? Nobody normal, not even Zecora, would go around doing something like this just to attract some attention from the others here; perhaps this is just some old face looking to seek revenge for the first firebombing there, if not at Whitetail Woods, but whom: even if it were Fluttershy, how exactly would she even go through with the first step, especially given her own past reputation This wouldn’t even be the work of terrorists, much less the changelings, as far as we’d been told recently considering the details; we haven’t even heard about them for the past seven years ever since they’d taken a shot at Princess Celestia of all people: it wasn’t enough for Cadance to die in front of all of us at her own wedding, they’d the utter nerve to attack her too and all for what?! Over a millennium of peace had been maintained by the likes of the two Princesses ever since their very coronation altogether: Equestria has survived so much since then, especially considering Nightmare Moon’s return of all things, not to be surprised; now, we can’t even take care of some deranged desperado who may as well have lure us here with various carcasses?!”

Suddenly, another source of light appeared before the jasmine pilot, surpassing the intensity of the rising sun in the distance as it'd overwhelmed her and her peers without any kind of warning. The solid earth underneath themselves had shaken to and fro as the line of aircraft she was currently in wobbled out of place, most of which struggled to stay in their shared lanes no less. Although the proximity between the illumination and its viewers was scarce to a fault, it didn't stop any of the trembling from causing damage directly and otherwise, especially with her kind. Now it was time for the sky above the port to become the color of an electronics' screen, tuned to a dead channel as the stars within faded in the light faster than its all natural rays from the giant. Despite being locked inside the cockpit, the crisp air all throughout themselves had become more hot and heavy for their skin and fabrics to tolerate, especially considering the metal around it all. Such was the case for Raindrops as her ears were now assaulted with but a cacophony of pitches emanating from the interface afore, each more noisome than the last as they vied for dominance.

"EVERYONE OUTTA OF THE JETS; SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH THEM: THE INTERFACE IS ON THE FRITZ…!" the jasmine pilot heard amidst the noise, garbled up to a fault as the static mesh was closing in on it altogether as it were, "OH, CELESTIA, I CAN'T EJECT AT ALL; THE EJECTOR SEAT ISN'T EVEN LETTING ME OUT OF HERE…!

It didn't take long for the cold inertia to strike against her warm body instantaneously, something that many would relate to here: the sudden contact became inevitable as the surface area increased, closing the distance in betwixt the initial cut and them; of which, she was taking note of how it's boundaries were moving off into their direction as sparks had flew around the canopy Afterwards, everyone and everything was getting caught in the beam's linear pathway, no doubt something that can't be averted: it'd all started when the smallest debris was being reduced to atoms, but the size of input alone was soon increasing in due time; after all, Raindrops could see the same machine she was in becoming disintegrated by the concentrated photons immediately. Needless to say, more were following suit, like it or not, most of which its pilots tried to avoid but couldn't get out of the way: this was enough to break the jasmine eyewitness' resolve as she, too, had struggled to escape the impending onslaught anyways; nevertheless, it was to no avail, even with her hands and feet beating against the curving surface area over her helmet altogether.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!" she cried as the initial impact had reduced her to nothingness all so neatly and pristine to the bitter end; now, all that had remained in her place was a line imprinted into the ground smoldering about as the wreckage took up vacancy in seconds when the nearby building cracked.

Merriment

Author's Note

Hello, it's Fireflower as always ready to give you another chapter on the way: of course, this chapter contains references to certain subject matters and thusly the reason why this story has been rated M for Mature; of course, you'd already known that far too well so as such, this will be the last time I mention it.

Aside from disclaimers long ago, I'd like to take this time to say thank you for never pulling out too early since we're now in the halfway region of the story's progress; somehow, the new year will provide us with a new hope to have and hold with tender loving care rather than yet a totally lost cause and the strength to continue onward in staying tuned for the future that is the now: I believe at this rate, everything will make sense soon enough.

One last thing before I sign off, I want to let you know that another old friend is also going to be joining the story that I'm sure y'all, remember; in additional, there's also another original character serving as a reminder of whom was lost along the way over the years so to speak of: as such, please don't steal him from me.

Merriment

It was a dark and stormy day but it’d still possessed the light which was hidden away from the eyes of its own observers whom were now running about at this moment in time thereof. The silver linings which could’ve been easily found as the shine in the storm were overshadowed by the outpouring of rainwater which had fell onto the solid ground almost immediately. Some sounds of thunder which had rolled about within the vast stormclouds while the refrained waves of lightning had carved its way throughout with blinding speed and synchronicity. Unbound by the vast spaciousness of the very atmosphere, the cluster of grays and whites with the occasional colors hadst spread further apart all over the lands and waters underneath. Kiloliters worth of liquid had already saturated the terrain, many acreages of it all were gaining the very texture which was now more malleable than even stone and metal themselves. Accompanying the torrent and thunder were the howling winds now moving the grass and trees which had already completed the interactive orchestra for the surrounding environment.

Out of the many buildings standing out and about in the pouring rain, a large one was already residing on the outskirts of a town in the distance. It’d was up tall and proud, reaching on high as at least three stories with a pair of stone chimneys stretching thinner even though they were far apart. The roofing had possessed the style similar to the likes of many residences within the adjacent town, albeit composed of ligneous uniformity here. Hanging over from its very entryway was a big red circle with several pink hearts, sequestered by a sizable white cross fitted inside of the shape. Surrounding it all were such countless windowpanes made of the same material and shape but in various sizes, beaten down by the precipitation. All which had remained out there were but a pair of olive doors resting underneath an awning up in front of a trail cutting into the town’s landscape.

Compared to the outside world at large, the building’s interiors were only a sight cuts above than whatever stones could’ve been thrown outwardly. All of its ceiling were painted in a brownish shading stylized; many of which were all separated into intersecting but otherwise equal lines already. Every single wall within the room was a lighter hue than the brilliant green left out and about in the outside world abaft, so much drier and heated. The beige flooring underneath was interspersed with some set of teal carpeting which had looked like it’d been bought at a bargain before cleansing. Most of the geometric corners near the entrance were occupied by potted plants with an abundant leaves so spacious to cover all kinds of footwear. It’d also be seen by at least one viewer there were many people sitting upon olive colored chairs, either being amongst the well–adjusted or infirm.

Speaking of which, there were at least two individuals found to be sitting firmly inside, both of whom all maiden fair with long hair, bright skin, and green eyes; of course, this was where their commonalities have ended and, in their place, the beginning of their visual differences to compare and contrast themselves as is. The first of the duo was dressed in a jet–black ensemble of a beret, veil, blouse, skirt, socks, and shoes, leaving her mauve tresses and red rose out amongst them; the other was shorter, paler, yet colorful, wearing a dark magenta jacket with matching boots, a striped blouse accenting purple and pink locks, and high yellow shorts.

“Miss Cheerilee… do you think that my sister is going to be okay…?” a small soprano had now escaped from the latter, catching the aforementioned listener’s attention almost instantaneously no less.

The woman in black turned to face her colorful counterpart with an answer in tow, “she has to be: Rarity has only her whole life ahead of herself; failing that, she has you, Sweetie Belle… you and her friends…”

“I know, it’s just that as much as I have nightmares of what happened to us both, I don’t want to wish this on anyone else at all…” the pale soprano had responded, looking down on the flooring where their feet, alongside all the others, rested upon as they were, “I still miss mom and dad more than ever to this day and I’m starting to forget what they look like now ever since the fire. Not only that, I still can’t help myself but to remember what had happened to them the very last time I’d seen them before here: even though it was quick, the loud noise was enough to scare me into my own room no less, especially knowing the meaning; I couldn’t even imagine the pain they’d have felt, if at all, as soon as their lives were ended, be if by the bullet or the blaze itself. For what it was worth, I could never comprehend what it was like to grow up without even one parent, let alone losing both here; of course, neither did my sister but that was because she was too engrossed in her work, friends, and hobbies to think such things: perhaps, that’s another commonality between us they can see, especially considering how we were sisters all the same. At the very least, I’d believed nothing bad would ever happen to us considering how well–off we were, or rather as Rarity thought: even then, that wasn’t enough to shield me from the teasing Diamond Tiara and her friend, Silver Spoon, had given the three of us; still, no one would ever imagine something like this coming to her home of all places, element or no element so to speak. Nothing much else could be said about what happened before my parents were killed and after the house burned to the ground; everyone whom heard about it remembered all too well, especially considering whom had returned to see it all as it were: I can still memorize the emotional state my big sister had been in the mere second she’d found me in my room like this. Carousel Boutique was caught ablaze because of her pet cat Opalescence locked inside of the kitchen oven of all things here; although I didn’t see it happen, I did, however, remember hearing her screech after the gunshots afore a loud thud made its way: if only Rarity had returned sooner that day, then perhaps we’d have been all saved from the war, before and after in the very least. It may as well be enough for her to know how all that hard work she was quick to take pride in has been turnt to ash like them: all those years she spent bringing in business to and from Ponyville and the friends she’d already made along the way ever since; but, it was nothing compared to losing them both and her pet in the house fire that almost took me with them took. Even though Rarity felt so distant from me, she’d never wanted to let me suffer so greatly in this war–torn world like Equestria; if anything, it might as well explain why she’d ended up trying what Applejack would come up with so later on before the end: broken by tragedy and horror in one life alone was unspeakable to a fault but the real mystery is why would Applejack do it too? Stuff like this isn’t something neither Apple Bloom or I would imagine our sisters would even dare up until then for all we know; even now, I still pity Applejack even more considering what had been done to her beforehand and so does everyone else herein: almost all of her friends are worried sick of her, her family’s been all but destroyed, and even Carrot Top visited her too…”

“Applejack had never left the hospital the last time I’d seen her: she’d injured herself before my own eyes, ranting and raving about what she’d done to her sister the same way Rarity did during her session with Dr. Sevenfold previously; I swear I’m honestly worried about them anyways…” Cheerilee said gently prior to a rumble of thunder entering their ears rather immediately no less.

Afterwards, both females heard footfalls approaching their shared direction, belonging to another light skinned denizen within the premises herein. Unlike the visiting women’s sizable yet colorful tresses, the thin locks matching colors with the tall one’s attire crawled from their owner’s scalp. Compared to both Sweetie Belle and Cheerilee, only one of their eyewitness’ eyes was a solid green on the right; the other was but dark lemon. Here was an enormous snow–white overcoat covering much of its wearer’s body, brighter than their integuments and accompanied by tan boots.

It didn’t take long for the eyewitness to gently speak out to the women in attendance almost instantaneously, “you wish to see miss Rarity…?”

“More than ever…” Sweetie Belle peeped, “how is she: is she okay…?”

“Well the doctors said she’s been causing problems recently: they’d said it was because of that tumor which was found inside of her brain; between the discovery and the surgery, Rarity should be doing fine now that the operation was successful but we had her on sedatives ever since…” the tenor escaped into them both all the same no less.

In any case, the visiting women stood up at long last, the tall one speaking out to the eyewitness in question, “I might as well hope so: her sister as well as most of her friends and neighbors had spoken well of her in the past; come to think of it, who are you by the way…?”

“Doctor Sevenfold, her therapist before she’d snapped again; I was there in the office when it’d happen: another seizure here…” answered the tall tenor before reaching into a rightmost breast pocket within the garment, pulling out a silvery object by its chain, “the worst part about it was that it’d been the seventh Rarity had since her stay in the hospital years ago so to speak of…”

“I’m sorry to hear that: we didn’t realize how bad her condition had deteriorated over time, especially with her recent development; will she be okay, sir…?” Cheerilee had effortlessly replied to the as Sweetie Belle held onto her tightly from the startling statements made and sustained by the titular tenant all the while.

Sevenfold wasted no time whatsoever in speaking freely yet firmly, “if you mean having more time in her clock, then yes although that’s merely the prognosis we’re still hoping for: from what we’d been studying, the observant staff have been baffled by the discovery prior, especially after what had transpired; up until then, we were still convinced that the seizures were just only alone. Otherwise, we would’ve been convinced to give her some medicine for it in the hopes that it wouldn’t be a regular occurrence: at first, some had believed this was just merely out of the blue, especially seeing her blood test shown no preexisting conditions; however, it seems these particular events happened on an average yearly basis, even to the point of random timings as is. To be honest, she’d not shown any symptoms of those who are, and perhaps were, epileptic, photosensitive and otherwise: at least with the photosensitive types, the last thing we’d let them do is sit close to a screen with flashing colors, like overseas; in Rarity’s case, it seems to be idiosyncratic in perspective, especially considering how it lives up to her lamented nomenclature. All that we’ve been doing so far is keeping her from causing trouble for others as well as preventing her own injuries too; come to think of, she seems to be reminding me of what had just happened to Applejack sometime in the very same year: my colleagues said they had to drag her away from the visitors the second they’d found blood beneath both forearms and hands as well.”

“Yeah, I know: I was there that day myself; I’d visited Applejack herself to deliver a letter her sister had written beforehand…” the woman in black said solemnly as another rumble of thunder reverberating about against the solid foundation they were all in, “I couldn’t imagine what it was like for her after all these years; but, back on topic, is it okay if we can see Rarity today, sir…?”

“Of course, ma’am, just follow me to her room right down this hallway on the left; be careful, though: even though she’s sedated, I’d recommend keeping a safe distance all the same here…” the figure in white had stated right before walking away from the chairs both Cheerilee and her colorful correspondent had once sat upon earlier no less.

This was of no surprise anyway, at least to the women in question, as they’d started to follow Sevenfold instantaneously here without a care. It didn’t bother the eyewitness in white since they were already heading out of the lobby just afore another flash of lightning illuminated it. Only then did the volume of people start to become lower than the rest of the town than either individual had taken note of so to speak there. Nevertheless, Sweetie Belle was first to stop herself abaft of Sevenfold as a nearby door stood up in front of themselves even taller than the latter.

Out of the two women in question, the colorful observer noticed some numbers to the right read in radiant red, “112”.

Within only seconds, the otherwise slow beeline had now met its end, already overtaken by a vastly new area that the three had just walked in. The ceiling above them was green as the grass to and from home, yet it was so flat and smooth it was stuck in a two dimensional space frozen up. All throughout the trio were walls predominantly in teal, held up by ligneous panels already left untouched for the memories of nature to be seen. Underneath their feet was some flooring reminiscent of a checkerboard, a finite bicolor series of greens and goldenrod laid out adjacently before. In addition, there were two kinds of heavy objects on both bedsides: one was a wooden drawer with a lamp; the other, some machinery beeping. Speaking of mathematics, a snow–white curtain had been found on the right next to the devices, partitioning off a second set hollow and empty.

All the minimalism was enough to help the trio focus in onto its occupant almost immediately, a lonely maiden resting supine: despite a plum comforter draped over, there were integuments of ivory found deep within her drooping face, matching them; despite being narrowed, both eyes were a steady true blue, currently unaware of their presence to the individual in question no less.

“Oh, miss Rarity, you have some visitors today…” the leader in white chimed in as the chirps had now emanated into the followers’ ears in a matter of seconds, “try and be patient with her: the recent operation has forced us to use intravenous methods to nourish the body and keep its health maintained properly as it should do…”

“Uhh…” a strained gasp escaped from the eponymous occupant, reinforcing the atmosphere the viewers had entered inside of.

It didn’t take much for Cheerilee to go over towards the supine maiden’s side and speak out, “Rarity, can you hear me right now? I don’t know if you can but your sister and I are here for you; we’re all sorry about what had happened to you lately: Sweetie Belle and her friends took the liberty of making you a get well soon card prior to the visitor…”

“Sister… what sister… Sweetie Belle’s… my sister… how come I… haven’t heard… from her ‘til… just right now… whatsoever?” the aforementioned patient wheezed gently as her visitor in black had come into the former’s line of eyesight slowly but surely here, “this must be… a bitter… surprise here… if at all… come to think… of it, who… are you, by… the way, ma’am?”

“I’m Cheerilee, your sister’s schoolteacher, or rather, former schoolteacher; we came here to visit ‘cause of what happened to you: the doctors told me of your surgery to remove a tumor…” the titular traveler introduced herself to the supine maiden gently, reaching into the blouse’s confines slowly to pull out a hot pink envelope almost instantaneously so to speak of no less.

Rarity couldn’t do much as it’d landed near her side atop the wooden object all the same as she’d spoken to her visitor in black, “surgery…? I didn’t… know that I… would’ve been… in such a… desperate… need for it… I’d truly… seen myself… as the one… and only… epitome… of today’s… physical… health back then… after all… I still have… a girlish… figure now…”

“Maybe before, but looks are skin deep: you having a discrepancy is proof of that; of course, you should’ve remembered that…” Cheerilee replied soberly as Sweetie Belle had joined the former in watching the frail maiden in bed without bias or fear therein, “you were once the Bearer of Generosity itself back then, something that made your family proud of you but let’s not get in it. Applejack knew this all too well before the war broke out anyway and the less said about what happened to her, the better as is; after all, we’d all suffered immensely before and during the war, even Princess Celestia endured it personally at the tail end of it: she’d watched her adopted niece, Cadance, die afore her very eyes in front of many, including her would–be husband there.”

“Oh, Celestia… I’m so dreadfully… sorry to hear all… that; it must be quite… a shame to learn all… of it from you, ma’am… it seems she can’t… catch a break, forgive… me for saying it…” Rarity sighed tirelessly as her true blue eyes were now treated to the sight of her sister entering the former’s blurry viewpoint all the same.

