Chapters The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I float. This is a different place.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Now I know who I truly am.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Surviving will be easier now.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Everyone who stands in my way will perish.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I don't mind blood on my claws. Not anymore.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The fog clears. I have been spinning for a while. For how long?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I have arrived in a new place. The mirror was the vehicle.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Where am I?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The place looks like everything is made out of shadows. The houses do, the street does.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I feel at home.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Goodnight. Tomorrow will be a very different day.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The world is bleak and dark. So am I.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The information is still new. Is this why I feel weird?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The shock is hard to shake off. But I accept.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I did not know I am such a monster. Maybe that's why everyone is gone.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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How many people did I hurt?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I don't know it. But I accept.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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You have to follow who you are. It's been like this before the apocalypse.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I still have that traitor's sword. It will eat blood. But first...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I am hungry.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The entire room is black. So is the house.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Will the food be black, too?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It is.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Everything is made of shadows here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They swallow my light. But I can see.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I see myself on my phone. I look different.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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My phone is the mirror now.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I eat. It tastes like real food. But it is all black.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I go outside to explore this place.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Am I the only one here?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The street wobbles a little when I walk on it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Black shapes and white lines around them. Like the world has been painted for me.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It was.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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What am I supposed to find?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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There are no enemies here. But if there were, they would be no problem to take care of. Not anymore.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Three hours and only black houses, black streets, black furniture and black food. It stretches endlessly.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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What's the point?!
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I lie down to sleep in another house, it's all useless. If I don't find something tomorrow, I will tear down the fabric of this zone.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Tomorrow. It's teardown day. Or finding some sense to all this. Your choice, shadow zone.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I want to leave.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I say and a door opens.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It's a portal. The zone listened.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I step out and I'm in Canterlot.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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What I see is tremendous. Tremendously terrifying.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Not much is left. What happened here while I was gone?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The hospital is gone. That means the mirror is, too. But it's fine. The mirror is on my phone now.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A wavering, dark mass of shadows is everywhere. It's what I saw when I was here for the first time, what I didn't want to tell you about. But now I have to.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The world is gone. It really and truly is gone.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Everything is being devoured by the shadows. By the darkness. The fate of my world.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It keeps growing. It grew all the time while I was gone.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Not much is left. But the flesh dragon still towers. The castle is still here. Can you still get there?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Does he finally become blind by looking into this pure darkness?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Where are those foals?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Were they devoured, too? And their mother?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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No. They are dead anyway.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I am a murderer. Soon-to-be. But I relish it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I need to find my way. The castle seems to be a safe place still. Maybe he guards it from the shadows. Maybe they can't go there.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I navigate. A few houses are left, a few streets are. But it's a labyrinth now.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I cannot sleep in one of the houses. The darkness might be there before I awake.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I need to reach the castle first. Then I can sleep.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A foal ghost appears at my side. I'm surprised you're still alive.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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She cackles and chatters and babbles next to me all the time. Annoying.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It didn't feel bad to do that. Just cold.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Now there is silence again. Good.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I want it so. Don't annoy me and you might live.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I have arrived at the castle. Nothing exciting happened in the meantime. Don't worry about it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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You like these stories, do you? Except they are no stories. For me, they are real.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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What have I done?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I put myself to sleep. I'm not locking doors this time. Nothing lives here anymore.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Why regrets? Why would I regret anything? I need to cherish who I am, the dark master of this world.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I should kill the dragon thing. It must obey to my will.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I climb up the tower. I cannot fly, my wings are all rotten now. But I will get there.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The blood gushes into my face when another piece of flesh falls off the dragon. He dies, but I will get him first.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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He carries a lance on his back. A weapon I did not notice the first time.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Will it withstand my sword?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Adhere to your master, foul creature from the depths.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I slash its throat. Flesh parts and I can see its spine. Its as black as its skin.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I jump off and climb back up its rear. He swings his lance, but it doesn't hit me.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I slam my sword into the back of his neck. I will cut off his head.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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He thrashes around and screams. He is furious.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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He can't stop me.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Off his head goes. My trophy.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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His screams stop. There is silence again.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The mass of shadows underneath me moves. They wash against the castle, reach higher and try to grab me. I was right.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I'm in trouble. Where do I go?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I land on the tower and my breath goes strong.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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If I go out now, it won't be without glory. I slayed a boss.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The shadows reach higher. I prevent myself from falling into them, with my last strength. But they will get me.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I was touched. Let it be known that Silverstream slayed an undead dragon, wherever this phone ends up.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It is not over. I see shadows. Houses. I am back there?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I am back in the shadow zone. I am unstoppable.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I can leave at any time. But not now.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The biggest house, befitting for the master of this world.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The dragon head came with me. It will go above the fireplace.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Dark, black fire. A novelty you will only see here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Will you visit one day? You will see the biggest collection of severed heads if you do.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I am the reaper of this world.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Even reapers need rest. But not for long.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I look at my trophy. Soon there will be many more.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I eat and marvel at my success while my body heals. Tomorrow there will be more. I will unleash hell onto this world.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I am back out in Canterlot.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The flesh dragon is gone. He has fallen into the shadows.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I can leave and enter this place just as I please. I only need to say the word.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I'm on a hunt.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It doesn't matter who it is.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I just want to kill. I crave it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Who will be my first victim? Is there anyone still left here?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I bet they hide in one of them.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Scared little ghosts, foals never change.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I will get them, one after another, and I will slice up their insides.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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This time I will be more smart. I will cut off their heads before they can disappear.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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There. In the corner.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Cries and says I killed his friend. How cute.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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His voice is just a whistling and a chirping, the words are only in my head.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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How do they communicate? Soon not anymore.