My Little Pony: Magic Ripped Away

Chapters

Ch. 1: Activation
Ch. 2: Setting Off
Ch. 3: Ponyville
Ch. 3.1: Unknown Tragedy ||TW: Gore||
Ch. 4: Rest and Recovery

Ch. 1: Activation

It was a perfect sunny afternoon in Equestria. Ponies were outside enjoying the beautiful summer heat, basking in the sun with friends and family alike, creating new memories, and forging new bonds. The pegasus forecast stated that the weather was to maintain its perfection for the next few days at best, so ponies had plans for those few days, and for a certain group of six, it was certainly no different.

On a hill under a large grand oak, a red and white picnic blanket was set across the grass in the shade, and two baskets full of an assortment of goodies were placed within. Giggles and chuckles came from the six ponies who sat, stood, or hovered nearby, all of them clearly enjoying their day.

“So, I, of course, being the mare I am, told her to kindly take her bits and leave or else I would take action myself.” Rarity said, holding her muzzle high, snorting before giggling. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pony give me such a shocked face.”

Twilight chuckled at the words, looking over at Rarity. “Well, I don’t think many ponies have ever pushed you that far. I mean, when was the last time you’ve snapped at a pony beside her?”

“Well, you’re right, I suppose I do not often show the average pony my true colors,” Rarity agreed, tapping her chin with a hoof. “It’s bad for business, really.”

“Pssh, and what? You’d let that pony trample all over you just so she could get what she wanted?” Rainbow Dash waved a hoof and shook her head, her eyes blazing. “Oh, you’re lucky you’re so patient. I would’ve kicked their flank and sent them on their rump on the streets!”

“You’re exaggerating, dear,” Rarity said, looking over at Rainbow for a few seconds before looking away. “Actually, I don’t think you are…”

“I’m not, because I can’t handle spoiled ponies as well as you can,” Rainbow responded, crossing her hooves. “I’m not made for the stuck-up noble business.”

“Same here,” Applejack said from Rainbow’s left, sitting and eating a slice of apple pie. She swallowed before speaking again. “Your patience is something to be admired, Rares. Honestly, with how Canterlot nobility is, I don’t think anypony would miss ‘em if they were gone.”

Rarity chuckled before pushing a hoof through her mane, flipping it back. “I guess I do have more patience than the common pony.” She said, wearing the praise like a golden medal.

“No, you guys haven’t seen the truest patient pony!” Pinkie Pie suddenly butted in, drawing everypony’s attention. “I mean, duh, she’s sitting down right next to us!”

“Who’s that, Pinkie?” Twilight asked, tilting her head as she watched Pinkie wave her hooves around like she was about to do a magic trick.

“A pony who never gets mad at friends and foes alike, a pony willing to deal with a horde of upset ponies just to calm them down and get some peace and quiet! A pony so kind and compassionate that not even the most villainous villain has ever backed her into a corner! Of course, I’m talking about…!” Pinkie Pie continued to wave her hooves around in circular motions as a drumroll from nowhere played, no doubt drawing everypony’s attention as she suddenly shot her hooves out and pointed at a specific pony. “Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy’s ears perked as her face reddened. “M-Me!? Patient? No… I don’t think I’m that patient. Oh, I could hardly stand to be in a crowd of angry ponies for longer than a few seconds…” She lowered her head to the ground and Pinkie shook her head.

“Nonsense! You did it just last week! Remember when everypony was about to lose their minds after Carrot Top didn’t harvest her carrots on time? It was like a horde of angry mares and stallions threatening to topple civilization! But you calmed them down and reassured them that Carrot Top was working her hardest to get all the carrots ready to be sold.” Pinkie Pie rattled off, making everypony else nod and hum in agreement.

“Truer words have never been spoken, Flutters,” Applejack nodded her head and smiled. “I ain’t ever met a pony as kind and as patient as you.”

“Seriously, we’d never ever replace you for anypony else!” Rainbow Dash flew over to Fluttershy and landed next to her, bumping her slightly. “You rock, Flutters.”

Fluttershy didn’t know how to react to the sudden amount of praise and kindness sent her way, so she just whimpered happily, tears in her eyes, as she smiled up at them. “Thank you, girls… y-you don’t know how much that makes me happy.”

Twilight nodded as well, dipping her head slightly. “There’s no need to thank us, Fluttershy. You’re as important as any of us. Without you, we’d be nothing.”