In any case, it was now Sweetie Belle’s turn to speak to the frail maiden now that she’d taken the stand nearby the latter no less, “Rarity… I don’t know if you can remember me; I don’t know what I might do without you: I don’t want you to die at all. You’re still my sister all the same and I don’t think I’ll go on living or dying knowing that this is the place you’re also staying in with Applejack; her sister also feels the same way as I do and we can’t pretend that all is well because of what had happened to all of us seven years ago. The Social should’ve been enough to remind us of the fact that we’re family and the only ones left in this world right now here: I’d already accepted long ago the reality that mother and father are no longer with us but that doesn’t mean our lives must end; as a matter of fact, I’d already forgiven you for trying to kill me all the same, just like she’d done to her sister not too long ago. Princess Celestia had sat that standard to save her sister and you were one of the key elements to her success since the fateful day: all of your friends had also made something of themselves after when Nightmare Moon had been defeated to save all of Equestria; your recent memory of saving all of us from you–know–who should’ve been enough to remind us all of how precious you are. Still, it pains me to learn of the condition you’re in right now, despite the success there is in the operation recently nevertheless: even though they tell me that you’ll live, I’m still being reminded of the fact how fragile life is, especially from your own view; please, don’t forget all the good times we had together in our lives, before all of this, before the present, before their…”

“Sweetie Belle, you’re so… delicate and daft… about the world now… even though you’d survived… you’re still fragile…” the eponymous occupant had only wheezed without warning whatsoever, raising a finger towards her sister gently as is, “mother and father… sheltered you too much… because they’d came to… terms about what had… become of me back then. I couldn’t wait to… grow up and make a… name for myself then… before you were born… the rainbow had shone… the way before me… just as I was this… close to giving up… on my hopes and dreams… all too soon no less… and right on the cusp… of youth so to speak… even now, I still do… pity today’s youth… ignorant of the… bloodstained pasts prior… just like them afore. Even now, I’d failed… to see it clearly… what our dear Princess… Celestia here… knew too well prior… what consequences… would come of it all… had any of us… lost to Nightmare Moon… but I was blinded… by my vanity… seeing it all like… it were but trinkets… to be added on… to the clothes I’d made… rather than only… responsibilities… to be honest here. Now, I see what our… once great nation has… now become – a mere… shadow of its own… former self made flesh… gone are the days where… both Crown and Country… were respected and… loved enough to be… left alone as we were… now, the cruelties brought… in from the outside… world has forced us all… to see our very… own problems from deep… within us all! I only wish that… I had truly cared… for you too, sister… your innocence and… future; instead, I’d… used you and now I’m… used – now I, too, am… a shadow of my… former self made flesh… without a future… I pray that someday… the good people of… Equestria will… be freed once more… a nation stained by… the lifeblood of the… innocence cannot… stand along evil. Aside from all that… I only regret that… I shall not live to… see it fall to our… feet and underneath… themselves as it were… even today, my sins… against you have caused… greater pain than… what that man had done… you personally… along our parents… you needed someone… to help you the most… yet rather than… being the one, I’d… tried to kill you…!”

“Please… don’t exert… yourself so much… Rarity… you still got a whole life ahead of you…” the woman in black shushed the frail maiden tensely as the beeps increased in frequency around themselves no less.

The aforementioned patient turned away and sobbed, “I used to have a dream of having my own boutique selling garments of the highest fashion; now, I’d become a nightmare to my own sister, an orphaned girl witness to the murder of our parents: who would even dare to think of buying that stuff like it from someone with my past in particular – a homeless would–be sororicide…?”

“You know, Rarity, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were in a similar situation as I was, tortured by grown–ups in front of our kin…” Sweetie Belle replied to the frail maiden, staring at the latter’s bandages overtaking much of the few mulberry strands remaining, “sold as a slave by a man who killed her grandma and flayed in front of her mentor before being stabbed in the brain no less. After that, we didn’t know what would happen next to all of our families, especially Apple Bloom since it was her home too: we’d all seen nothing but darkness in our eyes, like the world had given up on us like we didn’t exist anymore, kids at a young age; but, then there was hope, a second chance at life awaiting for us as soon as we’d slipped out of the mortal coil generally. Now, all I can think about is what became of our friends at school and in the neighborhood since the war had ended already here: Cheerilee already told me the reason why she and her sister have taken me in afterwards, something Rainbow understood; I also know of Zecora’s decision to do the same with Apple Bloom, knowing what had happened to her by and large so to speak of. Getting my voice back from the ordeal wasn’t easy to deal with, especially considering how much has changed into the mix; seeing and hearing the news about your friends and mine had already brought me to tears more than once, especially Twilight: she’d watched her sitter, Cadance, get burnt alive in front of her whole family amongst the audience before the attack. Zecora wasn’t the only one whom had tried to comfort us as soon as the war died down, nor was Apple Bloom truly alone either: Peppermint Twist–a–loo ended up the hospital because she’d tried to kill herself with a stolen gun after hiding out at our club; I guess we should’ve paid more attention as to what could’ve been done to prevent all this had we not been under so much stress. However, the medical staff said there were plenty of survivors resting easy inside the premises despite all that had happened: I know for a fact that she’d have been left well enough alone after everything taking place since the killing spree had started; who would’ve guessed our classmate from school would become so vengeful after what she’d seen being done to Applejack no less? Only then, all these faces – friends, family, neighbors, and the like – have made me realize how much everyone’s still suffering; even now, I still thought of you and felt sorry that you’re in the hospital instead of me in spite of our last memory together as is: that diagnosis was enough to drive me off to tears again, all because of how sudden it was despite the fact it’d been caught. Until they say you can leave, I’ll still find a way to visit and comfort you so you won’t ever have to feel alone again like before: I don’t want to be on my lonesome either and you’re my sister at the end of the day yet I can’t let you go live like this any longer; you still have a reason to live out of perhaps many and I’d hate myself if anything happened to you after this point in time…”

“Oh, Sweetie Belle…” the titular tenant teared up.

After a few minutes, it was now time for the frail maiden’s sister to back away while sighing sadly anyways, “I guess this is goodbye for now: we’ll see you again soon; in any case, I hope you get well soon, sis…”

At long last, Sweetie Belle had left the room followed by Cheerilee and Sevenfold, the latter of which closing the door abaft them; afterwards, Rarity was alone again naturally, something she’d wanted much like what had remained for her prior so to speak: the envelope, on the other hand, begged to differ since it was a new arrival, not that she’d paid attention to it now nevertheless.

Misery

Author's Note

It's Fireflower again with the eighth installment of my first My Little Pony fanfic going beyond the typical oneshots I'd made from before and already using canon characters as human beings instead of their normal forms; however, this is nonetheless a Mature fimfic for this chapter here will deal with certain subject matters considered unsuitable for those under eighteen, easily offended, and/or quickly nauseated.

In addition, I'd like to take this time to inform you this chapter's also only a nightmare but it can and will bring shock, awe, and outrage out of you in ways too horrible to imagine so it's with a generous heart and mind that yours truly has uploaded another chapter after this as well on the same day no less: for those of you amongst themselves wishing to skip ahead, please do so; I promise, it'll help calm your nerves a bit for the most part.

In any case, I'd like to apologize for having this chapter feel forced since I had to make a quota all the same: the words alone were tedious to put onscreen so I had to use filler to finish it all the same, especially considering the past; nevertheless, I hope you can stomach this, despite everything that has happened recently all the while.

Misery

“Why do lovely flowers bloom from the cherry tree…?” a stray voice had emerged from the dark backward which was deemed to be nothingness itself, a void soon dissipating within moments at an end when some more colors came into the picture, most of which were lacking in saturation but otherwise unnoticeable so to speak of no less.

There was a light emanating from a screen as it’d touched a fraction of the emerald splashed flooring adjacently now exposed: obstructing the path was a brown dresser with a lamp bereft of light and a small frame up against the hot pink partition as it were; the source was a little girl with bright skin and blood red eyes dressed in a uniform mostly matching her jet–black tresses.

Frankly speaking, she’d went unnoticed before being met with some soft muttering about, quiet and humble as it was further away from the surface area already dominated by the likes of her nevertheless, especially considering how strained the words were being sent out into their general direction, “nuh, stop it… leave me alone…!”

Children of seven waking smile at the sun
Why do fragrant blossoms stir in the mountain?

The ruby–eyed maiden in jet–black had sang softly, unperturbed by the occupant’s struggled breathing all the while

Children of seven laughing, run through the wood.
Why do crimson branches dance for the village streets?
Children of seven singing, call down the wind.
Why do wilting flowers fall from the cherry tree?
Children of seven, dying to wake once more.

“Hah…!” a gasp had now escaped into the dark spacial fold, belonging not to her but rather its corporeal occupant from out here: with one small step into the light, a giant leap of logic followed after, a barefoot already attached to another bright skinned woman; instead of solid darkness was but a jasmine nightgown as a silver lining came with the rest of her mauve tresses.

It didn’t take much for the emerald splash to emerge from its owner’s eyelids as both were staring deep at the girl onscreen: in spite of being unaware, the heartbeats were increasing in volume as the latter faced off in a leftwardly direction in any case; nevertheless, the former found a dial next to the warm and fuzzy surface area and turnt it, constricting its image to a bead.

Just when the blackness was about to claim victory at long last, a new batch of colors interceded into the dark territory as it were: despite its coolness, beads of white twinkled about before the woman’s eyes as a barrier between themselves had stood its ground; nevertheless, the similar material felt cool and crispy to the touch, a stark contrast to where the maiden resided long ago. There was nothing much more she could see underneath the crystalline nighttime sky and the crescent moon of silver chariot; on the other hand, its radiance alone was enough to give her more visibility compared to what she’d awakened to earlier as is: the fact that the rectangles were now awash over her had been a more pleasant experience to gain from the ordeal easy as it’d be. Viewing what little had remained was a valley and ridge of blue ridge mountains bereft of both smoke and candy on the horizon: in front of them were a series of houses off in the distance, few of which had the lights on but no conclusive proof for occupancy; speaking of which, the range may as well be deserted to a fault, devoid of sugar, spice, and everything nice, even chemical X.

At first, the woman in jasmine felt all alone in the universe, more so than the scarlet–eyed girl whom was onscreen earlier ago: the nocturne the former had awaken to served as evidence, especially considering how colorful it was compared to the very dark; however, a similar voice entered its absolute territory, belonging to neither female so to speak of, “hello, Cheerilee…?”

“Hmm…?” the corporeal tenant gasped softly as emerald orbs darted away from the external landscape instantaneously as is: on the surface, she’d looked calm and ready yet her recent recollection had taken much of the focus away from it all generally; nevertheless, her voice was strong enough to answer back at the secondary speaker gently as she could, “Cherry Blossom?”

“Are you okay, sister: you haven’t responded to me since you and Sweetie Belle returned home; can I come in, please…?” the aforementioned visitor had spoken to her respective kinsfolk almost immediately more confidently than the latter.

It didn’t take much for the woman in jasmine to walk away from the windowsill at once, albeit more carefully than ever before: considering everything which has been unfolding afore herself, it was the least she’d do for the time being as she were no less; at the very least, even she’d been quick to answer the secondary speaker all the same, “I don’t see why not; I’ll go get the door…”

Cheerilee couldn’t do much at all since her vision was next to nonexistent from her perspective, not for lack of trying of course: the recent memory of the screen’s light had been enough of a clue as to what she’d gotten herself into ever since she’d stood up; still, the cold steel making contact with flesh was enough to compel her hand into turning the object, a click entering ears. Henceforth, the woman in jasmine had been presented with a sight for sore eyes, especially considering her was included too: Cherry Blossom was standing right up in front of her, sharing the same scheme in skin, hair, and eye color right down to the detail; this alone was enough to assume that another barrier was in place for the both of them, if not for a light abaft of the latter. In any case, Cheerilee was quick to tell the difference between herself and her visitor afore, moreso from what can be seen: unlike the former, the latter’s hair was cut off from the top, showing more curvatures by sheer comparisons alone as it were; additionally, a set of purple pajamas covered up much of their wearer’s body more than the otherwise modest nightgown.

“Cheerilee, is there something you want to tell me about, that is if you want to…?” Cherry Blossom had asked her sister in jasmine instantly as is, the latter stepping away from the former slightly, “Sweetie Belle has been asking of you as well recently: you’ve been very reclusive lately for quite a while so to speak of; have you got something on your mind…?”

“Sorry, I’ve just been tired lately, that’s all: I haven’t been able to get a goodnight’s rest lately; it’s been a long time since I had it, Cherry Blossom…” the titular tenant told the twin tiredly, turning away to face the glass surface the former’s eyes were staring from not too long ago no less.

It didn’t take long for the eponymous onlooker to enter the room its occupant in jasmine had gone into retreat lately as it were; afterwards, both of the women heard a small click resounding into their ears as the darkness within was vaporized into a flash: compared to what the maiden’s light had shown, the bulbs above themselves did more to show the environment by comparison. All throughout the way was a background painted in a hot pink err ton within the approaching spring rolling in the deep space; the only downside were the finite dimensions surrounding the twosome, confining them away from the outside world beyond: of them, Cheerilee couldn’t resist see them close up on her despite standing in place, something her sister was unable to do. Nevertheless, the newfound illumination on a larger scale meant more could be seen by both occupants almost instantaneously: a bed in disarray with a yellow comforter and white sheets as well as a pair of wooden doors next towards a wood panel electronic; of course, Cherry Blossom could also see patches of crimson strewn across the flooring in a trail with a rather frank source.

The woman in purple was quick to exclaim to her jasmine dressed counterpart immediately as is, “Cheerilee, are you alright?!”

“Huh… why, of course I am, Cherry Blossom; why wouldn’t I be: saw a ghost or something…?” the aforementioned woman said to her sister in confusion before looking down at the splotches, “oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make a mess…”

“I hope it’s not that time of the month too soon; we’d already dealt with Sweetie Belle a few weeks ago and she’d to clean up after herself: she’s still reeling from what had happened years ago…” the titular talker told timidly as she’d stepped away from the woman in jasmine without any kind of hesitation whatsoever.

In any case, Cheerilee zeroed in on the doorway her sister had walked into not too long ago and yawned freely without resistance all the same so to speak of, “it’s not menses; I should know this: my body’s not the only thing that has yet to be completely healed after all that has happened years ago. As a matter of fact, I still can’t even get thought of their faces out of my mind after what that monster did to my classroom; even now, the survivors bring me cold comfort knowing they didn’t meet it. Now that you’d brought it all up anyway, I may as well need to clean myself up as it is: I don’t want to end up sleeping the rest of the night in these clothes realizing what had happened now; I’m going to go take a shower now, so don’t wait up…”

“Just don’t stress about it too much: menstruation is nothing to be ashamed of; I’ve been able to carry myself like I did before…” Cherry Blossom just said to the woman in jasmine whom had left the room the latter had been in from the very beginning no less, “poor girl, it’s so fucked up knowing what had happened to both my sister and her student in the very same war so to speak. Even now, I still don’t understand why that schoolhouse in Ponyville had to be attacked with herself inside of all places as is: she was a nice schoolteacher and everyone in town had looked up to her, especially her students, including Sweetie Belle as well; who’s idea was it to go up and do such an awful thing to them, especially to my sister of all people, let alone shoot it all up?! Nowadays, it seems there’s not enough pain in the world to go around without having to stir up so much shit to sling around here; now, they had to take her virginity away all for trying to save her own students from an atrocious abomination of a living being: oh, how I should’ve killed that monster had I got my hands onto his wretched neck, professional wrestling isn’t just for show!”

As far as Cheerilee was concerned, she’d found herself in the darkness once again, this time with feelings of expectation and embarrassment: the recent discovery of the blood trail had left her in shock due to her sister’s instantaneous observation of what had been shed anyway. Even though that the woman in jasmine was all on her lonesome, she couldn’t resist being reminded of Cherry Blossom’s occupation; of course, it wasn’t the latter that was making the former alone so to speak, especially considering the very situation at hand no less. In any case, Cheerilee had one thing on her mind and it was guiding her away from the bedroom she’d awoken from not too long ago as is; considering her very own options, if any, what kind of incentive could be found in staying in there as if nothing happened whatsoever? Out of all the colors the woman in jasmine could find in the jet–black void, she could see some midnight peering in from the sidelines from her left, dark enough to remind her of the nighttime sky previously seen with both emerald splashed eyes before to her sister’s arrival. Under no circumstances was Cheerilee deterred by the darkness, even with how far removed she was from her own bedroom; despite this, both feet were still moving more steadily all the same, moreso due to how vast and ambiguous the new environment was all the same.

Sure enough, the woman in jasmine had found an open door, greeted by a cyan glow within a more confined space compared to what she’d awaken to recently. As soon as Cheerilee started to walk in, her hand had caught a glimpse of another steel knob, cold to the touch much like Cherry Blossom’s interaction before. This was enough information for the woman in jasmine to close the door abaft herself, quickly sequestering it from the remaining unknowns of this area at large. In mere seconds alone, Cheerilee’s hand had now ran across a flat surface adjacent to the closed entryway briefly before making contact with a stray object here. Now that the woman in jasmine could tell it was the very same implement her sister interacted with earlier, illuminating the newfound dark territory even more. Soon, Cheerilee had been treated to the sight of fixtures in an otherwise pristine environment: a white sink, toilet, and bathtub standing against the sunflowers.

As far as the woman in jasmine was concerned, the larger fixture on her left was of most interest after locking up the area from the inside as is. If progress wasn’t enough to cement this reality as it were, then the moment of Cheerilee being far away from Cherry Blossom made it all so. Using this room was more than just a necessity for the woman in jasmine as her hands had rested now onto other steely knobs under the nozzle. Effortlessly turning them both around, Cheerilee was now treated to sights and sounds of water flowing up in front of her as an oblong arcing. Only then did the woman in jasmine had felt relief that the heat and scent was filling her mind with what the near future had in store for her.

In the meantime, Cheerilee had to cast aside her jasmine nightgown already in order to progress; afterwards, the otherwise chilled oxygen begun to lay claim to the bared integumentary system: now, her supple bosoms with outward nubbins, inner umbilicus, and ruddy sheath were all out.

I’m singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feeling
I’m happy again

A lyrical tenor echoed into the lonely woman’s ears, louder and resonant than the pitter–patter precipitation partaking afore her emerald splashed eyes.