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They jump out and come at me all at once. It was a trap. Fools.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“Revenge” their little voices cry. Not for me.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I only need one swing with my sword and they get smashed away. Was this all?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They lie on the ground, beaten in the dust. Pathetic.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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One after another, I cut off their heads.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I stab one of them in the heart, for fun. She leans back and clenches her teeth, but does not cry. Brave.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They don't die easily.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I rip it out and she stops making sounds. Her friends watch in horror.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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How does a heart taste?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Her body liquifies and she disappears. But my sword is faster.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Another head.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A purple blob splashes to the floor. That's all that remains.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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So small. So little. So dead.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Now they beg for their lives. Their tears evaporate.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It is a joy to see. How they weep and hold onto each other.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Soon, my dears. There will be no one of you left.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I cut out the tongue of another one. No hurt in having fun instead of making it quick.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They squeal like pigs when you stab them.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I stab, cut, slice and rip.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Red, green, yellow, purple, blue, black. Hardly blood. Their remains cover the ground.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I am done here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Do you like what I do with your lessons?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Finally some color here. A sight worth to end the day on.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Everything is crumbling apart. The city falls.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Once I have to leave it, I will search for the traitor. He deserves to go out next.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I hear singing and wailing as the last houses are devoured. The city says goodbye.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Or is someone else here?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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But why would I save them? They mean nothing.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I wander aimlessly. The destination does not matter.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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At my side, Licky kills something in the grass. He hunts. Like I do.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We must be getting somewhere. There is smoke in the sky.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It stings and burns in the eyes.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A city full of factories. That's where the smoke comes from. But who runs them?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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There won't be a place to sleep here. But I have my dimension.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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What are they working on here? What do they produce?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I will find out while I'm here. And the answer won't be pleasant.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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But not today. The travel was long. Back into the shadow zone.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Who works here and why?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Correction: What works here?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It can't be worse than me. So I'm not worried.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The city is full of them. There don't seem to be apartments here. Where did everypony live?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I open the door to a factory. Smoke comes out. It feels hot.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Wire frame walkways everywhere and an endless bottom below. I don't see machines.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The pit glows fire-red.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It's the devil's factory.
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There isn't a way to go down. Probably better.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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But there is a way up.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Stairs. Lots of them.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They lead into different directions. Time to toss a coin.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Pony head means left. One of the lefts, at least. I choose at random.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Much too high and there's no railing. I should be through the roof by now.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Finally a room. Full of computers, but no smoke. Good.
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The computers are all on.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A salad of characters on each screen; letters, numbers, languages I have never seen before.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Do these languages even exist? Maybe they do now.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A loud bang from the door. I kick it open, but no one is there.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I go back inside and lock the door. I am not afraid, but I can't stab or slit something that has no body.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The door bangs again. Repeatedly.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Desperately, like someone needs help. But I know it's a trap.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A pony lies outside the room. Head turned backwards and eyes open.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Guess it wasn't a trap.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The eyes stare at me. Judging. Something is in them.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I see flies. They are everywhere.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They cackle and speak. But I don't understand what they say.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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What is this here?
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I only remember looking at those eyes and now I'm here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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But what is “here”?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A constant buzzing around me. The sounds feel like they tear into my flesh.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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But I can take care of that.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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My sword is gone. And my backpack.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I walk through a cloud of flies. I don't see the end of it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The floor is flies, too. I should fall, but I don't.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Am I inside a corpse?
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I come to a door. But it's locked.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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For some reason, I want to sit down and watch it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Why not? I have nothing to lose, especially no time.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The door is open. When did that happen?
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The flies keep buzzing. Now there are bite marks on my body. Red and itchy things.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I was only watching the light... How much time did pass?
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There are so many things I can't describe here. I wish you could see them. I wish I could record a video for you.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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But my battery says no. I have to be careful.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The light still flashes. The condition of the door does not matter for it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Cables and wires are hanging out of the door. They are red and pink, like bloody intestines.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Maybe I'll discover a new lifeform.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I go through the door. I have nothing else to do. Maybe I'll get my sword back.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Robots everywhere. I have finally found the workers of this factory.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They are driving around on assembly lines. They must be in a hurry to do that.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Bipedal robots, but with wheels where their feet should be. They carry stuff with thin arms and their faces show an expression of suffering.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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That's what this world is, isn't it? Suffering.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I will make them suffer.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Can robots feel pain? It doesn't matter, I will destroy them regardless.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They have taken my sword. They will pay for thiis.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The first one stops to look at me. I grab the bastard.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I take off its outer shell and more of the cable intestines pour out. His face changes. He looks like he is in pain.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They can feel it all, can't they?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I rip at the cables and pull them out, one after another. A shriek I didn't know robots can do and the light in his face goes out.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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No mouth, no eyes anymore. Its face is gone. Just a lifeless shell now. I throw it away, down into that endless pit below us.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They are not defending themselves. Just weak little puppets in my claws.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I have a lot to do here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I look at a massacre. Dead robots are around me, the place is sprinkled with red oil from their bodies and their pink cables.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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This took an entire day. I'm exhausted, but happy.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I still don't have my sword. But I feel better now.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I make myself a bed of cable intestines. They are soft, it turns out.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Licky tries to eat them, then finds out they are not organic. He is cute like that.
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I will sleep on the corpses of my labour. Nothing can hurt me. I am stronger.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I have rested up. This was the best sleep I had in years.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The bastards got what they deserved.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Licky shivers. He is scared. Of what?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I can't feel anything, either. And I don't hear anything. What is the cause?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Come to think of it, it's completely silent.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A weird thing in a factory.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We better get out. The only question is where “out” is.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The assembly lines run around the entire complex. I can't see where they lead.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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But we need to get somewhere. Only one way to find out. We hop onto one of them.
