Day Thirty Six

A great explosion rocked the world. It sent out shockwaves of purified magic throughout the entire planet. Unicorns across Equestria suddenly found themselves reverted to something approximating ‘normal’, and the other races were left to step out into the dusk air and wonder if they were truly safe.

One pony laid at the edge of a river bank at the base of the mountain that once held the city of Canterlot. She had been in and out of consciousness for the past several days and had been awake long enough each time to weakly drink the water from the river as it lapped at her face. A wound on her head had stopped bleeding some time ago, but the pain and effects did not cease.

The shockwave reached her sooner than some others and it shocked her system. The broken horn on her head could not drink up the magic like it was meant to if it was whole, but the latent effects from being suddenly surrounded by clean magic would shock anypony back awake. It was just something ponies were attuned to.

The unicorn’s head lifted slowly and her vision slowly came into focus. Above her was no longer the bright blue sky that she had been baking in for days, now it was a sky full of oranges and purples, the sign of a setting sun. In fact, in the distance, she could see the sun peeking just above the horizon.

It was a miracle.

Before the mare could stand, she crawled towards the river and drank from its cool water. The waterfall that had been feeding it was no more, evaporated by the onslaught that melted the city of white and gold above. She still stole from its banks and drank as much as she could before she forced herself to stand.

Her hooves were shaky and unsure as she took to them. Something was wrong with her equilibrium and it caused her to wobble a bit. Her electric eyes went to the mountain that towered over her and she saw nothing on its peak, not even a peak at all. The top of the once iconic mountain was flat and it glistened in the late day sun like glass.

There were a few moments where the mare’s brain spooled up and began to think. That was when the memories all came flooding back. A sense of immense betrayal settled in her gut and whatever heart had remained in her chest shattered. It was not a new feeling, but it was one she had not experienced since her foalhood. She had hoped not to experience it again. Yet here she was, just as heartbroken and defeated now as she had been then.

She was a filly once more, sitting in the forest outside of a little village and screaming at the Ursa Minor who had taken her horn to finish the job. She was a mare sitting at the base of a mountain, weeping as she realized the only friend she had ever known betrayed her. Now and then, she was bitter and full of questions. She was mad at a world that did not make sense and whose violence seemed cruel and random.

She was just as lost and hopeless now as she was then.

Author's Note

Definitely a much different story than And Hell Followed, or at least I think so.

Rose has been my favorite OC to write. Like, ever. Her arc has been something new and unconventional for me but it's been insanely fun to craft and work with. Even if you hate her, which you should, I hope you enjoyed her story as much as I have.

I've wanted to tell a story set in Canterlot since I finished 'And Hell Followed'. This story was never supposed to be this long. What started in my head as a one-shot, evolved into what was supposed to be a 20k story and snowballed into something that is only a few thousand words short of AHF's length. I don't regret it, though.

Please, tell me what you think.