Cheerilee was quick to cover herself with a white curtain after jumping into the pathway of the running water, embracing the heat from beyond and within almost immediately with growling, “what the Tart; where is that sound coming from: did my twin sister turn my television back on…?”

I’m laughing at clouds
So dark up above
The sun’s in my heart
And I’m ready for love

The new voice sung into her ears unperturbed, wearing down the lonely woman’s newfound resolve as she’d peeked out from the curtain to find the source, only to turn up nothing at all,

Let the stormy clouds chase
Everyone from the place
Come on with the rain
I’ve a smile on my face

“No, it could be, not at all: none of our televisions can get this loud enough to pierce through the bathroom walls; besides, how can I be able to hear it while the shower is still running no less?!” Cheerilee cerebrated as she’d slunk back into the naked space entered hastily before, eyes becoming assaulted with thin scarlet streaks no less.

Even though that the lonely woman struggled to remain focused onto the air and water around herself, she couldn’t shake out the singing out of her head so to speak as it’d still continued on,

I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
Just singin’
Singin’ in the rain

It was at this point in time Cheerilee felt something growing within the pit of her pain, causing her to clutch the wet area as she was heaving about no less. As the lonely woman was doing so, her flat abdomen grew slowly but surely in the very process with a sharp sting making its way to the point of inversion. Cheerilee’s emerald splashed eyes began to watch what little colors painting the room fall out of place as many ripples and wrinkles in time–space swirled. Even though the lonely woman shut them away, her throat become warm and bitter as a great discharge was already in action, gurgling and plopping on. Following a few intervals, Cheerilee quickly opened her very eyes back up and couldn’t believe what she was seeing: a mixture of lukewarm hues spattered. While the wayward cluster started mixing in with the rank blood underneath the lonely woman’s legs, her nostrils couldn’t resist picking up their scents as is.

It wasn’t even long until Cheerilee, despite clenching her teeth tightly, had bawled out a hoarse gurgling moan, “UUUUUUUUUUUWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

At long last, a child was borne into the whole wide world yet there was no joy found inside the plane of existence, not even from the lone woman whom had bore witness to it all in its entirety. Like Cheerilee herself, it was in the altogether, albeit clothed in bile and blood from the likes of her; in addition, no amount of water running freely could wash away the stains great and small. Much difference in size alone was made apparent to the lone woman watching it all take place: the newborn's mass being diminutive added to her pain and agony she was still enduring already. Slathered underneath Cheerilee's filth was darker skin, more colorful than the rather once sterile environment she was in but otherwise bright enough to match her in its entire being as it were.

“Assault, wasn’t it?” a gentle baritone had interceded as the lone woman now started to falter and sink deeply into the bloodstained fixture at long last, “that’s gonna look real good on her gravestone in Ponyville: here lies Cheerilee Bloom, honored sister, beloved schoolteacher; killed for assault in Jerkwater, Equestria…”

“Help me…” Cheerilee groaned while hearing nearby cries, still lying awake in a puddle of their own wastes therein as they were all alone, watching the ceiling above themselves now fading out back into the blackness gradually in the meantime before her eyes as her strength was now starting to leave her very weakened body slowly but surely no less.

Eventually, the lone woman had subsided into inactiveness, no longer even able to fight back whatsoever as images flashed on: so little attention was being paid by the likes of her as they were moving far too fast to be worthy of clear focus since she’d fizzled; afterwards, her own eyes succumbed to the dark territory from within, moreso compared to what had happened afore. Either way, the running water stopped flowing for either Cheerilee and the newborn so to speak of, not that it’d matter anyways: though the air was still warm and humid, its density started to decrease at once as the last drop had fell on the flat surface area; all that had remained were the scents of both solid and liquid wastes emanated from where they’d lain out across the bathtub. Embedded into the blackness was the present corporeality of the two bodies left inside the fixture for anyone else to see them both; although out of sight, they wouldn’t be out of mind, but out of body and soul instead all the same nevertheless due to their statuses: the lone woman bleeding out and about, her newborn bled on within its moist surface area with nowhere else to go or stay. Exacerbating the dank and dire situation was the past stardust memory of Cheerilee locking the door abaft to sequester herself; despite starting out alone, the voices came to her in one direction and dimension, invading both the peace and sanctity of mind: even the second one did little, if any, to mitigate the small miniseries of unfortunate events unfolding from within the body alone. Eight minutes have now passed as the room was now illuminated once more, this time with a deeply crimson hue as everything within the area had been thrown into a solid state society of professional chaos and general disarray, stained by the streaks of scarlet which were strewn about with reckless abandonment, courtesy of the lonely woman’s newly emaciated formation.

It wasn’t long until a new pair of eyes had flashed open from an unlikely source: the offspring with orbs of slate dull and listless as the rest of its face was still riddled with the same lifeblood Cheerilee had discharged; in any case, all it could do was cough out softly yet sorrowfully no less since she was without strength or speed for that matter to be found in and out, “mommy…?”

Speaking of which, the lone woman remained silent as a dormouse, deader than a doornail to the point in which life was a burning memory: her once lively body reduced to a stagnant compound of solids, liquids, and everything else in between so to speak, not that the newborn could see; of course, she couldn’t see anything or anyone either, not since she’d met up with Cherry Blossom. Eventually, it was now time for Cheerilee’s offspring to expire as well, due to the lack of care and attention from anyone here; as such, it was a tragedy from start to finish within the same perigon, for the lack of a better assessment as they all were now: the epitome of health in essence reduced to a cold, unmoving, limitedly animated, breathless cadaver with young following suit. At the very least, there was nothing more than peace and perhaps more waiting for them beyond this plane of existence no less; still, their own bodies were all devoid of such things, especially considering the state they’d been in recently from not long ago: the little solution which had still clung to their bared skin outmatched by the vast colors from within the likes of the lone woman.

Either way, there was nothing more either of the two could do for that matter now since it was all over for themselves no less: their flesh lingered on and about before started to dissolve in such a synchronicity unlike how Cheerilee had started it up; like the water shooting out from the nozzle, their entire being began to swirl down the drain, leaving behind the jasmine nightgown she wore.

Lift

Author's Note

Ah, you've made to chapter eleven of Fireflower's fanfic that goes beyond the typical oneshots made from before, a Mature fanfic no less on the grounds that a previous chapter has dealt with heavy subject matters proven to be unsuitable for those under eighteen, easily offended, and/or quickly nauseated; suffice to say, this was by far a strong note for many readers complete and therefore you were all given an option to skip ahead to this chapter: whether or not you had taken this offer, it was only up to you to do so nothing more.

In any case, I'm gonna confess that this is the part where it crosses over with a certain character: considering the theme of this story in question, I'd figured what better way to complete this than a certain scientist himself; for your consideration, watch the old shows and enjoy it if you can.

Anyways, I like to say thank you for putting up with me over the first trimester since the serialization back in December: it really means a lot to me since we'd lost so much in the past decade, especially 2016 no less; in any case, here's to hoping we make it to the end of the year together, like we'd done before since the first story of mine.

Lift

The purely uncut darkness within was the only way of how the small world works by and large, let alone the real world to say in the very least; as a matter of fact, the former was, if at all, indeed the latter and vice versa altogether. The jet–black void was all that could be seen but not heard, felt, tasted, or smelled therein; yet, it can be also sensed as well anyways, devoid of even a modicum of light bearing any hue whatsoever to permeate so thru its entirety. To be frank, it would had seemed that all was completely lost, its mere fate already sealed and set in stone to say in the very least before the beginning itself; as such, nothing else was going to even change that in even a slight margin.

All of the sudden, the pitch black space was quickly illuminated, giving the area some shred of identity to the finite environment almost instantaneously. A quartet of partitions were padded with whiteness, already arranged into a strict pattern to be seen, save for some bars on a window and a lonely door. Adjacently aligned was flooring in the formation of a checkerboard, save for the squared edges where their dimensions proved themselves to be nothing. Already hanging from the ceiling was but a diminutive lonely lightbulb which had dispersed so many photons in so little time by a fraction of a second. A simple pair of sandals were found to be resting soundlessly about at once of the corners within the walls laying aside with the heels touching themselves. As the oxygen had flourished about rather freely, it’d also provided only subsistence and energy to start the day in any form and/or fashion whatsoever.

In the midst of it all, there had remained one solid figure whom sat right directly in the middle, giving off a looming shadow which touched a nearby wall at once. The individual in question had possessed a set of goldilocks with three bare directions their thick strands had been facing, reflecting the very light already shown up. Its owner’s face was feminine, donning a complexion free of all sorts of imperfections to the point of being utterly symmetrical as far as anyone would’ve seen. Underneath the blonde’s eyelids were some bags of darkened shadows that were painted thinly despite signs of respiration being more than ever presently hereon. Draped over the rest of her body was a simple snow–white gown with its think length managing to cover both arms and reach over past the owner’s very kneecaps. Aside from the hands within possession were but a pair of bare feet making themselves known as they’d brushed up against the walls all around the sleeping blonde.

“Derpy, are you awake…?” a lone voice was heard immediately, but it didn’t come from her at all whatsoever; although, it did make the aforementioned occupant in question’s eyelids fly wide open in a mere microsecond, flashing a pair of goldenrod orb in the grand scheme of things no less as they were facing in opposite directions from one another all the same so to speak of.

As such, she’d faced the glass pane upon the doorway up in front of her and replied instantly, “hmm…?”

“I’m Nurse Tenderheart, your friendly neighborhood paramedic, remember…?” the titular traveler had told the bright blonde within due time no less despite the jingling of metal in the midst, “I got some good news for you: your family has come to see you – Doctor Turner and Dinky; they’d both came to check up on you. You should be able to use this time to speak things out about what’s on both of your minds lately; after all, they’ve been commenting on your progress recently over the years no less.”

“What’s going on today: is this about what happened with Applejack or someone; what about my friend’s daughter, Twist…?” Derpy had asked aloud as she was now found to be standing up on both her feet, taking little of the time whatsoever to face the footwear nearby and started brushing off the dusty particles from her snow–white gown.

It wasn’t long until the lone occupant had started putting on her sandals when the doorknob nearby her side turned at an angle with a click, followed by Tenderheart’s very answer no less, “it’s nothing to worry about; besides, I’m not even at any kind of liberty to discuss anything with other aforementioned patients in this hospital: this is a state–secret all the very same, ma’am…”

“I see then; oh, Dinky: what can she do now…?” the bright blonde had said now that she’d turned to face the opened doorway again almost immediately, “in hindsight, I wouldn’t have minded if I’d started seeing Sparkler again; as a matter of fact, there’s still not a day going by where I stop missing her…”

As Derpy stepped out of the room slowly but surely, she’d came face–to–face with another woman whom was a lot like her: tall, thin, brightly skinned, and dressed in white; even so, there were differences. The lone individual from the other side of the doorway had wore a hat painted with but a singular red cross accompanied by several hearts around itself, a stark contrast to her green locks already wrapped in a bun. Tenderheart had both eyes of magenta now steadily focused directly upon the former occupant in question with typical hope and restraint only even amongst the drabness of the clouding reality they were both in. Even the observer opposite of the lonely blonde herself was wearing more articles of clothing than the latter too: aside from the snow–white ensemble of sneakers, socks, and shorts, there was also a blue vest.

“You’re not the only one who misses people, let alone some familiar faces here and there: I remember the hospital used to have a more when I’d started on the job since your teenage years; but, enough about that for now ‘cause we have a long day to go about it so let’s not waste it…” Tenderheart replied as she alone started to lead Derpy way out of her room altogether at once.

The two women walked onto the floor away from there in where the lonely blonde had once resided in with only but a series of lights above them providing guidance and visual altogether. The sights and sounds of footfalls from them created a pattern in which would be observed every time door frames were passed by occasionally interspersed with the droning about of inhabitants. Therein, Derpy had steadily stared at the small sandals on both her feet where they’d rested upon the white tiles underneath themselves as they were traveling onward by all through the hallway. The otherwise composed nurse directly nearby the trembling occupant still kept a sharp eye right on the latter as the former had maintained a small but rather significant distance all so warily.

Within only minutes, the otherwise strenuous pattern had now met its end, overtaken by a vast new area that the two walked in. Filling the widened space were sets of round tables strewn across from there, each occupied by more than just on in attendance. Above themselves were a few wooden fans spinning about from beneath the ceiling in the same speed but lacking synchronicity. The walls had but a set of windows providing both light and scenery from the outside world beyond its very premises therein. There was also another hallway in the vicinity where the people alone were coming in from, way more numerous than their arrival. Even the very flooring itself currently had gained some bits of color that were sprinkling about all across the uniformity of white.

It wasn’t long until Derpy herself had spotted at least two people whom had stood out and about, both of whom were sitting down at a table; defined amongst themselves were likenesses in fair dignity, possessing common traits between one another with the likes of her: bright complexions, somber emotions, and an achieved goalpost were all that were found as soon as she’d stepped in. Of course, the trepid blonde could see some significant differences between each other in a small fraction of a heartbeat as it were: one happened to be a spiky brunet wearing a matching trenchcoat his shirt and slacks with black bluchers stared off from the azure; the other, a girl a lot like the former, albeit with a frilly dress adorned by a black ribbon and green sandals so to speak.

Sure enough, Derpy had gone right over to her onlookers and greeted them both happily, “morning, guys…!”

“Mommy, we’re so glad to see you again: you haven’t changed a bit; anyway, how have the doctors been treating you…?” the effervescent youth had instantaneously replied as the tall blonde had quickly took her seat on the opposite side at once as is, “we’ve been worried sick about you; are you okay…?”

“Oh, it’s nothing to be worried about: my doctor said that I’m about to head out the hospital in little over a month from now; they said it was thanks to these pills they’d been putting me on…” Derpy answered restlessly before yielding towards one witness nearby somehow, the man in brown no less.

The smile wore onto his face had started to falter a bit while he, too, began to speak up at last, “in all honesty, I hope they’re not messing with you outright: I’ve read that there have been medicines, legal and otherwise, with side–effects capable of rewriting the user’s brain; come to think of it, can you remember when you‘d been married…? Dinky and I were afraid you’d forget your memories after everything has happened recently; she’d said she’d suffered a nightmare that you’d returned home but didn’t remember having her at all: your daughter was but a ghost to you…”

“Speaking of which, I couldn’t help myself but to hear one from my own past at s feast recently: Ponet’s made trouble again…” the tall patient had only sighed softly, looking upon at the other people so nearby themselves extremely listlessly as she were, “last time he’d written to me, he’d said something about getting out of the hole lately; is it anything like what I’d been inside of…? I can’t even recall whatever I’d seen in him before the whole thing went down seven years ago on that fateful day nevertheless: I was so happy when we were all together to see Princess Cadance get married to Shining Armor in Canterlot, much as everyone; all it’d have done was remind me how we’d first met, long before the war, you–know–who, and even Nightmare Moon. Now, it seems I can’t even think about visiting Ponet in prison without being reminded of what he’d done, supposedly or not; all these rumors just stir up bad memories here and there, and not just of what these changelings have done to people like me: I’d never mustered up the strength to tell her how she was born first because of how ashamed as to the circumstances therein as is. After all that has happened, I’m going to live with the fact that my eldest daughter will never be able to have a normal life today; she should’ve been able to have a better one than mine, especially considering how successful her career was before that date: a nice house, a great husband, some beautiful children, and even great friends – she’d deserved better than this…!”

“I know, Derpy, and it pains me to this day as to how she should’ve been here with us all the same; her friends have spoken highly of her and Twilight had even sent a bouquet of flowers years prior: she said it was her way of apologizing for not being able to prevent this tragedy whatsoever…” the lone brunet had said as he’d quickly regained the eponymous woman’s focus.

A full beat of silence between the trio in question had passed long before the tall blonde began to give out her reply in due time, “what reason would she have for apologizing to us if at all: her family welcomed us all to the Royal Wedding after the Princess has issued a voluntary evacuation order; why should she shoulder the burden if what happened next wasn’t her fault? If anything, then I guess when you put it all down at the end of the day, we’d both lost someone we could’ve been closer to more in life: she’d lost her babysitter of a bride–to–be on her own wedding no less and I lost a firstborn daughter because I couldn’t face the past as bravely as I’d have. Nothing I say or do since then is going to erase that, let alone bring her back; Ponet, as much as I’m wary of him now, knows this all too well and he hates himself too for letting it happen on his watch: he may have not brought her into this world but he sure as well didn’t want her to leave this world in any which way possible, especially at the hands of some changelings no less.”

“I agree; on a similar note, Rose and I have been privy to Minuette’s condition and experiences with them so to speak of, Derpy…” he’d said, noticing the aforementioned patient’s goldeneyes becoming watery as he’d pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, “the only thing I can say is that they’d drained all of her dignity; I don’t know how to describe it without causing offense…”

“I understand: besides, she wasn’t the only one whom had such an encounter; I’d came across Lyra years ago after being admitted to the hospital and learn about what had happened to her…” the tall blonde sobbed softly as her hands were now touching the surface of the padded textile, drying her cheeks as she’d laid it upon the tabletop already.

Needless to say, the lonely brunet looked away from Derpy briefly as she’d donwhat aboute not too long ago all the while before speaking, “come to think of it, I might as well have to ask: did she tell you anything out of the ordinary while she was there – names, dates, times, items of any importance; is there anybody who also knows about it…?”

“Not that I can’t say at this hour, at least not in front of my child: I’d made a promise to her not to bring any of it up all the same…” the tall blonde answered, her composure starting to become renewed by a small stream of resolve coming her way at long last as is, “Applejack also made that promise with her too and we’re all firmly aware as to why, something we can understand…”

“I’m sorry to hear about it…” the little girl said.