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“Now you see what it means to feel pain!” That curly filly is on a screen.
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She is not a statue? What does she want from me?
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We ride further on the assembly line. The filly is gone.
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This was weird.
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I feel like we're being tricked in some way. Like we're being led into a trap.
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Careful now. Something is going to come.
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We are being delivered into a hall made of white light.
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I'm surprised a light as pure as that still exists in this world.
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“Destroying your eyes like you destroyed his...” The voice of the filly is back. This time I can't see her.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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What is this all about? Whose eyes did I destroy?
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Another of my victims? Is this what mom was talking about? Soon there will be one more. She won't get away with this.
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The light doesn't end, the light doesn't stop. I have closed my eyes now. She won't get me.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I open my eyes and the light is gone. It's pitch-black now.
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It's dark. That's nothing special. Except...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I look at my phone and I see nothing.
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But I can feel it. It's still there.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Licky is gone, too. No. I can hear him. He's here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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But I can't see him. I can hear and I can feel, but I can't see.
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It's not dark. I'm blind.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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How?! My eyes were closed.
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“Do you like how this works?” The sneering voice again. What has she done to me?
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How could she take my eyesight? Did I close them for too long? Has the darkness behind my eyelids taken it?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I panic. But if I find her, I'll kill her.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I walk around what I think is a room.
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I hear hoofsteps. Clickity-clack on metal. They come closer.
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I go into a fighting position. I can't see, but I won't let them win.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The hoofsteps have stopped. It's eerie and silent now.
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But I still feel vibrations. In my claws. I am deaf?
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Deaf and blind, is that a punishment, a revenge?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The vibrations come and go. Something wants to make me nervous.
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I hear again. Just static anymore. So loud that it's in my head. My brain...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I do a step and come out of a door. I can see again.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I have my backpack and my sword is in my left claw. What happened?
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Behind me is the computer room. But I have never entered it again.
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A piece of paper is stuck on its back. “Your Future”, it says.
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I hear a laugh. The maniacal giggling of this filly fills the room. It sounds gleeful and malicious.
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I am supposed to be the villain here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We go down the stairs again, to leave this place. Licky is close behind me. He still acts scared.
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More stairs will be ahead of us. There is more to explore here. I have to find her .
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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But first, I take a nap in the shadow zone. The impressions reach deep.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We go up another set of stairs. Fire engulfs us almost immediately.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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But it doesn't burn. Another trickery by that witch?
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Another door at the end of the stairs. How original.
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Blue painting on the door. The same gibberish.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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What scare game does she play? She won't win.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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There is just a dark abyss behind the door. It leads a few steps into the room, then the floor is collapsed and it all goes down to the bottom.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Bottom, where?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A few computers at the end of the room fall in as the floor collapses more.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We waited. There is no sound coming from them after they disappeared in the dark depths.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
How deep are the depths?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
A gigantic face appears. Translucent, with greyish-pink skin. It opens its mouth wide. I see yellow, stumpy teeth.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The computers are back. We can see them again, the face emits a light. They get swallowed by the thing.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Crunches sound up to us from the depths. But the creature has its mouth still open. It's like there is something else inside of it. Something that eats.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We got bumped and now we fall. I hear the hated giggling from behind.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Open goes the mouth even further. We are a meal.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It was nice knowing you.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Buzzing flies again. We are back where we were before. This is the same place. So it is the body of a corpse.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The floor is soft and squishy. Still covered in flies. Are we walking on an organ, I wonder? Perhaps a lung or intestines?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
You think too much, Silverstream.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
But this is the body of the giant mouth creature. The face. We've been here all along.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Have we been here all along? How long have we been here?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
My mind starts to feel dizzy. Everything is spinning all of a sudden. Could it be...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I still have my sword this time. Guess the magic didn't work well enough to take it away again. Her mistake.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Once I find her, there will be blood.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
What room will we find this time?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
None. It goes deeper down. But not on stairs. It's a free fall.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
A robot flies by and down into the hole. It's more a propeller than anything else.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We grab onto it and hitchhike down. There's no way we could do the jump.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
There is dried blood on the rotor blades, brown and grainy. Like somepony fell into them while they were spinning at full speed.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I am not the only killer here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It's a boring ride. The hole keeps getting deeper and blacker. It's been three hours since we entered. How much deeper does this go?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It feels like we should be out at the other end of the world by now.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I alternate between my claws each time one arm starts to hurt. It's the only way to endure this.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
But there is no sleep. Eight hours of what was once called “night” and this robot is still flying. Will it ever land?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Is there anything to land?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I don't know what would be down here. But maybe that's the plan.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Maybe we should fly here forever until we die from starvation or lose our grip. And our skeletons will fall until the end of time.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Can our bodies even rot down here?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I can't warp into my dimension. Because when I return, we would just fall. Crap. She really got me.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
But would it matter? If we fall forever and there is no end to this pit...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I let go. We fall now and eventually it will bring an answer.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I have seen them before, in that creepy room in the forest. But there is no music this time. Which of them are real?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Or none are.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We keep falling.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We have landed on a beach. It was a soft landing, too.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I am surprised about nothing anymore.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
But it's not a good one. This one radiates evil.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We sit down and eat. I have filled my backpack in my dimension.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I don't worry. Anything that approaches us will eat my sword.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Something comes. Lunchtime for them.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I hear the hooves in the sand, fast and hasty. They are angry.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
My sword clashes against solid metal, but it's not another sword. Her hoof is made of it, somehow.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It's the filly from the forest. The other one. The good one.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
She screams and says I have killed her friends. I don't remember that, but it will be fine. She will be with them soon.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It's a fierce battle, but she is stronger. How?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
She can warp and transform her body by her free will. I stand no chance.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We lie beaten in the dust. My sword is far away.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
She comes, menacingly, a wicked grin on her mouth. My vision went black for a moment.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
My eyes are heavy...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Our limbs are injured. We bleed from many parts.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
A look on my phone says it's been three days since the encounter. I can hardly pull it up.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We have been unconscious for that long?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We're lucky she didn't kill us.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The sand is soaked with our blood. How are we still alive?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I don't know if Licky will make it. If I get her...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I teleport us back into our home. For now, we lick our wounds.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
But she will pay for this.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
And if my pet dies, I will screw off her head and feed her own eyes to her. She is on my list now.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Time to recuperate now. Once we are healed, we will hunt again.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We hunt. We don't know this beach and I can't teleport us anywhere else. But we'll find our way.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It's filly hunting season. She shouldn't think she will get away with this just because she is young.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It's like they're moving somewhere and my light is guiding them. But I won't guide them anywhere. I keep the light on the path.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The moon glistens in the sky. Yes, there is a moon. But I know it's not real. It casts no light on the ground.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
A demonic distraction, nothing else. If we look at it for too long, it will make our eyes fall out. Something like that. We don't look.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The wooden staggerers howl sometimes. I know what they're howling at. They're worshipping that fake moon.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
That must mean its alive. Demonic, like I said.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The ocean is blood, if you wondered. That's probably why their mouths drip blood. They drink it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It reminds me on the trees. Does everything that's made of wood drink blood here?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The ocean at Mount Aris looked normal. Why doesn't it here?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Licky drinks it, of course. He lost a lot of blood, so he can need it. If that's how his body works. But I pass. I have black water in a bottle.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It's still far away. But we will get there.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The lighthouse blows puffs of smoke in the air. It is a machine?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Of course it is. The light must be generated somehow. But this is different.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It's been long enough now.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
But I guess I am lucky and maybe I shouldn't ask too many questions.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
She won't be so lucky. I will be taking care of that.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The landscape stretches out longer and longer. The lighthouse seems to get farther away with each step. But that's probably just an illusion. Or is it?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Everything is possible here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The wicked wood men also don't get fewer. They are lined up all the way to the lighthouse, it seems.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
If everything has no bounds in this world, will we ever reach the lighthouse? Will we ever get anywhere?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It's far away and might get even farther away. But my revenge keeps me going. It gives me strength. We will get there.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
When will it start to rain blood? You'd expect that in the apocalypse.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We keep going. We haven't slept, but we don't need to. Something from the lighthouse fuels us with energy.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It comes from there.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
But it doesn't seem to do anything for the wood men. The light doesn't even reach them.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We want to get there just like they. But only one party is welcome.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
What does it want from us?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Maybe it's the bitch who lures us. But she will regret it if she does.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We are stronger than her.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We are almost there. I will go silent, because we will sneak inside.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We have snuck inside. And what we found is tremendous.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It's tremendously empty. That's what we found. What's the point?!
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We have been lured here and it has all been for nothing?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Are we sure it's no trap? We have searched the entire lighthouse last night, but we found nothing.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
No paintings on the wall, no creepy writing, no mysterious trapdoors, no holes in the ground that lead who knows where. Why are we here?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It's huge, by the way. Which makes it even more weird.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
The Bitch and the Witch.mp3
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Even the singing bitch isn't here. Neither is the witch who made me deaf and blind.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I look out the window. The eyes of the wood men are glowing red now. Are they mad because they can't get here?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Don't worry. You miss nothing here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We have nowhere else to go. Other than the ocean. The land ends here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It shouldn't be. But it does. Don't question it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Should we go into the ocean? It has brought us good so far, it made me find out who I really am. But who knows what lurks in it here... I have hardly seen any of it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We camp here while we ponder that question. Nothing is here, so it will be fine. We are not in danger.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I beg for something interesting to happen, but it doesn't. That's a first.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I teleported us back into my dimension, but when we return, it's always here. I wonder if my powers will grow.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We have the choice between an ocean of blood and...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I don't know what to call it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Nothing and something all at the same time, in the same place... I can't explain it. My brain can't. It makes me feel sick to think about this. My stomach twists.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We have no choice. I was wrong. We can only take our chance in the ocean. It hurts my brain to go there, even thinking about it hurts...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
You need to stop thinking about it, Silverstream. Stop it. Stop it. STOP IT.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I dive headfirst into the blood before I keep thinking about it more. I need to drown out my mind.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I need to stuff my phone into my backpack. I don't know how long it would last in this accumulation of blood. I don't know how long this swim will go, when we will see land again.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We have arrived on a land. A new land. After all that time.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
30 days in the ocean of blood... How can you not become insane by that?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I somehow didn't. Maybe being evil saved me.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It gives me power beyond any belief.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Licky is much stronger now. He has grown, double the size. All the blood helped him. It does get absorbed by his body.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Where are we? The land is covered in fog, wafting before black, crooked trees. There is not much else.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The ground is burnt. Nothing grows here anymore.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Can the world become even deader?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
But something is here. There always is.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Why is everything burnt? Did the lava demon come here? Has it learned to cross the ocean?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Maybe all of the oceans have turned to blood. That would explain it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Blood is thicker than water.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
My body is covered in it. My feathers are sullied. There's nowhere to wash it off.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I still have to kill that thing. The lava demon. Kill the children, kill the mother.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
But first, that insufferable, powerful filly. Where is she? Has she come here, too?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We go and look around. If anything happens, you will hear from me.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We stand on a hill and look at a fortress.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Lights are flickering inside. It must be inhabited.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Who lives in a dead forest like this?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We are going to find out. If they are hostile, they will meet my blade.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Or maybe they'll meet it anyway... hostile or not.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We go down the hill and ever closer.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Down one hill and up another.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It must have been here before it all started. Many hundred years ago.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The doors are open. A stupid thing in the apocalypse.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Now they are not open anymore. We have entered and they closed. We have been awaited?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It is treacherous here. My sword will get work.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
They hide in plain sight, in the walls. But when we get close, they are gone.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Wall shadows. What do they want? Why are they here?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Are these the only ones who live here?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Do they live?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
A bed is in the tower. Freshly-made. We have been awaited.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I take the bait. They have nothing to resist my sword.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Tomorrow we will know. Good Night.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
“They occupy this place. It's their home.” I woke up with these sentences in my head.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
They are waiting for something.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