Derpy had turned her attention towards her younger counterpart with a sad smile and replied, “it’s not your fault, Dinky; it’s mine and mine alone: I shouldn’t have prioritize you all alone like I’d done since your birth. Even though I was far too young to be a mother, I shouldn’t have been so hesitant with her all the same; as a matter of fact, it’s all the more of a reason why I still miss my father more than ever to this day: your grandfather should’ve been proud to see you two grow up into beautiful women together at the very least. Her father, on the other hand, doesn’t deserve that luxury at all, not after what he’d done to me no less; even my mother understands it and I can’t even look her in the eye knowing how much she couldn’t stand me: it seems that all that I’ve inherited were my father’s eyes and, perhaps by extension, his future and it’s coming on. Good thing I could say about daddy’s passing is that at least he didn’t get to see any changelings in his life and even then, the less said about it, the better…”

“Derpy, you don’t really think that, do you…?” he’d asked the tall blonde immediately no less, “surely he would’ve protected you all the same…”

“Yeah, he would’ve…” the titular tenant tittered.

It wasn’t long until the lonely brunet started to speak at last no less, “if it’s any consolation, then perhaps she’s still here among us, probably standing next to us hearing all of this whole conversation: I could’ve talked to her more often, listened to her too; at least I would’ve known what she would’ve want. Ponet may as well wanted to try and stop all of this from corrupting Equestria even further, which he did: someone must have told him that there were more awful things done during the war ever since the day Cadance was killed; yet, despite everything, he failed, at least in his eyes and even Agar’s most of all. I don’t know how, but they may as well knew exactly what he was about to do; after all, Applejack was there when she’d found her sister at the Cavern, caught in the act of attempted sororicide: she’d still survived and so did her sister yet because of it, they took the woman away from the poor girl and pronounced her mentally unfit, not that I blame any of them. Applejack understood the truth and now she’d gone so far up the wall, she wanted to end all of this: she may have been freed from punishment yet she isn’t walking out of here safe and sound, not that she wants to; I have no idea where her sister is nor what happened to her. The only thing I know is that, sooner or later, she’ll be gone and her sister knows that; perhaps if she has anything to say, then I only believe that they’ll find justice soon enough before that ever happens: I can’t even figure out for the life of me why it’d taken so long but I can see why Princess Celestia kept her in here instead of wandering around the old haunts today.”

“I hope I get out of here too; I don’t mind staying Ponyville if it means being here with you and my kids again but not the capital…” the tall blonde sobbed softly, looking down at her own feet rather than visitors themselves as they’d tapped only intermittently, “Canterlot used to be a dream vacation; now, it’s just a burning memory, a shadow of its former self to people like me. I still have nightmares about what had happened to me the second we’d watched that bride–to–be turned to ash and fire; even now, I can still feel the itching and scratching inside of me to this day, especially considering what they’d done to me: perhaps it’s what my friend Lyra had been talking about years ago since she was there at the wedding too as she and Bon–Bon were.”

“Speaking of which, I’d stopped by at Carrot Top’s place earlier last week: she said she’s also staying here to tend the farm her grandma had left her behind with; to be honest, I don’t like the fact that she’s working alone nor do I trust her charge Eugene in the very slightest no less…” he’d said gently, looking away from Derpy once more so to speak of.

The tall blonde’s ears flopped about as she’d started facing the lonely brunet in kind to ask him, “who’s Eugene: that’s a strange name; what is he…?”

“No one to worry about for the time being; besides, I’m a little behind schedule as I am: had to put a few projects on hold now…” he’d answered so readily as a few more individuals had now entered his line of eyesight almost rather immediately all the while, “as a matter of fact, I had to get some help from the others with the new supplies I’d ordered from the catalogue recently. What had happened years ago has made me wish I’d taken gym class more seriously as we should’ve in our past youth: it wasn’t enough that the three of us had to run from them that day, now I have to worry about not being able to use dollies; might as well have to rent out a storage shed to deal with the clutter as it is on a monthly basis if it means making some room…”

“You’ll always have plenty of room at my sister’s house; Flutter Doo was nothing but kind to me ever since our aunt stepped in: my firstborn benefitted more from that household instead of with me instead…” Derpy giggled freely as she’d soon speedily shied away from the lonely brunet’s gaze in a matter of seconds no less.

It wasn’t long until Tenderheart had returned, speaking to him freely in an instant as she were, “Time Turner, is everything okay…?”

“I don’t see any reason why not so far; how are you right now: anything out of the ordinary, ma’am…?” the eponymous visitor had simply replied to the nurse all the same as he’d started to take a stand keenly without hesitation, “I hope that visiting hours aren’t going to be cut short as it were…”

“I’m afraid so: the staff is going to be conducting a monthly test of the security system in an hour from now; I don’t mind the moment you three are having but I recommend finishing up within the next thirty minutes so you visitors won’t get swept up in the moment all the same…” answered Tenderheart whom was now about to leave themselves be once again like she’d done.

A frown had appeared upon Dinky’s face as she’d asked the nurse fearlessly yet frigidly no less, “will my mother be okay…?”

“It’s nothing to worry about, little girl: compared to a prison, this hospital is much safer for visitors and patients alike…” Tenderheart responded gently as her magenta eyes had stared back into the inherited goldenrod with such warmth deep inside, “that being said, we need to make sure nothing else happens all the same; it’s better this way that the young ones should vacate…”

“Nurse, do you think I would’ve made a good one when I grow up…?” the little girl had then whispered about fragmentally as she were.

Needless to say, the nurse had beamed at Dinky before responding freely all the same no less, "just study hard and work smart if you want to apply yourself at the industry on a professional level…"

"Speaking of which, I'm going to return home and finish my papers up in time for next week; DJ’s going to be helping around…" the lonely brunet said before moving further away from the tall blonde, her daughter also following suit albeit so hesitantly, “we ain’t getting any younger now that were in the present: today’s youth are becoming tomorrow’s adults sooner than ever. The least we can hope for now is that they won’t go through what our friends and family have suffered in the distant past as is: the war has changed the Crown and Country far too fast and loose around these parts and dear Ponyville is no different anyway; even now, it’s starting to see a population crash as far as the rumor mills are concerned, although it may not seem this way. Matter of fact, most of the Bearers have already moved out of here as yet, either back home or to greener pastures in a few cases; considering how they’d been treated in the past before and during the war, there’s no point in blaming them altogether as it is: Twilight’s been taking this especially hard since she’d made so many friends only to let them all get dishonored no less.”

“I know that: we were all there when her friends watched the whole mess go down; oh, my baby girl…” Derpy sniffled interchangeably as she was now all by her lonesome again, this time in an open space than before.

A small stream of water had started to escape from the tall blonde’s goldeneyes as she’d begun to hide them both right beneath her hands; even though there were others in attendance also left to their own devices, they were nevertheless already intangible to both of the nostrils: even the oxygen itself became heavy as rocks despite being consciously invisible as they’d been no less. In what had seemed to be some sort of a great expectation foisted so instantaneously onto the quick, and perhaps naked, she was ignored all the same as everyone else meandered about onward with their lives and safeties, regardless of their overall qualities by comparison alone, just as he and Dinky were in a matter of seconds following the close encounter she once enjoyed.

Suffice to say, Derpy rested her weary head onto the surface area of the table once shared with the visitor she’d seen and heard without bias or fear.

Drop

Author's Note

Ah, you've made to the final chapter of Fireflower's fanfic that goes beyond the typical oneshots made from before, a Mature one no less on the grounds this chapter deals with heavy subject matters proven to be unsuitable for those ––– you know what? F:heart:k it; you've made it this far so there's no use in me repeating what I'd said before in the regarding the stuff I had y'all read since December.

That being said, I want to say thanks again for putting up with my story this year, especially if you been reading the prequels as well since years ago: I honestly wished that I could have done this sooner, let alone finish it; of course, this chapter was the hardest because I was expecting to keep it short like the others but the length was too much for me to ignore considering its potential.

One last thing before I sign off, I want to let y'all know since I've gone back to writing Derpy again, I had to rely on some media for some inspiration, especially since this will be about what she'd to go through but don't fret: it'll all be over soon enough, seeing that we all happen to like her as she were; besides, this ending will be very special and with good reason no less, like before but comforting.

Drop

Now, it would seem that one part of the world had its very atmosphere already applying some direct pressure upon itself with warmth and wonder. At the very least, the spacious skies had objectively held up its golden sun, unperturbed as well as without clouds of either size or shape whatsoever. The oxygen all throughout, crisp and cool enough to commute many different aromas from all walks of life, had each of them varied in two factors. Even so were many flowers had slowly sprouted from the brilliant green, instantaneously bearing witness to ever rushing waters roaring from its falls. A calm gentle breeze was surfing onward and sliding about throughout the stony roads and dusty trails already cut across the vast hillside landscape. Nesting nearby the rocks and water was but a civilization currently defined in such an intricate manner, bearing more colors and shapes than earth. Density notwithstanding, it was only a matter of perspective to find an utter abundance of such people in finite but numerous typed demographics.

Out of the many buildings in this rather quiet place, there was one which had stood out amongst others: an enormous castle nearby the heart of its city remaining in the premises’ cold distance. It’d stood up as high as a skyscraper yet its acreage was wider, predominantly white like snow alongside some starry violet accents and stripy yellowy spires adorned with its hot pink flags. The castle was opening to a fault, its doors and windows bereft of obstructions save for just one: it was a goldenrod illustration of rather nearby occupation of the sun and moon so abstract as is. A pair of staircases were also found to be providing an entrance from the ground level plainly, buttery with a red carpet as the white pillars stood by with railings to provide support in advance. Some fine flowers were found from the valley around this place, decorating the otherwise stony lonesome castle as it were with generally red petals and lavender textiles in few separate chains.

Inside, the rays of sunlight rained down through the looking glass of its windowsills were many people resided in, geometrically equilateral for much spacial optimization as it were no less. Much of the interiors were dyed a deep blue yet were too solid as an old snake to surf around, especially considering the fact they were held in place by a dozen pillars no cheaper than strong. Aside from a glassy chandelier of a golden shell, there were torches of lit candlestick hanging halfway off the ground yet further away from the purple nosegays and the blank banners anyway. Gathering about was an enormous yet unequal checkerboard flooring were its inhabitants stood, divided into quarters as they were split in two by a longer red carpet etched on the middlemost. Ending the pathway from the outside world beyond the tall doors was an archway cloaked in more flowers diverse in color and species alike within their small patch of the brilliant green.

Standing on the edge of the stairs as prophets would’ve said were but two people both alike in fair dignity at first glance no less: the only commonalities between themselves were bright skins, cold eyes, long hair, and a rather serviceable smile on their visages; of course, they had some rather significant differences, something in which their entire audience can relate to instantly. Already at the middle of it all was a woman with a multicolored set of hair painted in purple, pink, aquamarine, and green too: her own eyes were like the amethysts being worn right within her goldenrod jewelry shining bright like the sun within the sky; a white dress clothed its owners, bereft of color in comparison to the integumentary system but otherwise elegantly all the while. Onto her left was a man with sapphires matching his tresses and sash, standing underneath her height by mere inches alone as is: he was clothed in a ruby red tunic with golden cufflinks and silver buttons as well as a pair of white pants alongside black boots; though his sclera was jaded, he was happy, much like every face he was looking at currently at this moment in time as such.

Speaking of which, there was a blond couple bunched up inside the crowd all dressed up with no place to go now that they’re all in: both of their faces here was also sharing the same emotions as the two above the small stairwell nearby themselves on the leftmost; as such, their fashion was more than enough to make them feel a part of the moment in time and place appropriately herein. One of them was also a male just like the man in red, except he was dressed in all–black completely with an orange ascot: his hair was much shorter than the latter and especially the woman in white, not to mention thinner as far as they’re concerned; in addition, both eyes were green like an emerald splash, precious enough to treasure the occasion bore witness all the same. Another was female, clothed in deeply soulful quicksilver with a singular dress covering much of the body as it matched her shoes: not only was her hair solid in color, it’d also reach past the neckline, albeit shorter compared to her much regal counterpart as is; however, her eyes were misaligned, despite looking in the same direction as the rest of the massive audience in question.

“Canterlot… what am I doing here: I’m supposed to be in Ponyville, not here; how is this even possible?!” the blonde in silver cerebrated as her goldeneyes looked around side–to–side from where the woman in white had stood by to the doors on the opposite end of the red carpet all the same.

Whatever train of thought had developed within the squinting bystander was met with confusion and delay as a full set of brass horns sounded out, belonging to a duodecet next to the doorway; afterwards, they were opened up, a trio of brightly skinned girls entering the moving picture, walking freely as they scattered hot pink petals from their handbaskets across the surface area. Aside from the blonde hair the elder in silver had shared alongside her nearby correspondent, they were all dressed in light pink with deep purple accents as far as the onlookers could see; also, they’d worn a crown of flowers around their heads, alternating into a pattern of purple and white while static all the same, a luxury that was lacking in the trail they were making no less. Despite their shared affiliations, even the squinting eyewitness herself can tell their differences: the first of them, also with goldeneyes, had a purple flower over her chest matching the ribbons; the next had eyes of faded amethysts, wearing a red feather against the white scheme altogether; the last was most resembling, a plum bowtie with a white flower and pink ribbons all the while.

Trailing after the maidenly trio was a tall woman now setting foot onto the flower flung fabric as she’d also entered betwixt the observant crowd afore themselves. Much like the regal onlooker, she, too, wore some multicolored tresses in her head, albeit in curls of purple, pink, and gold held in place by a veil of blue and white. Not only that, the tall entrant was also brightly skinned, also bearing some orbs of amethysts as well even though they were full of color in a different shade too. The textiles worn were but the epitome of elegant fashion as is, a flowing white dress with some goldenrod accentuation and jewelries made up of various metals. Shown in front of their owner was a bouquet of flowers within the tighten grip, each of them all varying in shapes, shading, and species alike in a series of doilies.

The tall entrant walked about as a series of strings and keys were being grinded up and pressed down respectively into a lofty tune overhead. Each step that was taken by the flowery follower had brought her closer to the archway, greeted by a couple of friendly faces from all walks. Despite the bewilderment the blonde in silver she was in, the tall entrant was at ease, sharing the same emotions as the rest of the very crowd.

It wasn’t long until the youth themselves had made their way to the end, joining at the hip with another trio much older no less: the only commonality between the latter group was a single pearl diadem bearing a trio of jaded flowers worn around long hair; as such, there were so many differences to take note, something which the squinting eyewitness could also see plainly as day. The first woman was brightly skinned like the blondes from earlier, albeit with integuments of an ivory coast far across an ocean: her hot pink hair curled grandly past the neckline as it’d touched the fuchsia dress with a cobalt accent matching her own shoes; additionally, there was a light yellow flower over her chest which can be seen by its owner’s electric light orchestra of blues. Similarly, the next happened to have a bright integumentary system as well except it was slightly darker but otherwise clear as is: unlike the primordial, her tresses were minty and spiky with a white midpoint, touching a golden dress wrapped by a scarlet sash; as much as both eyes had matched much of the attire, their owner’s slippers are in the same color as the prior accessory. Finally, was yet another woman, this time fifty shades darker than anyone inside and out could bother to care about all the same: even though her hair was short and spiky as well, it was blue like her eyes and dress in general, despite having some bright spots; adding to this was a cerise undercarriage matching her footwear and a violet adorning a set of hot pink ribbons already.

Soon enough, the flowery follower had made it to the very end, standing on the opposite side of the arch to face her counterpart; then, the woman in white began to speak in a matronly soprano, “friends, Equestrians, countrypeople, I thank and welcome you all the same to this event at hand. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of Providence, to witness the joining together of both Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Captain Shining Armor in the sacred covenant of marriage, commended to be honorable among all peers and therefore isn’t by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, and solemnly. Matrimony is not just a social occasion with a spiritual touch thrown in, but a service of devotion from start to finish, in which vows are made, prayers are offered, and blessings are given; as such, who among you supports this couple in their marriage…?”

“I do…!” a nearby voice was heard, belonging to another woman, albeit darker than the one in blue, standing near the man in red: like the latter and two other peers, the latter wore a similar attire, this time ripe rose red with hot pink accents and a star over chest; amethysts were found as well, “growing up in Canterlot, I had nothing but the highest hopes and dreams he’d be married. To many like–minded women such as Rarity herself, it’s nothing more than the highest of honors attainable, an ultimate statement of legitimacy which had meant untold success; sadly, it pains me that she’ll not be able to experience such joys in particular, much like the rest of the friends I’d made back at Ponyville: even now, I feel guilty knowing the circumstances of their downfall. Even without that, I’ve heard nothing more than excerpts from people whose had watched their marriages end in divorce and, worst of all, death of either party; even though we never talk about them for one reason or another, let alone the preludes to either outcome, I was more than able to embrace the love and happiness from their joy, especially knowing who they are since my youth. The fact that I’m standing here today brings nothing but tears to my eyes knowing that I’ve yet to experience the sensation of having a special significant other of choice to share such a lifetime with him: even the fears of living and dying alone have done nothing more than to remind me of how precious our lives are by and large, even in Equestria no less. As Celestia is my witness, I shall congratulate them on their future journey together as both husband and wife: although that so much time has passed since I’d last seen either one of them, I know that Rarity and our friends would’ve cherished this moment together nonetheless; even now, I can’t help myself but to think what life would’ve been for us all without the war itself.”

“Shining Armor, if it’s your intent to marry Mi Amore Cadenza, please responded with ‘I do’; Shining Armor, do you take Mi Amore Cadenza to be your wedded wife, to live together in holy matrimony and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her, for as long as you both shall live…?” the regal announcer asked as the titular twosome moved towards each other onstage.

The man in red had said simply no less, “I do…”

“Mi Amore Cadenza, if it’s your intent to marry Shining Armor, please responded with ‘I do’…” the woman in white begged the question similar to one from not long ago, “Mi Amore Cadenza, do you take Shining Armor to be your wedded husband, to live together in holy matrimony, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto hum, for as long as you both shall live…?”

“I do…” the eponymous bride had replied in kind.