What do they want?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
They are not alive. My sword won't get anything to do here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It's fresh.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Now they all start singing. A creepy chant leaves their throats. If they have something like that.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
What do you want from me? Should I avenge you? This isn't my task.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I'm on a killing mission. Your fate does not concern me.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Now they howl and disappear. Are they disappointed? It's not my problem. I am not their angel of revenge.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We leave this place. I can smell something. It's the stench of that filly who has more power than she should have.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Time to follow the trail. With some luck, we'll be killing tonight.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Her stench is foul. To me it is.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We have been searching for the whole night. We found nothing. Dead trees and burnt soil where we look.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Did she do this, too? No, she isn't like me. She is an angel of good. And that will make it all the more interesting to kill her.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
My sword is ready. It lusts for blood.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Giggling and snickering all around us. It suddenly started.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
“Oh, Silverstream... You have finally come here. Aren't you glad? We will meet, at last.” I know this voice. It's the witch from the factory.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Good to me. Then she willl be the first to die.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
“Oh, just look at you. The great friend has arrived.” There she stands, with her pink coat and her curly, blue mane. Now I know who she is.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Her blade clashed against mine. But I am stronger.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
She screams and yells wild accusations. Some are true. And soon there will be one more.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
She thinks she is a good fighter. Revenge makes blind.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Only one swing with my sword and her wings are cut off. No flying anymore, bitch.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
She lies beaten on the scorched ground. Blood leaks from the holes in her back, enough to fill a small pond with. She looks at me with widened, shocked eyes. Her entire body is shaking. “You are evil.” Her last words.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I stabbed my sword through her heart and ended it. It was more mercy than she deserved for the trouble she caused me. But the breaking of her eyes was worth it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
One target down, one target left.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Or maybe one more today.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The singing bitch who nearly killed us stands in the distance. The filly with the holy attitude. She stares at us with no expression, but looks somehow sad. Now tears leak from her eyes. I will give her a reason to be sad.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I charged at her and she just disappeared. Coward.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The hunt continues. But first, we celebrate this victory. In the place where I control the shadows.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We are back in the shadow zone. Her head hangs with the others now. Licky gets the rest of her miserable body. We both have a feast today.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I have one enemy less. But I will never run out of them.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Nothing but a skeleton is left of her now. I throw it out. Licky did a fine job.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The burnt forest looks different now. Chunks are missing from the trees. It looks like they're disintegrating. Faces are in their barks. Their mouths are open like they're screaming and they look at me with judging eyes.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The old Silverstream would have been scared. But not me.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I want more. Give me more of their faces, give me more of their blood. Give me more of their heads to hang upon my fireplace. It makes me thrive.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Is this what I wanted? But whatever awaits me, I will be ready.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The impact has been hard. More flesh falls off and the bones have splintered on the bare part of my face.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
We're standing on a street. I see a church.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Who will survive in a world made of shadows?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I will.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Red, demonic light pours out of the church's windows. I hear singing. Deep chanting of the unsettling kind.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
A horned demon sits on a throne that was once an altar. He asks me what I do in his domain. I ask him what he does in mine.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The answer amuses him. I am being invited to feast at the table.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Shrieking, chattering demons all around me. Big and small. They burp and fart. One of them thinks it's funny to rip off flesh from his own arm. The others cheer and laugh.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
They have gone mad. Even the demons from the depths cannot deal with what the world has become.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
They won't have to cope for long anymore. I'll take care of it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The Sign of the Order is being rolled into the room. Fires flare up everywhere. I am surprised...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The traitor is tied to it. So we meet again.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
A demon sticks his claws into his stomach, stirs around in it, then pulls out bloody bits and threads. Only for the wound to close again, the intestines returning to where they belong. Then it starts again. This is what hell must look like.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It seems I am on a rescue mission now... This will be fun.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
First I need to gain their trust. This will take a while.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I could of course kill them all. And I will. But it's going to be more fun this way.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Kill them when they trust you. They won't see what's coming. The next days will be a delight.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Vicić says he is good at gut sewing. The conversations you have with a demon.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
They say they'll make a tapestry out of Rumble's guts.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
At the time of the former sundown. I have a time limit.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Where do I go first?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
They keep the key to his cell in a strange place. Many of them guard it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I'm a newcomer. A stranger. They won't let me in so easily if I say I want to have some fun with him, too.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Many rooms, many corridors. But why are they hiding the key so well? A lot of organization for a pack of uncivilized demons.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I have to ask each of them something. If they answer right, they'll let me in. But shouldn't they ask me a question? What a weird world this has become.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I have to think of questions. I'm not in the mood for guessing games. They have all become insane.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Let's make this easy.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
What says the crocodile to the rhinoceros?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
He got it right. “Rhinoplasty doesn't make me want to eat you more” was the right answer.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
A bad joke. But anything that gets me out of this hole fast enough.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
There are seven more corridors. I spare you the details of it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
What a mad show. But there's a solution.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I slit all their throats. My path is covered in bodies.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Now only the guard is left. Rumble's eyes look delicious as he sees how I stab him from behind and rip out his heart.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Turning the key was hard. The door is massive.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I got the traitor out. Now we flee. I hear roaring from behind, from the big guy.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I report back when we got out.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
It was a nice battle, I only wished I would have killed the bastard alone.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
My dark powers impressed him even more. He never saw a creature getting sucked up by shadows and then return like nothing happened.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
He's asking a lot of questions. I'm not here to answer any of them.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Let's impress him with my battle abilities.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I drew my sword and held it at his throat.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I could just kill him while he sleeps. But killing a worthless outsider like him is more fun that way.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
He finally draws his sword. Let's see what a good fighter he is.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Our blades clash. Metal on metal, sparks are flying.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
He keeps asking why I'm doing this and what happened to me. I'm evil, bastard.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
He wears armor now and that makes it harder. But I'm going to win.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
His blade scratched my arm and blood is splashing. Not enough to make it dysfunctional.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I keep closing in on him, with fast, brutal strikes of my sword. He blocks and counters.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
He fights well for a worthless existence from the streets. But worthless stays worthless.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I stabbed his chest through a gap in his armor. He bleeds, but keeps standing.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Not long anymore.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
How does it feel, being beaten by someone with skill and a future?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
I cut off his tail after another series of clashes. Not enough.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
He is breathing harder and getting slower. Almost my victory.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
Finally die.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
He stands there, propped on his sword, breathing heavily and bleeding from many wounds. Victory.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
.