Soon, the regal announcer had spoken confidently, “the ceremony of marriage is the first and oldest ceremony in the world, celebrated in its humble beginnings in the prescene of Providence as a gift given to comfort the sorrows and magnify life’s joy. Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor, in all of life, rare is the moment that is filled with more hope, joy, and expectation than this sacred moment: by this divine design, this moment will never be repeated, but rather be cherished as long as you both shall live; up until now, I had but the highest hopes your potential both as individuals as well as a couple would be fully realized. A good marriage is remembering to say ‘I love you’ on a regular basis, never going to sleep angry but standing together, leaning on each other’s strength and support, having the capacity to forgive and forget, providing an atmosphere in which each of you can grow, and finding room for the Elements of Harmony – loyalty, humor, generosity, honesty, kindness, and magic itself. It is not only marrying the right partner but rather being the right partner: you will have this kind of marriage if you continue to recognize Providence as the source of your romance, love, and affection for these things are gifts to you; build your home on this spiritual foundation. Today, as you say your vows to one another, you are also committing that you’ll follow through on these solemn promises: so much preparation has gone into making this moment a special occasion for you two and your guests; these next few minutes are more important than anything else that will happen today. These are the moments that you will look back and remember when you have children, arguments, and the moment of living your first house together; don’t ever forget the words you say this day for they will sustain your marriage through all of life’s ups and downs.”

“Princess Celestia’s words are so comforting: even in the face of uncertainty, she still has the tact to ordain this wedding anyway…” the blonde in silver ruminated complicatedly, turning to face her correspondent only briefly before looking at the youth again, “still, I’m troubled: not only is my skin started to crawl, I have this feeling that something’s about to go wrong; why is that…?”

“ACK…!” a cough was suppressed distantly.

Anyways, the aforementioned announcer still addressed the audience up in front of the two, “to all those who have joined us to witness this special commitment by Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor, you play an important role in the lives of this couple: your attendance here shows that you care for them and are supporting this marriage as well as the future of Equestria. I would ask that your support of this marriage not end on this day, but that you continue to support the union that they commit to: it is often easy for us to undermine the value of the marriage commitment by say simple things like ‘you don’t deserve this, you really should think about divorce’ or even taking sides in an argument. Guard the words that you say, in jest and in counsel to the couple; commit today, as friends and family, to uphold this marriage to the best of your ability and never do anything to harm it whatsoever. Shining Armor, as captain of the guard, you are also ordained as the leader of your home, with a unique personality and talents that add to this marriage: when Mi Amore Cadenza was asked why he’d chose to marry you, she says that you make her feel sweet, getting along with others, and are a hard worker. She’d said that she appreciates that you respect her opinions, yet she can trust you to make good decisions for your family: at this moment, your love for your bride is apparent, I challenge you to grow in that love as you grow old together in life; put her needs above your own and lead selflessly as you’d done putting the needs of civilians and troopers alike at utmost as captain. Mi Amore Cadenza, as is apparently today, your groom finds you beautiful: when asked why he’d chose you to be his wife, Shining Armor’s first response was ‘her smile’; in our conversation together, it became apparent that without you around, then the future would refuse to change. Shining Armor values your charisma and that you are supportive of him as a person and the things that he enjoys doing: there are going to be times when the seeds of doubt threaten to grow within you; remember that this man before you trusts you so grow in your trust for him. The two of you have an opportunity today to start your own family: you complement each other – where one is weak, the other is strong and should either of you fall, the other can be helped put back together up and running; these vows that you are about to commit are just words, but they cement forever your commitment to one another. Please join hands and face one another…”

“Okay…” Shining Armor said in a rough yet steady tenor nevertheless, heeding the woman in white’s words alongside Mi Amore Cadenza as well, “I, Shining Armor, take you, Mi Amore Cadenza, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, and cherish until death do us part…”

“I, Mi Amore Cadenza, take you, Shining Armor, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, and cherish until death do us part…” the tall bride responded in turn to her groom in red with a tender soprano of a higher octave than the likes of Princess Celestia straightaway no less.

Sure enough, both people took out some small rings as the woman in white had said, “Shining Armor and Mi Amore Cadenza have chosen to present rings to each other as a token of their promise: they are a visible sign of an inward bond which unites two hearts in endless love; Shining Armor and Mi Amore Cadenza, from this day forward, the two of you shall be one. Do you, Shining Armor, give this ring to Mi Amore Cadenza as a token of your love for her…?”

“Yes…” the titular listener had answered instantaneously, “I do…”

“Mi Amore Cadenza, will you wear this ring as evidence of your love for Shining Armor?” Princess Celestia asked the eponymous woman.

The tall bride had replied in kind, “yes, I will…”

“Shining Armor, please place the ring on Mi Amore Cadenza’s finger, hold it there, and repeat after me: ‘I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you’…” the woman in white commanded; the groom in red heeded about as he were, “do you, Mi Amore Cadenza, give this ring to Shining Armor as a token of your love for him?”

“I do…” the aforementioned counterpart responded, now feeling a ring encrusted with five different jewels around her finger.

Princess Celestia turned back to Shining Armor and inquired, “Shining Armor, will you wear this ring as evidence of your love for Mi Amore Cadenza…?”

“I will…” the groom in red said, outstretching his hand towards his tall bride gently without touching either female already in close range, “thank you…”

“Mi Amore Cadenza, please place the ring on Shining Armor’s finger, hold it there, and repeat after me: ‘I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you’…” Princess Celestia spoke immediately to the titular woman, the latter of them now doing the same for the titular tenant directly upfront for the former to bear witness straightaway.

The squinting onlooker couldn’t help herself but to cry, her matching goldeneyes currently being supersaturated with achromatic fluids as her own sights were being blurred; nevertheless, she persisted in remaining focused onto the very couple adjacent to the likes of her, thinking of the imminent celebrations overall, “so this is it, a dream come true for them and them alone as is…”

“Shining Armor and Mi Amore Cadenza have pledged their love for each other, expressing their commitment before Providence and this gathering of friends and loved ones…” the woman in white announced to the applause of an amicable audience afore them, “they’ve given themselves completely to each other and declared it publicity by the giving and receiving of rings. Acting in by virtue of the authority invested in me under the laws and ordinances within the nation of Equestria, I now pronounce you husband and wife; Shining Armor, you may now kiss the bride…”

At long last, both parties in attendance surrendered themselves to each other, embracing one another in their company as both sets of hands made contact with their targets’ backs instantly. Their cold eyes, which had been underlined by their blushing visage, were closed off as they’d finally touched each other on the lips, their mutual love had currently radiated about to no end. Even though many had cheered them both on, they couldn’t resist having the world around themselves slowing down to their collectively treasured heartbeat in synchronized swimming. Irregardless of the many people already bearing witness to the newlyweds’ osculation with ease, they’d felt as if they were the only people on this world that had mattered to one another at large.

Suddenly, without so much as any kind of warning whatsoever, but somehow as if on schedule, the blonde in silver had felt her body becoming drenched in sweat despite being high and dry; not only that, the air around herself started growing heavy in both density and quality as she’d smelled something acrid and smoky invading both of her nostrils in the meantime all the same.

In any case, it was time for the tall bride to speak freely, “to the people of Equestria, I’d like to thank you all for making this special day of mine come to fruition: I appreciate the love and affection this event has given me with the efforts of my husband’s family by and large; of course, aside from you all subjects, I didn’t come alone as you and Celestia had been led to believe…”

“Huh, what exactly did she mean ‘I didn’t come alone’: who is Mi Amore Cadenza talking about; why did she say that…?” the squinting onlooker asked as the eponymous speaker’s orbs were starting to glow a toxic jade, deeper than the latter’s husband, “better yet, why is his wife’s eyes changing colors all of the sudden…?”

“It’s amazing that even after all that had been happening recently, you people haven’t realized it: the war is far from over and with their cooperation, all of your places are to belong to us today; as a matter of fact, Equestria is now officially a part of the Changeling hive from here on out…!” the tall bride laughed derisively as everyone else was chattering about all the same in confusion.

The blonde in silver watched as Mi Amore Cadenza was engulfed by an emerald splashed aura of toxicity, enveloped into the sparkling fire and electricity far too soon. The otherwise well–kept tricolored tresses the tall bride had worn were now a darkly translucent teal dyeing all the diaphanous strands for the squinting bystander to see. The blonde in silver also noted how Mi Amore Cadenza’s skin even darkened, more so than any a bridesmaids with intestinal accents of aquamarine glycosaminoglycan. Two amethysts worn by the tall bride had become the emeralds from afore, splashing round with such accompanying precision as she’d stared out at the bemused crowd. To make matters worse, the floral veil and white dress combo was no more as well as Mi Amore Cadenza’s identity, left out and about in the altogether in front of them. The tall bride her audience had bore witness to ceased to be chaste and modest, curvaceously bearing a dense bosom, petite navel, and wide hips without a care at all.

Out of many in attendance, the squinting bystander shield her eyes as one burning question amongst other was now etched into her mind alongside the rest of audience, “who is she: what is she; where is the real Mi Amore Cadenza – what has she done to her…‽”

“Ah, that’s much better; it’s such a shame, though since the fact no one has ever dared to notice what had happened, not even her…” the jaded impostor mewed softly as she and her adjacent shadow had towered over her nearby eyewitnesses in question as it is, “anyways, my subjects call me Chrysalis the Changeling Queen, not that squib of a sex bomb you called a princess…! Needless to say, it’s up to me to find food for them and Equestria has more love than any place I’ve ever encountered in our lives: my fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of since birth; ever since I took her place, I’ve been feeding off Shining Armor’s love for her, day and night up until this special day! Every moment he grows weaker and so does his spell; even now, my minions are chipping away at it and thanks to your precious Princess Celestia, Shining Armor is now my lawfully wedded husband, under my total control and currently unable to perform his duties as Captain of the Royal Guard. Soon my changeling army will breakthrough: first, we take Canterlot and then, all of Equestria…!”

“No, you won’t…” said the aforementioned princess whom was standing opposite of her dark counterpart with a stern gaze as he was caught in the middle, “you may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self, I can protect my subjects from you!”

After butting heads, the woman in white jumped up high into the air before stopping in place, her tiara now radiating with its glow: before long, a beam of solid gold light emerged from there as it’d taken aim at Chrysalis herself without any hesitation whatsoever; likewise, a jaded stream emerged from the latter before making contact with the former’s almost instantaneously at once. Initially, it’d seemed that the two were evenly matched in a display of power and strength as far as the others were all concerned; however, the black queen had been putting in far more effort into repelling her white opponent’s preemptive strike no matter what: this alone brought a shock to the latter, overwhelming enough to send the jewelry flying away from its owner whom fallen. Mostly everyone, except Shining Armor, was at a loss of words after what had quickly transpired between the two woman upfront: despite everything, Princess Celestia was down on the floor, her head laying on the side to the leftmost and further away no less; the blonde in silver was one of those individuals who couldn’t believe what had just happened, despite having a pair of eyes.

“Ah, Shining Armor’s love for Cadance is even stronger than I thought: consuming it has made me even more powerful than Celestia…!” Chrysalis gasped intensely as the woman in red had scurried over to the woman in white’s side rather immediately with fear in their amethyst orbs no less.

Although Princess Celestia was injured, she’d wasted no time in speaking to the bridesmaid all the same, “the elements of harmony, you must get to them and use their power to defeat the queen…”

“How can I: there’s no way I can do this on my own; failing that, where can I find the others if they can’t be available too…?” the woman in red whimpered about as she’d knelt closer to her regal correspondent with tears in the former’s eyes all the while, “they’re either too damaged and/or distant to be of much help even if they’d wanted to use them alongside me no less…”

“Don’t worry about it, Twilight: I trust you to find someone who can help you with them like your friends have before; after all, you’re my faithful student and I don’t want to see you fail and end up like me on the floor so go now while you still can…” Princess Celestia hacked out freely as the titular tenant had then stood to her feet and ran out of the door reluctantly nevertheless.

Everyone else, including the squinting bystander, was too stunned to move as the woman in red fled, all except for the black queen whom had laughed wickedly, “you can run, but you can’t hide…!”

Before anyone else had time to react, the ground underneath their feet started to shake to and fro, catching almost everyone off–guard: this alone was more than enough to have them following after Twilight anyways after what had transpired between the taller women; however, they’d found themselves with a whole bunch shadowy beings high above themselves upon exit no less. Even though the tremors had stopped, trouble was still beginning as the blackened lifeforms were falling into their general path: their crowns were glowing green as acid as they’d crashed head first around the screaming crowd fleeing from the castle they were in; despite causing craters big enough to fit, the former rose to the chance of chasing after their chosen targets as is. Not only that, whatever strength in numbers the occupants had initially was already supplanted by the additional reinforcements: even some of the individuals within that crowd had started to transform already, shedding their own facade almost instantaneously; as a result, people like the blonde in silver were finding themselves severely outnumbered in a matter of seconds already.

“Ow…!” cried the squinting bystander whom fell near one of the craters made by the invaders in question whom ganged up on her, “please don’t…”

“Shut up, bitch…” the shadowy creature had hissed, kicking the blonde in silver square on her face as she was supine now already.

The squinting victim grew a shiner where her left eye was as she’d yelped quietly, “no, no, no…”

“Shut up, bitch: say another word and you’ll be sorry; do you understand…?” the same invader from earlier snarled as he was dangerously closer to the supine blonde, joined by several others, “let’s just do this: ready, fucking go already; you’re up…”

It didn’t take much for any of the shadowy lifeforms to rip open their squinting victim’s silver dress without any resistance: underneath it all were a snow–white set of a brassiere and knickers still clinging onto their owner as she was becoming nervous; nevertheless, it wasn’t enough for them whatsoever to have her dishabille forced out on display in broad daylight alongside others. Even worse, what little armor had remained of the timid blonde was stripped away in an instant, leaving her only with slippers; as such, the cooling morning air had become first responders to the sudden impact made against her bust and plications already: the invaders around had simply licked their lips with lust intoxicating them as their prey’s escape route was completely blocked.

“NGH…!” grunted the squinting resistor as both of her arms were being held in place by her attackers all the while, tears hot and ready to escape their host before being pulled down to the solid earth directly underneath the bared body, flesh pressed against the surface area by the rogue squadron collectively no less.

The lonely blonde couldn’t help herself but to look upon the faces of her invaders as she’d felt something narrowed and solidified: although she couldn’t look down, the friction made against her denuded integuments wasn’t giving her any comfort all the same; even worse, the rough and tumble sensation was making her eyes widen moreso than she’d ever done before in her lifetime.

The squinting resistor shut her eyelids away in lieu of seeing her attackers drooling about freely, embracing the dark as it were: in her mind, she’d wanted a friend more than ever, old or new, and the void was sorely lacking in them from what can be seen; however, a booming voice had echoed into the opened atmosphere, similar to the regal defender but more deeper, “ENOUGH!”

Almost instantaneously, the shadowy invaders had spontaneously combusted, rays of light now emerging from her own dark body as they’d screamed about. Their flesh began to singe quickly as the bright flames started to consume them straightaway while leaving the nude blonde and her own peers unharmed. Even though that the squinting eyewitness was closer to the ground directly, only her attackers were already disintegrating hereon all the same nevertheless.

When the assaulting belligerent changelings disappeared in masses of photons and fire, the heart inside the lone blonde beat against her chest as she already looked upward at the very source.
It wasn’t even long at all until the squinting onlooker was quickly accompanied by yet another feminine figure, this time descending from above almost immediately to the former’s relief as is. The new visitor bore a complexion rivaling the likes of half the past bridesmaids, a balance betwixt them of red and blue attire so to speak of as they were already free of such irregularities. Glimmering about in the cold distance was but a pair of cyan irises glowing about alongside with the rest of their owner’s eyes, capturing the lone blonde to remain firmly calm at attention now. The floating female’s elongated hair had flowed to and fro as well, sparkling about as each and every single tress were a bluish tint with both lighter and darker hues alike coexisting in peace. Aside from the small obsidian tiara matching a widely white crescent necklace, the new visitor had donned a long shimmering dress colored in pink and a pair of some achromatic slippers too.

“Princess Luna… thank you…” the squinting eyewitness had gasped as she was currently in awe of such a presence yet barely able to move again like she’d done, “please tell me… what is going on…”

“Perhaps thou hast already discovered an answer to thy own question, fairest Derpy; after all, thou weren’t the first people to have dreamt of such an event like this: Twilight had a similar dream recently but unlike her, the truth had yet to be revealed to the likes of her all the same…” the eponymous elder sighed as she’d now stood onto the ground gently at once so to speak of.

It was at this moment in time as the aforementioned blonde stood up to gather the remains of her clothes and cover herself before speaking softly, “I didn’t know that she had such a dream like this either: out here in Canterlot on what should’ve been the greatest moment in the history of Equestria as we know it; still, it wasn’t what had happened in real life for that matter no less. It’s been at least seven years and I’m still feeling guilty about what had transpired ever since I’d lost Sparkler; even now, all I could think about is how I could barely muster up the strength to look her in the eye and acknowledge my firstborn: whenever I look into those eyes of her, all it reminds me of is what had happened since my father had died. None of my friends even know about this because people aren’t fond of those types anymore than the past had tolerated them; Flutter Doo and her mother were the only reasons why Sparkler lived and died as she did ever since the day she was born: I was in so much pain in my youth I couldn’t even remember what happened next, especially considering how young I was. I’d been picked on throughout my youth because of those eyes and so was my father, my real father: he had the condition too later on in his life and he’d still cared for mommy and me all the same, at least until I’d turned eleven; weeks after my birthday, he’d gotten himself electrocuted by a joy buzzer that had to be recalled! No amount of money in the world could ever bring him back to life, let alone fix those eyes of his or mine for that matter no less: he’d tried to give me a better future when I was young so I wouldn’t have to go off the beaten path as father had and I’m still here; now, I worry about what kind of future Sparkler would’ve had if I wasn’t so ashamed of myself for being so weak as him. Speaking of which, I’d recalled how Ponet was confused as to how I had her at a young age, especially since they weren’t alike: maybe he’d figured out what had came about, even though none of my sisters had ever even said anything about it at all nonetheless; after all, a man like him seems to be far more aware of what goes on in this day and age, even when he’s in the dark. Now, he’s in the hole because of me, crying my guts out because I didn’t get to tell him the truth about my firstborn daughter then: Agar had him locked up in prison because he thought that he was a part of Plato’s Cavern of all things, even in spite of evidence; my kids miss him so much, especially Dinky, my pride and joy – she keeps having nightmares because of what she’d seen!”

“Ah, yes, Plato’s Cavern: a secret brothel for depravities of the worst kind no less; Applejack was there as well years ago…” the regal figure sighed as the squinting mother had dressed herself back into the tattered clothes slowly but surely all the same, “her sister was found there, having gone nearly blind from a horrific sight of her peer suffering from the worst of demises…”

“Your Highness, what could be worse than being raped perimortem in front of your own sibling; forgive me but surely you don’t believe that it’s still a favorable outcome compared to this, don’t you…‽” Derpy wept as she’d struggled to face Luna after looking upon the others frozen in place but otherwise left alone to the roar of time.

Soon, the sky above the two woman became dark and full of stars as the eldest of them said, “not at all, fairest Derpy: if anything, then what had happened before, during, and after the ill–fated wedding was irrefutable proof of how precious life is; even now, I still mourn the loss my sister and I had shared when our niece was killed on her own special day and front of her love’s kin. Twilight was also looking forward to her brother, Shining Armor, being married off to Cadance for the sake of the people also; even though that her escapades in your hometown have all ended in failure, she’d still held out hope for its people nonetheless: the friends she’d made as well as the neighbors you had lived with also were amongst the many invited to the wedding back then. Considering the troubles they’d endured beforehand as well as the concerns for their neighbors, she’d hoped you’d all be safe; of course, the space for attendants was limited within the castle and not everyone was ready, willing, and/or able to leave: as a matter of fact, none of her friends were even available to accept such an invitation, even from a familiar face from their past as is. Ironically, Twilight was in the middle of saving her classmate Fluttershy from a grave injustice prior yet met with a horrid fate: the former residence of Golden Oaks Library fell victim to an arson attack, leaving her to the point of near death all the same; but, she did not die and now has been living with the scars of her past ever since that fateful day, including that of her home too. Of course, these series of unfortunate events have haunted her most of all the past seven years, especially considering her friends: Applejack and Rarity remain the same hospital as thee whilst Pinkie, Rainbow, and Fluttershy have left in search of betterment; even though they’re doing better than how they were treated in the past, Twilight still holds herself responsible for them. Either way, all that it’d done lately was make her even more than willing to mend and defend the relationships left behind at home: her family has grown closer together, not only because of her plights, but also due to Shining Armor’s predicament especially; also, her five neighbors have been able to forgive her all the same, despite the lack of involvement in their tragedies anyway.”

“Twilight tried to save us yet again and we were still in danger because of these changelings; have they planned on using her…?” the squinting blonde had asked Luna hesitantly, the former lukewarm with confusion and wet with worry within for the latter, “she was starting to become like family to my husband and kids; for crying out loud, she’d started to remind me of Sparkler! And yet, we’d shared the same losses together in the wedding: she’d lost her would–be sister–in–law and I a firstborn daughter whom I’d failed as a mother before I’d reached adulthood no less; how could I be so selfish…‽”

“It’s not thine fault that she’d been born in the vestry to someone so foul and depraved nor is it hers: even thy mother, troubled as she is, understood the troubled origins as the rest of her kin; still, thou feel responsible for her demise because of how it reflected the circumstances herein…” the corporeal princess replied, also shedding a tear in the process.

Derpy nodded off without restraint, looking at the ground underneath their feet with a sniffled, “what could I not feel: how was I supposed to tell her she’d been conceived in sin with a condition like mine inherited from father; better yet, what can tell the rest knowing how she’d perished because of me…?”

“Perhaps, this may as well be the end of an era as we know it: between Cadance’s demise and the changeling invasion, Equestria will never be the same as we came to know and care about…” Luna still declared to the younger mother nevertheless, a chill running past the latter’s spine, “Twilight Sparkle came to knew about this as a result of this long line of tragedies by and large. The real question is wilt thou continue to suffer in silence as many others including the love of thine life, Ponet, or carry onward and live for the sake of your children, living and dead through the survivors’ lives and her memories in particular…? The truth of the matter is our nephew Blueblood and cousin Léon are too inexperienced to understand the weight of the world; as a matter of fact, the latter is still unaware of the politics going on in and out of the capital compared to the former so to speak: the plight of your kind within as well as beyond fair Ponyville is not only more than that, but far–reaching than ever. Cadance, may she rest in peace, was also of common blood like you yet had powers that made her loved by all her caretakers: her nature alone was enough to reverse the evil inflicted against the ones whom loved her by Prismia at a young age no less; as a result, she’d been welcomed into the family by my sister Celestia to be raised as a princess, at least up until that wedding.”

“All the more reason why we’re nothing alike: at the very least, I’m relieved that she’d been able to save the day for the sake of her home and family; how can I ever even compete with Cadance knowing what had happened to me and realizing what I’d done with my life, with and without her…?” Derpy sniffled intensely all the same.

A brief sigh had escaped from the corporeal princess afore being backed up with words no less, “thou canst not, but it doesn’t mean that thou art useless as thou hadst been led to believe because of thine disabilities; even before thine generation, there hast been individuals from all walks of life in and out of Equestria whom had rose to greatness in spite of their infirmities. Even when confronted with certainty of death and/or destruction staring back into the eyes, they’d never bent or broken as is: their pursuit for justice and happiness, alongside with their willingness to uphold the virtues of friendship and family, guided them; as a result, they’d been remembered in life by their peers and kin for their sacrifices even after such as significant loss.”

“My family… are they still going to be okay…?” the young mother wept, currently looking away from Luna as the former clutched the abdomen, “even they have to know I’m still sorry for all this; after all, they deserve parents stronger than all this, not dented iron: even my father, rest in peace would’ve been better off living long enough to see my husband and kids all the same…!”

“Perhaps, she has an answer for it…” the corporeal princess said, as a familiar face appeared before them almost in an instant: it was a little girl reminiscent of the ones whose hands had scattered petals across the very same carpet right down to the details; however, the newcomer’s attire was different, consisting of green pajamas with blue and yellow silhouettes of stegosaurs.

Derpy couldn’t resist moving towards the lonely youth, even with the memories of the latter’s counterpart appearing as well as the former’s assault fresh in mind inside and out, with a gasp, “Dinky, is that you…?”

“Mommy, is that you: what happened to you; why are you like this…?” the titular teenager had asked the squinting mother reluctantly as the former was still standing in place nonetheless, “did these changelings do this to you like they’d done years ago…? I’m so sorry about what happened to you: I didn’t know they’d done all of it like what had been done to Sparkler recently; I miss her so much and so does daddy yet none of us could do a thing about it at all. She didn’t deserve to be treated like a plaything, especially when had been killing her right in front of me: all she ever did was try to protect me and now all I can even think about is how they took advantage of her like they were changelings no less; even worse, I’ve been having nightmares because of that day. Sparkler was there in most of my dreams, violated and mistreated as if her feelings didn’t even matter to her at all, not even ours: she’d worn a red collar around her neck but nothing else except for some chains and the like as if she were but some kind of a slave; even more people were there like Bon–Bon and Fluttershy wearing nothing but collars around their neck and I–––”

“Shh, shh, shh… it’s okay, mommy’s here; I’ve been having nightmares myself and you were there too: I’d just relived that horrid wedding we had attended years ago but you’re safe here with Princess Luna and me – nobody else’s here to hurt any of us, at least not with her around…” Derpy interrupted the youth with little warning, locked into an embrace at an eye level no less.

The eponymous royal then jumped back into the fray, the firmament cycling from dark to light, “indeed and the fact that she’d suffered isn’t the only reason why I’m here now: Equestria has been met with a long list of tragedies and terrors the likes of which I’d yet to see since my return; even now, the corruption has even been found taking root into out militaries as well as in public. Now that I’d came back, I’ve begun to remember my obligations to the Crown and Country since the Elements had chosen them: for too long, I’d been imprisoned by the persona you’d all come to recognize as Nightmare Moon born from mine jealousy; although the next generation has freed me, the guilt alone has been insurmountable, especially learning how much has changed. Today, the threat alone has grown considerable enough to be no longer constrained to the conscious world including here: the dreams many have watched turn into nightmares are a symptom of a larger problem now encroaching Equestria altogether; not only that, the rot in this homeland has also adversely affected the Bearers to the point of being in near death’s brink as is. Even though that the sextet themselves are still being treated better than they were before, they’re still in dire need as well: the repercussions as they are have already influenced most of them to depart from Ponyville in search of greener pastures now; the remainders, Applejack and Rarity, are still left behind due to their attempts to commit the crime I was guilty of attempting. Generally speaking, the troubles of the war were nonetheless undeserved, especially considering the perfidious nature of a few; as a matter of fact, my sister would’ve rather these serialized tales of unfortunate events hadst never come to pass as it wert: bone–grinding, blood–curdling, sweat–inducing horrors art not fitting for any kind of civilization to survive in this day and age as it is. Realizing how much the whole world has changed now made me realize how much I’d deprived myself of my connections also: in days of auld lang syne, the adversities we’d faced in both the Old and New World wert but on par with the likes of windigos; now, it’s just individuals like, and unlike, thine kind threatening the safety and security of societies by and large all the same. At the very least, your generations’ collective suffering have made my sister wary of any threats, external and otherwise, no less; the loss of her niece Cadance has served as the main catalyst for such a change to take root in Equestria and not just for her: the destruction of Cloudsdale has also served as a black eye the likes of which our nation’s Wonderbolts will yet to recover from. Thankfully, despite the wounds inflicted by the forces of evildoers altogether, our subjects still have the power to resist them: as costly as the victory was, the benefits were longstanding enough to inspire the survivors to uphold the virtues and ideals; even now, the light and warmth brought forth by friendship and family still stands as it does to this day, long and short no less. Element Bearers, such as Twilight herself, are still breathing in the now, despite the damages inflicted against themselves as is: even in the small amount tenure, they’d done more in over one season alone total than my sister and I had done together in more; now, we have a responsibility to ensure that their health is to be restored completely, physiologically and psychologically here. So, tell me, Derpy Hooves, what saith thee now: in spite of everything which had came to pass, dost thou honestly believe to be weak as you’d been convinced to believe by others and thyself; art thou planning surrender to the forces of negativity and evil or continue on with the struggle on the side of positivity and good like thou, thine kith, and kin hast done like before anyway…?”

“Well, when you put it in a way, the least I can do is still keep going; I still have so much more to live for and so do they also…” the squinting mother had answered the corporeal princess, taking a stand keenly once more with feelings of confidence and force, “for too long, I’ve been letting what had been done to me keep myself from becoming a good wife and a wise mother. Up until I’d met Ponet, I’d never considered the possibility of being more than the sum of my parts and parcels I’d carried with: all that I could think about is how much I’d missed my father as well as feared the one who dared to take his place without a care; now, all that my brain is concerned about are all the memories I could’ve made with Sparkler as she had with my Dinky. The fact that she’d arrived here in my time of need shouldn’t have surprised me after all that we’d been thru together lately; besides, if it weren’t for Princess Celestia here, who would’ve dared to know what could’ve happened to the rest of us too: if anything, then what happened as she’d almost described would’ve been a grim reality, devoid of any and all morals and modesty. I should’ve been grateful that I didn’t lose the rest of my family thanks to her, despite the pain and suffering we’d all endured: barring the war, I’ve been able to communicate with the others and strengthen my old bonds between friends and family too; additionally, I’ve been graced with the opportunity to make new friends as well, including the new Bearers of Harmony themselves. Although things have changed between the lot of us, one of the only constants we do still happen to share is how we miss her so: Sparkler should’ve been my pride and joy when Ponet and I had been married for over a decade, especially when it meant much; even now, I must shoulder the burden of that loss and regret more than any of them can because I’m their mother especially. Seeing that everybody, especially Dinky, still chooses to look up to and sympathize with them, I can still see that it’s not over; even though we’re poorer than ever, especially without Sparkler herself, we have a legacy to leave behind for our sake too: it’d be a miracle that we’ve been able to survive and thrive in this world in spite of everything so the least we can do is keep going…”

“Hmm, no despair; how interesting…” Luna spoke.

Derpy said to the corporeal princess, “thanks anyway, your highness…”

“Think nothing of it, Derpy: this troubled world has plenty of people that need help the most in remembering life’s worth…” Luna replied as her form had begun to dissipate slowly right before the very blondes’ eyes almost suddenly so to speak of, “your daughter is amongst those people, much like her kith and kin as we speak no less…”

“Understood…” the aforementioned mother said as it was Dinky’s turn to join the corporeal princess all the same so to speak of; sure enough, the former was left alone to her devices, standing out and about in the frozen city as the stars and sun switched places interchangeably: not much else could be said about it all the same as a sense of relief took ahold of the very body.

The squinting blonde sat back down onto the ground as the morning air brushed up against her clothes and skin underneath them.

Nocturne

Author's Note

My name is Fireflower and welcome to the eighth installment of my first My Little Pony fanfic, a Mature story using canon characters as human beings: as such, I’ve decided to focus on one of the main characters alongside others; nevertheless, while this chapter’s tame, the overall story will deal with heavy subject matters unsuitable for certain readers so be warned.

As always, My Little Pony, or rather Friendship Is Magic, including its settings and characters belong to Lauren Faust and Hasbro; however, this concept of my fanfic alone belongs to me so I will say this line one time only: please do not steal this story or I will sue.

Lastly, let me also say I hope you enjoy this chapter now and stay tuned for future chapters later on: after all, you're going to be taking solace in the fact the following pattern will serve as a heads–up so to speak of; besides, we've a long way to go before you can meet the rest of them.

Nocturne

There was only darkness, a simplistic form to describe such a nothingness within its own world; as such, it was capable of harboring the element of surprise by means of uncertainty so to speak. That being said, whatever cubic centimeters of this very transient ocean would do little, if any, to hide away whichever objects ready to be found even inside the naked yet trained sort of eye as is. The mere idea of something and/or someone dwelling within the jet–black void alone for any number of reasons, known and unknown, was but time immemorial thereof, so liminal to a fault.

“What did she do this time: that’s right, she locked you in the cellar again, like before, hasn’t she…?” a faint voice was heard, soft and suspecting as a soprano sticking outwardly.

At first, the golden silence returned instantaneously, unperturbed by the question poised at hand as if nothing had ever happened; however, it’d never been able to last as long like it’d have, all thanks to a lost and tarnished but soulful silver tongue slipping by: like the primordial, it was docile and submissive but more timid to any ear within range all the same, “this is my child…”

“She may as well have harmed you; don’t be scared: I am here with you…” the very same voice from before has spoken up, unchanging in both tone and temperament altogether as so no less, “tomorrow is another day…”

“Whoever you are, you’re wrong, you know you are: these people are monsters, they ruined us – they’re the reason Octavius exist and then everyone pretended nothing mattered, like it’d never happened; what makes you think today would be any different now…?” a faint sniffle soon cemented itself into the area of influence almost immediately without any hesitation whatsoever.

It didn’t matter much as the primordial said, “Trixie…”

“Stop saying that they’d saved us; it isn’t true: all it’s doing is hurting us more – Igneous, Cloudy, Marble, Limestone…” the aforementioned respondent had now wept, more saturated than earlier as far as either of the speakers were already concerned, “I don’t care if you hate me for thinking this, but there really is nothing we can do: we’re all going to die because of me. I’ve accepted it; can’t you accept it too…? Please… let me die alone…”

“Trixie… Trixie… Trixie…?” a similar yet different voice called out to the listener, solidified by the accompanying knocks upon the flat surface above.

Not much had been taken for the titular tenant to reply, “oh, what; why can’t I sleep forever…?”

“Trixie, are you awake…?” the corporeal caller cried out again, devoid of melancholy compared to the lacrimosal listener so to speak of, “it’s breakfast time: you’re going to be late; please get up…!”

“Who could it be now…?” Trixie whined.

In any case, an answer was found when some creaking had been made, bringing on the light into the lair of darkness as its contents were being unveiled in a matter of seconds. Standing firmly above was a young woman with off–white integuments, her cyan tresses already matching both eyes as they were covered by both a hairnet and a whiter scarf. Plastered onto her body was a long–sleeved lavender blouse with some thick white boarders, already accented by a scarlet necktie underneath the wearer’s chin as it were.

Opposite of the young woman was another of a similar build, lurking about inside what was once the jet–black void from the start: although the latter’s eyes were cold, they were both like amethysts, moist with tears from what the former can plainly see so far; in addition, despite having flat silver hair being illuminated by the light, they were both of the same age range as is.

The lavender lady had said to Trixie in an instant, “it’s 8:30, you should go change and get ready for today: the neighbors are coming to lend the Pies a hand at their farm; I’d also taken the liberty of feeding your son earlier…”

“My son… Octavius… where is he; when did he get out…?” the darkly inhabitant had asked timidly as she’d started to move towards the light slowly but surely no less, “please tell me, Coco…!”

“At school: Marble and Limestone had their own sons walk them off there an hour ago; I’d made sure of it myself and so did Maud, if you’re willing to asking her, of course…” the eponymous eyewitness answered immediately, reaching out to extend a hand towards Trixie without bias or fear.

Initially, the darkly inhabitant was frozen still like a crystal lake, both amethyst orbs still trembling about so to speak of; still, their hands had met at long last, showing off a sleeve of moody blues as a contrast to the nights in white satin on replay: sure enough, she’d stepped out into the light, already dressed in some simple pajamas yet otherwise barefoot all the same here.