The traitor pleads for his life. He tells me that I'm not evil. He still doesn't understand. Pitiful.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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He saved my life. Very true. And a mistake.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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His head is being held up by my claws gripping his mane. My biggest enemy is finally dead.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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You'll get the highest spot above my fireplace. Not worthy of you, but worthy of my achievement.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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This church is now mine. I should stay here for a while.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The cells of the demons stink like hell. I'll have to muck them out.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The traitor's tail makes for a good broom. You are useful for something, after all.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Does using a corpse without head as broomstick make me like them? Probably, but it's fun to use the traitor for that.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Open the windows to let in the cool air of the darkness.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The corpse goes out the window. So do the demon bodies.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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This is a church of The Order. Now it's back to whom it truly belongs.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The kitchen is stuffed. Turns out these demons can also eat normal food.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A document, with a very important seal on it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“In the olden times, Equestria was not ruled by one, but two regal alicorn sisters, who had vowed to create harmony for the land. The eldest used her powers to...” I already know this. Comet Tail showed his writings to me. They knew what would happen?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Why didn't The Order try to stop it?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I don't get an answer on the question. A sharp wind suddenly picks up, it blows away the documents and knocks down shelves.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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In the middle of the wind stands she, that filly from the forest. She asks me why I murdered “Scootaloo”.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Oh, that flightless excuse for a bird. She got in with the wrong people. She didn't deserve better.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I draw my sword by surprise and attack, but she blocks with a hoof made of pure metal. She disappears again.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I am not finished here before she isn't dead. Revenge is best served cold and that's what I will do.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It will take time to clean up that mess. But the archives of The Order need to be tidy and unblemished.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I am the only one left. But I have my own mission now. I don't feel bound to this religion anymore.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I need to find this filly and end her. This is the only thing that counts.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We have left the church and continue. A sign here says “Hills of the Wolves”.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I can't tell if this has been here before the apocalypse already or not.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I just slayed demons from the deepest depths. What can wolves do to me?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We hear them howling. They are already here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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What are they? Not normal wolves, because all animals are dead.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We won't, though. My power will make sure of it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I still don't know where we are. Since we fell down the pit in this factory, we are lost in unknown places.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It can't all be another illusion, can it? I hope not, it would make my victories worthless. But if it is, I'll find the one who's responsible for tricking my mind and show them the consequences.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A wolf comes close to us. He's enormous, as black as the darkness and his mouth is dribbling with blood.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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He opens his mouth and a mix of screeching, metallic machine sounds and ape noises comes out. It's like he's speaking to us, but I don't understand this.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It creeps me the fuck out.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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He trots away again after giving us a deprecating look. He knows who it shouldn't fight.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Hills after hills after hills. We are under way for hours now and see no end.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Sometimes glowing eyes in the darkness and we know what they are.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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But no progress. Are we only here to be watched?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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There is no point in continuing today. I go and rest in the shadow zone. This is where they have no power.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We have finally seen another wolf. The same as yesterday, deprecating look and machine sounds.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They hate us. But why?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It's like they know what I did.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I hear a shiphorn. It's coming from far away.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I never heard something creepier.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Another wolf appears. He slowly walks in front of us, sometimes looking behind. Does he want us to follow him?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We walk for hours. The wolf is still there.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We reach a coast. A ship lies anchored here. The wolf stops right in front of it and turns around.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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He wants us to leave. We are not welcome, apparently.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Neither is this place welcome with me. We go onto the ship.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It's old and rusty. It's not big either. It moves by itself once we are on board. The old motor is rattling. And the shiphorn still works.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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So this is our voyage. Our new journey. Where will it bring us?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Day 3 on the ocean. There is not much to tell.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The ocean is not made of blood here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I can't teleport into my shadow dimension here. The ship would probably continue without us then.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I don't mind swimming here, but I can't tell how far the way would be.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A tropic beach would be nice. But I probably won't find this here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I could take a dip in the ocean, to wash off the blood. But the ship moves too fast for that.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I will be surprised if we get onto another land.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Something is predictably wrong here.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The shiphorn is calling something.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Is something on its way?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Howling in the darkness. I can't tell how far away.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Not like the wolves. It's different.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I thought we are being brought somewhere, but maybe something is being brought to us.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I shine my flashlight into the darkness at full intensity, but nothing.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We are being watched. I just know it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It skulks in the darkness. Waves are being whipped up as something moves.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It circles around the ship. I can hear it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Lightning flashes in the sky. A thunderstorm?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Is this the last, natural source of light that is left?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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But I hear no thunder. This is not natural.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Something wants to get us. The water isn't safe. But neither is this ship.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The waves lick at the ship stronger and stronger. Something moves the water. Something huge.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It's lurking for us in the darkness, but it does not come closer.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We should be afraid before we die. But I am not.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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There will be a way out of this. I am the master of this world. Nothing can beat me. You won't get me.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Day 3 of being stalked. The thing in the water wants to make us scared. Fear is its power.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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If there were a moon in the sky, we would see a shadow that blocks it. I'm sure.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I destroyed the shiphorn to not reveal our position any longer. But can it see in the darkness?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It probably can't. Why else would the shiphorn call it then?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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What steers this ship? The bridge is empty and there is no one in the cargo or on deck.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I would steer it myself, if I knew where to go.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A tentacle grabbed the ship, but I cut it off with my sword.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We are under attack.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A loud, triumphant laugh surrounds us. Something thinks it wins.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The ship is being pulled under water, by a force we can't see. We have no choice. We jump.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The suction of a vortex pulls us down. We can't escape.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We arrived in a wet and empty place. There is no water anymore. But...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The ground is squishy and warm. We walk on something that feels organic.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Red walls and an unbelievable stench. I can hear something pounding in the distance. Small vibrations everywhere.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I hear something else... Voices?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“We had hopes in you and you failed us.”