Trixie was currently on a whole another level as she’d closed the hatch adjacent to both herself and the lavender lady no less. The midnight tenant had taken her own time to study the background she was now in, finding it all filled to the brim with taupe. A thin carpet was discovered in the epicenter of the floor nearby the women, bearing different hues of purple in some ringlets. A pair of curtains darker than Trixie’s attire hung near the windowsill, already portraying the life outside their world with the sun. Standing firmer than their very skin and clothes was a lonely fireplace with its own logs dry and barren, betwixt drawer and shelf.

The midnight tenant wasted no time in asking Coco instantaneously, the latter donning a denim skirt, “come to think of it, is the bathroom vacant…?”

“No: Marble is taking a bath as we speak; she’ll be ready to finish up in about twenty minutes from now, if it’s okay with you…” the lavender lady responded freely as she and Trixie began to walk away from where the latter had climbed out of earlier, “as with her sisters, Maud is helping Limestone with the laundry; they’ll have the clothes ready for her when she gets out soon…”

“Why am I not surprised: it seems that whatever was on the poor girl’s mind must have been heavy; anyways, is there any chance I could have some papers and a pen to write with then…?” the midnight tenant asked Coco while facing one of the windowsills in their collective line of sight in the meantime.

The lavender lady had wasted no time answering Trixie in a matter of seconds, “of course, there should be some in Mister Pie’s work study: I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I borrow some for you; after all, it’s not like he’s anything to fret over the small stuff, right…?”

“Yeah, sure; besides, even after everything, he’s a patient man: not even he’d go so far as to fly off the handle over it, Coco…” the midnight tenant had said as the aforementioned woman left her alone so to speak; from then on, the former moved on closer, “Igneous Rock, of course… fuck, ‘twas genius; how come I’d thought of that at the time…? Once upon a time, you were just a great and powerful magician, just like your old man, Jackpot; if anything, the least you could do was follow in his footsteps and live up to the family name of Lulamoon, for Celestia’s sake: smoke bombs and laser pointers were just child’s play, not like marauding murderers or troublesome technology from the past and future. Used to be a time when everyone loved your most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by puny eyes since time immemorial; now, you’re worse than a common laughingstock, moreso when you can’t even prevent your own trailer from getting destroyed: all of your stuff, food, clothes, tools, and memories – dashed against the dirt by an Ursa Minor, thanks to two brats! Keeping a roof over my head became even more harder with my reputation in tatters, especially when it’d came to cleanliness: whatever money I had made since the repairs started to dwindle every time someone came over to spray paint my fucking wagon; soon, the rock farm was the only place I could ever find work to make ends meet, if not, stay out from the cold of nighttime! At the very least, I can applaud Mister Pie for being so kind to let me stay here just so long as I can pull the weight around here: I just wish that it would’ve been some other rock farmer not related to one of Twilight Sparkle’s friends out of all the Equestrians; still, no one normal, especially them, deserves to become dragged into the horrors of war, especially not like this…! Imagine my luck if Pinkamena ever found out about her dearest brother, Octavius, and how he was conceived in this very home: she would never even let me live this down, especially with someone so garrulous as the likes of her gabbing to her friends already; on the other hand, she would’ve most likely killed me all kinds of dead and herself afterwards, all because of me…! Speaking of which, I’m not ever even sure if I could ever face my own mother now that this dreaded war is over so to speak; oh, she’s alive and all, no doubt about that for sure, despite everything, but what in the fucking Tartarus could I ever say to her: ‘sorry that I was unable to reach you on the account being some spooge–drenched blowjob queen at age fifteen no less?!’”

Trixie’s eyes looked upon the scenery with contempt, despite the peace and prosperity plastered about up on display so to speak of. The golden sun had already emerged far from the log horizons of daybreak’s bell, its light and warmth shielded away by the glass. The numbers of people like both tenants were only few and far, reflecting of the nearly barren environs and its very structures too. There were mountainsides raging with growth and erosion in the process of their trying times, bearing witness to them and Trixie. Tones were neutral due to their utter lack of coloring and an abundance of extreme mediocrity; despite all of this, life goes on as is.

Despite staring at the outside world looking in, the midnight tenant was unconvinced all the same, the amethyst glare taking perspective as far as memories of a past cure were concerned inasmuch as the future coming on before solidification as a feature presentation in and out here.

Soon, a new pair of footsteps entered the room Trixie’s was in, prompting her to turn around and face its very owner immediately; however, they were nothing like the soft and graceful moves in which Coco had made prior as far as the former’s eyes can see: rather, they’d were more or less the same, especially considering the lack of variations between the latter and the newcomer here. As such, there was yet another bright woman staring back at the midnight tenant, both eyes mismatched compared to them: the right side was green as an apple named after a grandmother but the opposite had been amber as of ancient pasts frozen about; unlike the latter, the former’s tresses were fifty shades darker but otherwise gray, short to touch the left shoulder but no more. Worn upon the newcomer’s body were a white blouse with shorter sleeves and a plum skirt covering all of the wearer’s legs; unlike Trixie, there were a pair of brown boots big enough to make a noise, hence the sudden encounter all between themselves: needless to say, based on the latter’s conversation with the second woman, the familiarity alone was enough to ease tension.

“Morning Trixie, wasn’t expecting you to be up at this hour: Marble and I had been able to get Octavius out of the cellar you were in prior; Coco had told me about your awakening recently…” the modest woman said to the midnight tenant instantaneously, the former’s voice a rough and tumble contralto as far as the latter can hear clearly enough.

The titular onlooker had then sighed uncomfortably, now a means in eye contact with the rather heterochromatic newcomer immediately nevertheless here, “hi, Limestone… I’d also heard that Coco had cooked some breakfast earlier: it must have been really good; did your folks get some first anyway…?”

“Of course, thanks to Maud, ma had no trouble eating it but pa still had to be fed due to the lack of arms all the same anyway…” the eponymous woman responded to the midnight tenant all the same, closing in on the former slowly and surely so to speak, “speaking of which, his prosthetics are due for a replacement sometime soon; his insurance should be able to cover the costs still…”

“All thanks to the Princesses, no doubt about that: even without it, we all would’ve pitched in, with or without your sister; I know I’d have if not for a certain band of troublemakers earlier…” Trixie snorted as she’d now stepped away from the windowsill all the same, paying what little attention had thereof to the heterochromatic inhabitant in the process.

This made Limestone cross as she’d spoken up to the midnight tenant, more stern yet docile than before, “don’t go badmouthing my sister like that: Pinkie was hurt too when they’d turned ma, Marble, and I into slaves in our own home, even more so than Maud; besides, she did all that she could to fix this as much as she could when it was all over…”

“Yeah, when it was all convenient; true, I was glad when Maud killed the bastard dead all of the sudden but it didn’t stop the pain!” Trixie had sobbed again, albeit more restrained compared to the sordid past uncovered by Coco for the lack of a better term, “I had to hide further away from Pinkie with Octavius in tow because I didn’t want to let her know about the whole rigmarole! She loves you all too much to even comprehend the gravity of the situation at hand, especially her father ironically enough here: it’s bad enough I had to bear the brunt of the insults just as much as Marble had done with the brute’s abuses most of all recently; the realization alone would only hit Pinkie far harder than a stone’s throw to the face so to speak of, no offense…”

“None taken, but there’s nothing you can do about soon enough: even with your skills as a magician, Pinkie has a way of figuring out something’s up; it runs in my entire family…” the heterochromatic inhabitant susurrated about as the midnight tenant wiped away what little tears had appeared afore the former so to speak of.

Trixie had struggled to regain her composure all the same as she’d wept onward nevertheless, “I know that because I’d saw it in action with Maud first years ago; sometimes I can’t help myself but wonder why she’d bothered to help me at all, knowing what I’d done to her father, no her family…”

“It’s called being a good person, something I’d thought you would’ve understood by now, Trixie, much like everyone else!” Limestone had replied almost immediately, walking over to right where the midnight tenant had once stood by not too long ago, “I actually couldn’t stand how strange Maud was but then I found out how she’d tried to kill herself before adulthood…! I’d never wanted any of this to happen to her and none of our parents thought of her as someone on the verge of being condemned in spite of failing; fuck, even Pinkie and Marble came to cheer her up at the hospital years before this whole ‘Nightmare Moon’ event came about and almost ended all of Equestria. When was the last time you did something for anyone you didn’t expect something back from; better yet, can you think of a happy memory with someone you’d loved in the past: your parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, neighbors, anyone…?”

“Happy memory…?” Trixie muttered keenly.

The heterochromatic inhabitant scoffed at the past response instantaneously so to speak of as is, “don’t even fucking tell me that you’d went through life so far with that fucking depression shit; I know for a fact that everyone else has been gathering up memories of their life being happy: even grandparents in and out of our family can recall past events fondly without photos…”

“Of course, I did have happy memories, Limestone: I remember going to Celestia’s School for the Gifted when I was young…” the midnight tenant said back to the aforementioned speaker almost immediately, miffed at how the latter replied to the former, “at first, I was scared of leaving my mom even for a second because she was the only one to raise me since my birth. She’d once said that this was one of the surefire ways I could get closer to my dad since he was one of the greatest magicians; after all, I was a talented prodigy at least in her eyes but so were the others and none of them could ever reach the top as me: even then, I couldn’t stay here much longer doing the same tasks as my teachers had expected of me, like so many other schoolmates. In time, I’d made it my life’s mission to see him in Las Pegasus and make him proud of his own daughter all the very same then: the world of magic and the ability to harness it wasn’t as simple as it’d seemed, not even to the likes of me as far as I’d recalled; even to this day, some of the best stunts were also the most dangerous, not to be taken lightly as far as anyone was concerned. Remembering them alone wasn’t even enough so to speak, especially when it’d involved creatures such as manticores; to tell you the truth, had it not been what had happened in Ponyville seven years ago, I may as well would’ve partaken in it: I would’ve practiced my heart out to the bitter end until my mind and body were ready for the main attraction as it’d have been. Unfortunately, as you may have remembered all too well as I have, all these happy days came to an end when she’d came along: Twilight Sparkle couldn’t even handle the sheer fact that I was so talented enough to prove her own miserable friends wrong; I’d even thought she was the one whom put my so–called fanboys up to this Ursa Major plot just because they wanted to see it. Still, it was my choice alone to overdo what I’d done earlier and I couldn’t even tame it at all even if I’ve liked to so to speak: it was a powerful creature after all and his appearance alone had scared me just as much as everyone else here, even herself; if anything, it’s times like these that had made me wish I’d stayed in that school on that day instead of ending up here in Rockville.”

“Excuse me, mind if I cut in…?” a stray voice entered both of the women’s ears with so little much as a warning; out of them, Trixie was quick to recognize it all the same before the next sentence had begun: the lavender lady herself.

Both the midnight tenant and heterochromatic inhabitant came across Coco with parchments and pen in tow as the latter eyewitness had asked, “Coco, what are you doing here with all of this stuff…?”

“Oh, this: Trixie wanted something to write with earlier so I had to go to the study and get them all for her, Limestone, okay…?” the lavender lady answered them both, setting the sheets and utensil upon the surface area of the flat drawer nearby the fireplace, “I also got word from Maud that Marble will be getting out of the bathroom soon; she’s just given her sister some clothes…”

“Ah, I see, at least she’ll be refreshed soon enough; will she be able to walk out of here by herself now if it’s not too much trouble, Limestone…?” Trixie commented hesitantly, nodding off before facing the titular tenant tentatively so to speak; despite the latter’s redness, the former was unharmed no less.

The heterochromatic inhabitant answered neutrally in the process, “if not for the therapy, then it’d have been Maud helping her out as always; besides, it’s what sisters are supposed to do, especially the big ones: protecting and placating the little ones is the natural way…”

“I wish I had a sister that would protect me: at least she wouldn’t let me get raped to exhaustion like Marble and Limestone did…” the midnight tenant had cerebrated about, shedding only but a singular teardrop in the meantime but otherwise calm and collected, “can I please go there right now since she’s already done…?”

“No problem: I was going to wait until later on this afternoon to wash up; I just hope I can make up for lost time enough to get this work all settled down…” the eponymous eyewitness had said before walking off on the same path as Coco did not too long ago, leaving both her and Trixie alone much like before so to speak of.

Sure enough, Trixie had started to follow the heterochromatic inhabitant merely seconds later, the lavender lady left in the dust no less. In any case, it wasn’t long until the midnight tenant had heard a loud creak nearby them followed by some brief scurrying about alongside. Responsively, Trixie could soon pick up on the scent of warm air and moisture as well, closing in as the concentration became thicker. Eventually as it were, the midnight tenant could make out a nearby egress where the aroma was originating from almost instantaneously.

Much like before, Trixie was surrounded by blandness all throughout, its walls sedimentary like the rocks but otherwise uniformly; a white dome above her head had already illuminated the area as her eyes were treated to the sight of various accommodations: a toilet, sink, mirror, cabinet, hamper, and bathtub with gray curtains became a cold comfort for the likes her as it’d done prior. The midnight tenant had taken her precious time surveilling the area immediately, especially considering the reality she was in: hidden behind the curtains upfront of the amethyst orbs was a mixer tap and its three handles resting about in the warm oxygen; as such, she’d rested a hand onto the leftmost before arranging its polar opposite in an instant, her ears ringing about recently. Sure enough, a deluge of water fell upon the moist surface area underneath the faucet, its plain scents emanating about from the compound in question while its vapors generated about no less; as far as she could see it, the small puddle was going to grow about in due time, restricted to only one area alone, prompting her to turn around and face the mirror nearby her without restriction. As Trixie stared at her reflection, she was treated to the condensation building up before herself as the running water lapped against the bathtub before rebounding about; nevertheless, she’d paid no attention whatsoever as she began to lock the door her feet had stepped through earlier. In any case, the midnight tenant was alone in being besieged by the sights and smells of fog and liquid as she’d then opened the mirror without breaking it in any shape or form altogether, eyeing a slender bottle of azure amongst the fully stocked contents within the more finite space. Upon closure, she’d opened the item and poured its small fraction into the growing body of water speedily; at long last, the otherwise clear bath became filled up with froth as clusters of bubbles had now emerged from the singular concentrated downpour briefly in action so to speak. With time of the essence, there wasn’t much else Trixie could do but cast aside the very fabric already, shedding her midnight pajamas hesitantly; as they fell onto the stony flooring beneath, she was reduced to a thin layer of violet clutching onto her predominately exposed integuments. Eventually, the young graying woman was now in the altogether as she’d stepped inside rather slowly and carefully at once, closing the curtains as she’d embraced the heat and foam almost instantaneously, already at ease but having the foresight to shut off the faucet in due time no less.

She was now in the naked space with a heavy sigh as she was free from the very outside world as she’d knew, moreso since she had the bathroom all to herself; at the very least, she could treat her recent sortie within the darkness as a burning memory to be left in the past like the one too many yesteryears of youth and yearning she and her compeers would’ve experienced the same.

Pyrite

Author's Note

Hi there; it's me, Fireflower here once more with an electric feel ready with a new chapter of ACE on the way: suffice to say, the past chapters from before were by far a strong note for y'all, serving as a taste of what's to come later on as I write them all right at my fingertips.

As usual, My Little Pony, or rather Friendship Is Magic, including its settings and characters belong to Lauren Faust and Hasbro; however, this concept of my fanfic still belongs to me so I will say this one time only: please do not steal this story or I will sue.

That being said, I want to say thanks again for putting up with my story this month so far, especially if you been reading the prequels as well since years ago: I honestly wished that I could have done this sooner, let alone finish it; what's funny is that had I done so in half the allotted time, I would've surprised y'all with another story on the same month, albeit on New Years' Eve but I digress.

Pyrite

If there were at least one thing worth noticing straightaway, then it would be the sheer fact in which the forces of uncertainty were strong with the dark side. Having said that, it didn’t mean visibility itself was reduced to complete nothingness; still, the probability of danger was greater than zero all the same herein. Not only that, there were gentle breezes being close to comfort anyone whom would cross paths, assuming that someone was inside the otherwise jet–black void.

Then, without so much as any kind of warning whatsoever, some buzzing birthed the baseless boundaries, resonating about amongst the atmosphere before subsiding almost instantaneously. As if on cue, a trail of lights started to appear from nowhere, each with their own colors starting to illuminate the background they’d now been suspended upon all the livelong day so to speak. Everywhere they’d went, the most predominate colors found were but only the fifty shades of gray resting about with their own jagged edges and the like, stalactites and stalagmites no less. While there were plenty of rocks to and fro, an abundance of crystals were also discovered as is, each with their variances in shapes, sizes, and shades as they’d all shined about all the while.

Stuck in the middle of it all was a lonely woman lying on the ground amongst the illuminated caverns to no end in sight whatsoever so to speak. She’d possessed some skin that was shining about like ivory, riddled with a few cuts and bruises having already made their way throughout and in. The lonely woman’s minted, spiky hair curling past her neckline were already adorned by only a single pearl diadem bearing a trio of jaded flowers. Adorning most of her entire body was a gold dress with a moderate crimson sash matching her slippers; in addition, she wore fuchsia pearls too.

“Huh, guys… is anyone out there: Minuette… Twinkleshine… Lemon Hearts… Moondancer… Twilight… Bon–Bon… Shining Armor… Princess Cadance… Princess Celestia…?” a small dainty voice escaped from the lonely woman, frantic enough as it were but otherwise too quiet to be picked up by any other lifeform within the premises, if at all.

Irregardless, the sounds of silence where were ruling the stony lonesome yet elegantly bejeweled environment had felt their unchallenged reign come to an end when another voice spoken to her, “good day, Cankerworms, here with today’s weather: mostly cloudy with a one hundred precent chance of you kowtowing to the Queen; this is Cheng Kowtow reminding you all to kowtow…!”

“What the…” the lonely woman gasped, her eyelids flying open in an instant to unleash a static electricity of blue within, only to survey the grounded terrain afore her, “where on Equestria is this place: what is it; where are my friends?!”

“Greetings, Lyra Heartstrings…!” a different voice abaft herself spoke, prompting the corporeal target to turn around and find a bloodcurdling sight.

Found to be plastered on an enormous crystalline screen was a lonely individual peering out at where the eponymous listener currently stood. In all fairness, not much was said about the minty woman’s onlooker; after all, compared to her attire, the latter was obscured by a black cloak. Nevertheless, she could see a patch of pale white nearby the edges of the viewer’s bloody scarlet edges radiating about with all of its obscurity.

Lyra was at a loss of words initially before summoning whatever strength within her to exclaim almost straightaway, “who the fuck are you?!”

“As you can see, my name is not important nor is my identity so to speak…” the minty woman’s onlooker had calmly answered, much to her growing chagrin as far as it could’ve been seen, “what is important, however, is the sad drag of a story that happens to be your life, past and present at large no less. In under the past two and a half decades of your life, you’d eaten the same food, dressed the same clothes, sat in front of the same kind: you were just that kind of girl but then one day you go and get lost in the chaos; you couldn’t even be original about the route you’d taken. Nobody’s complained about it at the time and nobody’s complaining now or ever, if at all: I, like a small few every single day, was dying of boredom anyway; but, guess what…? Some will be coming back and they’ll be bringing their new toys with them, which brings us to you: Lyra Heartstrings, what you are standing in are the caves underneath your fair city, once home to the avaricious and ambitious wishing to claim the jewels found deep within now a forgotten underworld stripped bare like the cadaver of a once fair and joyful bride from afar. At least, that’s how the story went or was supposed to go: whereas you and many of your neighbors of this once proud city and beyond had went on with their lives, liberties, pursuit of happiness, equalities, and the like alongside those lacking in at least any of them thereof, the invaders and infiltrators alike surveyed every nook and cranny within your humble abode. Out of many of these places within and beyond Equestria’s capital, the caverns were one of them; in this case, it’d been safe to suggest, if at all, they would serve as a prison for those whom would dare to interfere with their plans: of course, all which could be said is that there was only one so far. Sadly, it would seem that, aside from both friends and neighbors, you were amongst the deceived: the fair bride and princess you’d seen slain before your eyes was neither fair nor of noble blood, at least in the eyes of your rulers; it was Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the Changelings, a race of shapeshifters known as the innate masters of disguise, copying their subjects perfectly. Even though she’d been able to mimic Mi Amore Cadenza in her entirety, she couldn’t adopt her true personality, if at all: the kind and fair soul whom bore witness to the beauty in everything, including her chosen true love of her life and his dear sister; although Chrysalis had deceived the both of them as well as their friends and families with her facade, she couldn’t deceive them all. While many such as yourself excused her mistakes on account of the stress of fighting the war and losing many of your compeers before and after, only one saw through them and took matters into his own hands: a man by the name of Mercury Promenade, a guest such as yourself, sought to end her charade by any means necessary, even risking the lives of many, including Celestia.”

“You don’t think I know that: I’d already remember what happened next when that bastard killed her, for Celestia’s sake; besides, I would’ve rather wished he’d haven’t done that shit at all…!” she’d said strongly in a stern structure so to speak, clutching her torso in the process with her left hand all the while.

The viewer was unnerved by Lyra’s interjection yet had showed her the decency to reply freely nevertheless, “true, though it’s mostly certain the threat of having Equestria becoming subjugated by them would’ve still happened had he not done so, especially given their powers and abilities as is; of course, bombing the false princess’ wedding wasn’t his first option. In the months leading up to it, he’d been known as one of the many rank–and–file subjects observant to the news thereof; unlike Twilight whom was deceived due to her injuries sustained, Mercury was quick on the take, serving as her assigned bodyguard even when the dust had settled for a while. Of course, for only a vast majority of the time he’d spent, it was with the real Cadance alone: every second spent with her was more than just a job but rather a learning experience regarding her life and connections with the family she was going to marry into; speaking of which, the only commonality they’d shared was growing up without parents in their youths. Aside from that, they were both different as the night and day in which the princesses had once ruled over separately as well as equally unlike the societies underneath them now and then: she was a local highborn loved by many for her talents and personality whereas he was just only a commoner from another land, hated despite his similarities. Of course, all the respect Mercury had for Cadance went out the window the day she was replaced, or rather kidnapped by Chrysalis’ troops while stepping in as a replacement; even though no one else knew about it, strangers or loved ones alike, he’d paid attention long enough to see the differences between the true princess and the false queen. It also didn’t help that Luna had to be away on this day just to repair ties with the other nations, leaving her sister all alone with the psychopath masquerading as their niece whom they’d sworn to know and love; not even Twilight, whom looked up to her as a sister rather than a sitter, could use her intelligence to comprehend the reality of the real Cadance. Either way, the scholar’s pursuit were what had ironically led to her near death in Ponyville, left to burn in a fire destroying the library she’d once called home, all to save a friend from a heinously grim fate; if anything, had things gone much smoother by comparison, it would be safe to say she would’ve came to the same conclusion as Mercury did. Anyways, his requests to delay the wedding, though sound enough on the account of the preceding war, were denied by Shining Armor’s family as well, not too surprising since everyone was too busy to see beyond their gates of horn and ivory or even exhausted to be burdened with a probability of being attacked in their own home; even his protection was woefully inadequate. Speaking of which, Mercury’s attack had done little, if at all, to deter Black Queen’s horde from mounting an offensive on Canterlot: originally, they were supposed to attack on her signal alone, revealing her true form before all the spectators, however, with Chrysalis dead, the changelings succumbed to both confusion and delay, despite laying waste to the community and its people.”

“So all this time we’ve been lied to by an invader whom somehow snuck in, despite our efforts?!” the minty onlooker had screamed, her face currently becoming as red–hot as a bloody habanero overall, “no wonder why everything went to shit: all started going down the pipe the second Golden Oaks burned…!”

“Even worse, some of the soldiers under her beck and call took the time to take their anger out on the populace: raping women, killing me, torturing the young and old alike in a fit of waywardness following her very death; you were amongst many whom had succumbed to it…” the shrouded individual nodded and spoke to her plain as day so to speak of.

It was at this point Lyra felt her anger subside, the visage within becoming paler than her skin as she’d heard the wind drone on; additionally, she’d started to shiver about as the hems of her dress fluttered around against both of her legs whilst struggling, “how in Tartarus does he know about it all: I’d barely said a word about this to anyone else; was he spying on me since then…?”

“The fate these changelings had inflicted upon you were cruel and insensitive, especially given how they’d treated you as is…” the ambiguous individual had sighed, watching as the minty onlooker attempted to remain firm and flexible against the oxygen, “even when you were already at your most vulnerable, all they’d seen inside you was an object to be passed around like a doll. It wouldn’t have mattered if their queen had been exposed or not, since it’s clear that they’d have attacked the Crown and Country: these blackguards were determined to tear each and every fiber of this capital apart until there was nothing left of its own face; even now, there are some like them hiding amongst fellow Equestria further away, awaiting further orders that will never come. Regardless of the outcome, Chrysalis would’ve suffered all the same, be if from a bomb or by the weight of her slaves’ allies; after all, Twilight was more than capable of seeing through deception even more optimally in other worlds much like this one: her studies in magic had allow her time to prepare as she’d done on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration years ago. Either way, the world beneath your home was once your friend’s prison, only to be freed with the help of the true princess Cadance herself, thanks to their mutual bond, something Chrysalis lacked; considering your friendship between you and Twilight, it would be safe to suggest that even you can escape this forsaken oubliette to the home you’d both whence came from anyway. Keep in mind, this escape, should you choose to attempt, will not be easy for if you fail, you’ll suffer the same fate like the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had done, alone and abandoned by all, including her usurper Chrysalis; with that said, considering how you’d been amongst the many whom had forgotten the caverns, there will be clues to provide you a way back to home. Survival will be resting with the lights but not all of them will be so useful to you, even with their innate de facto neutrality: the environs will be brimming with all sorts of dangers, hidden and otherwise, and choices for you to pick, right and wrong; even though you’ll be allowed to reconsider, sometimes the option to backtrack will become forfeit, irregardless of your will.”

“If that’s the case, why me: Twilight would’ve made a greater chance of getting out of here instead of me; come to think of it, where’s Bon–Bon is all this…?” she’d cerebrated, her indignation subsiding yet still strongly afore her singular viewer as the heat was fading away from her entire body with each and every second.

The ambiguous individual had wasted no time in speaking to Lyra all the same, apathetic to her growing condition so to speak of, “and so, here you are, chosen by fate to serve as a proxy of your friend in this very exercise to test your skillsets; the choice is yours, Lyra: either rise up and conquer the uncertainty within yourself or wither and die like the true Mi Amore Cadenza…”

Afterwards, the image fizzled out into the crystalline nothingness, leaving the minty onlooker alone again naturally in a rather grim reality. With all the bits and pieces entailed to herself, she’d been presented with an environment bereft of both amenities and companies so to speak. Even the recent message Lyra had listened to, courtesy of the announcer Kowtow, did her little favors, if any, when it’d came to information. Despite this, the minty woman was most unnerved by the singular viewer: aside from the latter’s attire, summarization alone wasn’t enough.

“Okay, Lyra, you were there on the day when our teacher taught us all geology; although, it’d been nice if we’d known of it…” she’d said to herself, taking a deep breath while facing the trail of lights hung up on their side as the cold was starting to set in, “if this happens to be part of Canterlot, then the least we could’ve been able to do is have a map of the underground ready. Oh, how I hate these kind of days, trapped alone and underneath the city you and your friends called home, much less the capital no less: where’s Twilight and her friends when you need them now?!”

Lyra had no other choice but to go follow that pathway; after all, irregardless of the vague clues provided, she understood better not to stay here any longer. Taking a first trot forward, the lonely woman felt the photons radiating from their territory now bathing her body while pointing out the damages sustained. Thereon, she could feel comforted by the fact that the trail in question was devoid of any dangers so to speak; besides, the ambiguous individual said so well.

It wasn’t long until the very lights behind had become a distant memory; in Lyra’s frontal point of view were at least five in different colors than before: yellow, ivory, blue, crème, and purple. These happened to serve as the divergent paths provided for the lonely woman, each just as ambiguous like her previous viewer but more colorful as far as she can see them all straightaway. Of course, she was firmly aware of the fact they were serving as the choices in question for her to pick alone: like what had been told to her, they possessed outcomes should she ever reach one.

When I was just a lassie, I found it rather silly
To see how many other people I could meet
I had my books to read, didn’t know that I
would ever need
other people to make my life complete

A maidenly voice lilted from the far–right pathway; the purple lights on that end synchronizing with the tones therein.

Edging towards the sound of music itself no less, Lyra commented, “that’s Twilight’s voice; maybe she’s here…”

But there was one boy that I cared for
I knew he would be there for me
My big brother, best friend forever
Like two peas in a pod, we did everything together

The lonely woman heard again as she’d made her selection, walking along the vivid trail at once

He taught me how to fly a kite, best friend forever!
We never had a single fight; we did everything together!
We shared our hopes, we shared our dreams
I miss him more than I realized
It seems…

“Is she talking about Princess Cadance’s groom, Shining Armor…?” Lyra had ruminated about in nervousness supersaturated.

It was at this point the lonely woman heard a quintet of girlish sounds join in with the singing, bearing the same quality as her:

Your big brother,
best friend forever
Like two peas in a pod,
You did everything together
And though he’s, oh, so far away
I hoped that he would stay
My big brother best friend
Forever…
Forever…

The primordial vocalist sang as Lyra could now see the path ahead of her almost at an end as is

He was my big brother, best friend
Forever…
And now, we’ll never do anything
Together…

Just as the aria concluded, the lonely woman came across five more paths like before: this time, the colors provided were now consisting of cyan, pink, white, orange, and yellow; likewise, she’d needed to make a decision for the sake of progression.

“Alright then, it seems that you’d gotten right the first time, like before; it’s just like the entrance exam – the beginning’s always the easiest: you just need to stay alive and find the exit, every cave has a way out…” Lyra had heaved as her heartbeat started to stabilize soon enough, quickly catching her breath while studying them all.

As the lonely woman was doing so, another song began, this time coming from the flowery lights between the metallic pathways:

My name is Pinkie Pie
And I am here to say
I’m gonna make you smile,
And I will brighten up your day
It doesn’t matter now
If you are sad or blue
Cause cheering up my friends
Is just what Pinkie’s here to do

“I know her voice already; Minuette had told me about her: she’s the Bearer of Laughter living it up in Ponyville of all places…” Lyra had whispered softly as all of the lights alternated between dimming and brightening about slowly around herself no less, “maybe I can find her so she can help me find Bon–Bon; not only that, we can use this as an opportunity to escape from here too.”

Cause I love to make you smile, smile, smile
Fills my heart up with sunshine, shine, shine
All I really need’s a smile, smile, smile
From these happy friends of mine

The aria of joy continued to light the way for the lonely listener all the while.

As the warm photons cloaked her about despite the lack of solidarity therein, Lyra thought as is, “yeah, I’d like a smile myself too, but Bon–Bon must come first; I need to see her again more than ever…”

I like to see you grin
And I would love to see you beam
Seein’ the corners of your mouth turned up
Is always Pinkie’s dream
But if you’re kind of worried
And your face has made a frown
I’ll work real hard and I do my best
To turn that sad frown upside down

The aforementioned singer chimed as the lights blinked about to the rhythm therein so to speak

Cause I love to make you grin, grin, grin
Bust it out from ear to ea–ea–ear
Just give me a joyful gri–i–in
And you fill me with good cheer
It’s true, some days are dark and gloomy
And maybe you feel sad
But Pinkie will be there to show you
It really isn’t bad
There’s one thing that makes me so happy
And makes my life worthwhile
And that’s when I talk to my friends
And I get them to smile
Did you finally get that nasty cough
cleared up there, Derpy Hooves?

“Yes, I followed your advice: drank Zecora’s brew, it improves…!” another vocalist had joined in, just as bubbly as the primordial even as the pink photons turned to silver before the corporeal woman’s goldenrod eyes.

Nevertheless, Lyra persisted as Pinkie sang, the lights defaulting back to pink in the process, “your new haircut’s really cool there, Harry: lookin’ superfly!”

“Wow, I can’t believe you noticed…!” a masculine baritone articulated as the photons shifted colors again, this time to a dark umber, “you’re the best friend, Pinkie Pie…!”

“Hey there, miss Tristan, how did Twist do on her last spelling test…?” the primordial singer asked even as the corporeal listener paid no mind.

In any case, the pink photons changed back to brown, this time more lighter and soulful as chocolate with an answer, “thanks for asking, Pinkie Pie: this time, she really did her best…”

“Hey there, Rarity…!” Pinkie had chimed back into the process, something that Lyra could care less about all the same, “I really like your super sense of style…”

“Thank you, Pinkie Pie; you sure do know just how to make me smile…!” a chuckle escaped into the corporeal listener’s ears as the lights became white as ivory, leading her the way throughout.

Lyra’s eyes had relaxed a bit when the photons returned to pinkness again as the primordial singer chirped about no less, “Twilight, here’s that book you wanted: it’s about this great white whale! Hello, there, so nice to see you: wow, I love your shiny scales! Fluttershy, I found a lost friend.”

“Angel…” the titular soprano had replied as the lights briefly became yellow for a bit, “I’ll take care of you!”

“Applejack, tell Granny Smith I loved that tasty Apple Stew; Polo Ponies, best of luck: I know your game will go just great…!” Pinkie sang.

Soon, a trio of masculine voices exclaimed, all of whom were tenors, as the lights flashed in a pattern of red, green, and blue rather slowly, “when we win, we want you here so you can help us celebrate!”

Hey there, rooster, that sure was
A super cock–a–doodle–doo
And, hey cows, I gotta thank you all
For bustin’ out a moo

The primordial singer cheered as the corporeal woman heard a bovine sound off in the process no less

You chickens lay great eggs
and pigs, you really are fine swine
And seeing you all smile is
Really making me feel really fine!
I really am so happy
Your smile fills me with glee
I give a smile, and I get a smile
And that’s so special to me
Thank you all for being friendly
And for making my day bright
Spreading joy out to all my friends
Makes me feel out of sight
Cause I love to see you beam, beam, beam
Tell me what more can I say–ay–ay
Makes me happy when you bea–ea–eam
Yes, it always makes my day

Yes, I love to make you grin, grin, grin
Bust it out from ear to ea–ea–ear
Just give me a joyful grin, grin, grin
And you fill me with good cheer
Come on everybody smile, smile, smile
Fill my heart up with sunshine, shine, shine
All I really need’s a smile, smile, smile
From these happy friends of mine

Every light on the spectrum lit up as even Lyra joined in.

It wasn’t long until the corporeal listener came across the end of the pathway just as the lights abaft her became pink one last time:

Yes, the perfect gift for me
Is a smile wide as a mile
Make me happy as can be
All you have to do is smile
Smile! Smile!

“Now, then Lyra, what will you choose next: an unfulfilled and slain love; a needy and fragile help; or a quiet and still duty…?” yet another feminine voice hissed into the eponymous traveler’s ears as the latter was now presented with a fork upfront: each of them varied in shades of gray so to speak, “choose wisely…”

Taking a deep breath, the corporeal woman trotted towards the most colorful of the grays on the far–left, bluish but otherwise faint; however, as soon as she’d entered the trail, the entrance abaft her begun to give way, swallowing her whole almost instantaneously: afterwards, she’d seen three pairs of eyes lit up afore her, each of which tinted in a solid jade and complete with grins.

“Twinkleshine, Minuette, Bon–Bon; are you three alright…?” Lyra asked them as their faces were directed towards the former at once.

Rather than an answer, they’d said, “you’re not going anywhere…”

“What are you gals saying: what are you talking about; what is this place…?” the woman in gold replied as the trio edged further closer to her without any kind of hesitation whatsoever, “gals, gals, GALS–––”

“I want her…!” Twinkleshine and Minuette hissed as Bon–Bon, dressed in white from top to bottom, had kissed Lyra onto the lips; as a result, the latter was starting to see darkness take reign.