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Failed, who? Who is talking?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“I just wanted you to set things right.”
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I record these voices, but they don't make sense.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“I gave you a chance because I believed in you, but you didn't take it.”
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“We are lost without you, why didn't you help?”
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“You dropped us when we needed you, killed us, and now it is too late.”
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“The world falls with you.”
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“Now your justice comes.”
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I sink to the soft ground on wobbly knees. My mind slips away as the light penetrates my skull.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I am being woken up. The light is still there.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A voice calls out for me. Strong and powerful. But are they more powerful than I am?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I reached for my sword, but it is gone.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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My backpack too.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I won't need it anymore, a voice tells me. A different voice.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Who is talking?!
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The light finally dims. Shadows poke out of a gloomy half-darkness.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They all sit around me and look at me. I can't see their eyes, but I feel them.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They make me scared. I haven't felt scared since...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Licky is at my side. The only one left.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A voice bellows down at me. My sentence has come, it says.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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They sit at high tables, made from fine, ornamented wood. The walls look refined. I can see that in the light that is available.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A task I failed to perform. Kindness and help.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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There are six. They all look completely different.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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One is a pony. But the others...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“Kindness not provided to one who lost a great friend.”
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“Loyalty stripped from those who loved you and relied on you.”
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“Generosity that has been abused.”
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“Magic wasted and rejected in favor of darkness.”
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“Honesty faked for a darker gain.”
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“Laughter not given to the hearts of those who suffered.”
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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My verdict. My soul stripped from my body and plunged into the ether realms. But do I have one?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A hoof turned to metal stabs my heart. Blood leaks from my disfigured beak, but I don't give them the benefit of a scream.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I hear her voice again. “I'm sorry.” It becomes quieter. This is my verdict.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We are falling, but we have seen the stars. I didn't know they are down here. Or is it another illusion?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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From the corner of my eyes, I see Licky launching another attack. But he gets smashed away.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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There are these staggering figures all around us. Black and they look like thin wooden poles that have been nailed together randomly. Their mouths dribble with blood and they only move if my light falls on them. Are they her army? But they don't attack us.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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There's a lighthouse in the distance. Now there is some light.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I still wonder how there can be electricity. You would think the generators would stop working in an apocalypse. Least after a while.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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What am I looking at? Is this an illusion? No... Because when there is an illusion, there is nothing. But there is something here. And at the same time, there's not. How can there be something and nothing at the same time?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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If I could record a video for you, then you could see it and I wouldn't have to try to explain it. But this would make nothing better. You couldn't explain it, either.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Can I even breathe in an ocean of blood? There is only one way to find out and I have to find out. I rather choke than going into the creepy, brainfucking place. If it even is a place... but it has to be. It's a place and at the same time it isn't...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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When I walk out of the tower, they stand in the walls and look at me, silent and unmoving.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The basement of the castle is full of torture devices. Blood is on them, a lot of blood.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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“Slaughtering all of your friends... how could you?” She speaks in a split tongue. I have never slaughtered friends of mine. “Oh, but you were in the process of it, weren't you, Silver? Everypony knows, the princess knows, your teacher does, I do. Did you know that he was my friend, too?” She suddenly charges.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We have been listened to. The ground opened and a black hole appeared. Now we're falling again.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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By now, I don't know anymore where we are. But does it really matter in this world? Soon, the shadows will have devoured everything.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I got the key. It's heavy and encrusted with blood. Now they're all patting my shoulders and say I'm one of them. This is how you make friends with demons?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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We slayed the big guy, the leader of the demons.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Rumble looked so confused when I said that I'm taking the head of the demon lord with me. If only he knew that his head will be next.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I am searching the archives. I need to know what writings of The Order these demons left behind.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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She says she gave me a chance and asks why I didn't take it. I'll show her.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I found another document. It speaks of the three seals that a member of The Order must open. Did they leave this behind for me?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Where does it even bring us? Why does it move by itself? My instinct tells me bad things.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The horn keeps blaring, then something responds. It goes on and off, then on again. It's unsettling how we never see anything, but know that something is around us.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A bright light is being shone at us. It hurts my eyes. My head explodes in pain and my stomach revolts.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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This filly from the forest appears in front of me, sudden and unexpected. She is sorry, she says.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
The Reaper of Darkness (Prologue)
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Something has changed. Another evil has entered our world. I could feel it, could sense its impact when it hit our once innocent soil. It happened far away, there is no imminent danger for us. But something will come.
How could I feel it? Am I now connected to the evil forces that plague our world? Have I gone too far, has my research been too deep and I looked into the abyss more than sanity advises? Maybe something was passed on to me... Or... the impact of the new, unholy arrival has been strong enough that it could be felt even here, in Canterlot, the center of our power before it got taken from us. It was felt in the body and sensed in the soul...
I am frightened. I pray that the creature from the clocktower has not been released... but when did prayers ever live up to the hope they gave us? Time and space have no meaning anymore in this world, but even if it left this city, it might return.
The future looks bleak. If there is still such a thing as future... This city has almost been destroyed and I cannot stay here for much longer. Soon the walls of the dimension I have created will crumble and fall apart. The powers here are growing. I don't know what it is that they are trying to build, but it grows, becomes bigger and stronger every moment, with every stroke of quill that I leave on this parchment. They will find me soon and then there will be no safe place here anymore.
I have been looking for survivors. It was a foolish risk and I knew I would not be able to stay with them for long, but I needed to know if anyone else had been bestowed with the same luck, or misfortune, to survive the coming of darkness, to weigh my options and figure out what could be done to help our bleeding world. I was successful.
I have found two survivors, a young hippogriff from the realm of Aris and a grey pegasus colt. I only know the colt. He worked as the royal chef in Canterlot Castle before all of this began. Now they are also trapped in this hellscape that has engulfed our world. I don't know what chooses who or what survives... There has been a cave, near the tainted graveyard... When I explored it, I discovered bats, an entire colony, and they looked just like before. It is the biggest mystery, how some survive and some don't, but maybe the answer, the salvation I seek, is contained therein...
The colt worries me and deprives me of sleep. He is surrounded by an aura of death. My magic shows a black heart, my cards always reveal the reaper. Who is he? Has The Third One sent him to oversee her work? Has he come from the black depths of space to help keep the machinations of the darkness running? I don't know what role he plays, but I should warn his companion. Nothing makes me confident that he can be trusted.
Soon, something will come. The sirens blare every day now. The little ghosts become restless. They play with their mother, the lava beast from under the ground, their eternal game of death and resurrection. But something has them act different now. They look up at the sky that once was, momentarily distracted in their game, like the salvation will come from there. But do they care about salvation? Are they as lost as we are or part of the fiendish system? Are they, perhaps, the last innocence of the old world that is left?
Who are they? Who is the beast made of fire, whom they have so unbefittingly chosen as their mother? And what is the meaning of their endless play? Could there be an answer in all this? Could they be the answer? Maybe my mind is getting devoured by the madness around me...
I don't know how long I will still hold out. I desperately search for answers, for signs that something good is still left in the world... But all seems to be in vain.
The hippogriff is a lone survivor, like I am, but much less knowledged... What could she do? Her friend and companion seems to be a piece of darkness that took shape, nothing more. Just another, deadly hindrance in this world... What remains?
The purple mare in the mountain... If she is freed, there will be complete destruction. This world will cease to exist then. A part of my mind, a treacherous voice from deep within, has started to tell me this might be for the best... Because, can anything really save us? Have we not been pushed too far into oblivion that any tiny amount of hope is nothing but a torture of the soul? Empty promises broken each time the darkness manifests itself more? Maybe what we should hope for is destruction, maybe we should welcome it and seek salvation in another world and in another life... Our souls are immortal.
My heart refuses. What mind of mine decays, hollowed out by the merciless foes, is being compensated by my love for our true world. We have defeated so many enemies, saved our world countless times when it was at the brink of destruction... Should this really be the end of all things? It cannot be.
I will keep searching for our salvation. And once I die, I will lay this mission into the claws of the brave, young hippogriff.
Hope is what separates us from them. I will not let it be taken from me.
Comet Tail, Astronomer and Historian, 1038 ANM
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I have killed these things before. But now it will be a joy.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I am tired. Why?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It doesn't matter. I can sleep in every house here. This place is mine.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Everything moves. The shadows float and drift. The houses feel solid, but they don't look like it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Become a ghost and then die again. Funny how that goes. Least I won't have to kill them.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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With a mighty swing, I struck her with my sword and slice her up in the middle. She cries out, screams and disappears. A yellow goo splashes to the ground.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Now I know what this place is for.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The houses here still stand. But the mass keeps spreading.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I grab one of them and throw her into the shadows. There are many of them. One head less makes no difference.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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I hear a cry, but I don't care. Time to leave this place of misery for one the darkness has not reached.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A thing I did not expect at the beginning of all this was to find infrastructure.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Looking into them makes me feel dizzy. But it's probably fine. Corpses can't hurt you.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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A red light flashes above it.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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There are markings on the door, drawn with something brown. I can spot an X. But I don't know how to describe the rest of them.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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There is nothing dangerous here. At least nothing we can see...
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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Terrible, loud screeching, like a computer that has gone nuts. Distorted computer signals. My ear drums feel like they're going to pop.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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But it's blinding me... Does something want to destroy my ears and my eyes? Is that the plan?
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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The corpse is still there. Now its eyes are gone and blood leaks out of its ears.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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It's all just smoke and mirrors. She can't scare me that way. My sword will pierce her heart.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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She stands behind the door. And then goes up in smoke. Just like I said.
The Sky is Gone: Acceptance
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My head hurts. I keep falling unconscious in this place. Is it the magic of that witch that does that? Once I catch the brat, I'll make her pay.