“Agreed, darling,” Rarity stepped forward, flipping her mane before smiling down at Fluttershy. “Honestly, to have you at the boutique with me… oh, I’d shower you with affection! You’d be able to help out with so many things, especially with dress designs. Have I ever told you how much your opinions helped with my dresses? They…”

The conversation faded into incoherent praise and ramble, the six ponies sitting, talking, and eating whilst enjoying the feel of the warmth in the air and the gentle breeze that would pass through every so often, chilling them enough to counteract the heat that built. It was a perfect sunny afternoon in Equestria…

But the atmosphere began to change, slowly, subtly, the wind’s gentle chill dying and the warmth of the air losing its soft invitation. The conversation amongst the six ponies died down as the feel of the air changed, causing none to escape the shiver that overcame them.

“Is it just me, or… did the world just get weird?” Rainbow Dash said, flapping her wings once with idle worry as she began to trot in place, looking around. The others agreed, the change, whilst slow, was still sudden, and the environment around them began to feel… unwelcoming. They’ve all lived here for many years, excluding Twilight who was basically as familiar with the town and its surrounding fauna and flora as them, but never have they ever felt something like this before.

“No, it’s not just you, Rainbow…” Twilight’s voice trailed off as she looked around nervously, her wings twitching as she felt a minute difference in the air outside of just the temperature and wind. The magic. It felt… off. Slow, wrong, and dare she say it… horrifying. The change in the flow of magic in Equestria was no laughing matter, and her brain instantly kicked into overdrive. Something was very, very wrong, and this time, it wasn’t just a weather factory malfunction. Could it be a monster? No, the change was too widespread. A spell? No unicorn could change the weather this much, not even Twilight could and she was an alicorn. A villain? The only villain she could think of that could do this was Discord, but not only was he reformed, but this wasn’t his style. “Do you feel that, Rarity?”

“Yes, I do. I’m not as well-versed in the magic science as you, Twilight, but…” Rarity shivers involuntarily, feeling a wave of nausea pass over her. “Talk about wrongness like I’ve never felt before.”

But if they thought they were feeling it bad, Pinkie Pie began to spaz out, her tail, legs, and entire body twitching wildly. “I’ve never felt a Pinkie Sense reaction like this before, and I thought I knew ‘em all!” She said, only slightly panicked as she recovered from the episode. “But, my senses are telling me that… something big is about to happen!”

“Like what, Pinkie?” Applejack asked, hoping for at least some sort of clue in the matter, but before she could get a response, that’s when they heard it. A low, deep thrum, flooded their bodies, the air crackling with sudden tension as the noise only began to rise, the noise growing louder, the pitch growing higher.

“What… is that?” Fluttershy whimpered, her ears pinned against her head as she shivered, her body low to the ground as the very atmosphere trembled under the onslaught of the noise.

“I don’t know…” Twilight took a step back, her mind only finding blanks as she tried to understand what was making the noise. She’d never heard such a powerful, widespread noise like this before.

The thrum grew only louder, the pitch rising exponentially as the entire world seemed to pause in anticipation, the tension growing thick enough to cut with a butter knife, but then… it stopped at its peak. Everypony held their breath, sensing as if this wasn’t the end, but instead, the beginning.

“Is it over?” Rarity breathed out, not daring to move a step. The group was silent for a few seconds longer before it all came crashing down. With a loud, inverted screech, the air itself seemed to split, everypony screaming as pain washed over them. Their bodies warped and strained under the sudden intense force that tore into them, all of them collapsing onto the ground. Twilight in particular screamed the loudest, translating her pain into vocalization. All in the span of less than five seconds, she felt all of the magic inside of her coil up in her extremities, the feeling similar to fire before it all exploded outward explosively. Her hooves split and cracked, her wings flared, her feathers snapped and bent with excessive force, and her horn cracked right down the middle, the tip of her horn snapping off as her magic aggressively escaped her body, disappearing into the air before it all ended, leaving Twilight on the ground motionless, the pain still pulsing in her body in fast waves, her breathing rapid and ragged as she tried to comprehend it, failing miserably as she stared up at the sky.

The world was silent for the next 15 seconds, Twilight coming to grips with the pain coursing through her before she rolled over, her muscles screaming in protest as she rolled onto her stomach, her legs splaying in every direction around her, but in this new position, she saw her friends.

Applejack was on the ground on her side, her hooves cracked violently, all four bleeding minorly, but she was more importantly unconscious, sending a shiver of worry down Twilight’s spine.

Rainbow Dash was on the ground, her wings splayed open, revealing her now-damaged cerulean feathers, every single one bent, torn, or split in a different way. Her eyes were locked on the sky, her magenta eyes wide and shaking with trauma, but her hooves weren’t cracked.

Rarity was unconscious on the ground on her stomach, her horn horribly cracked in three places, more than one piece of it having chipped off and fallen to the ground. Her breathing was quick and shallow as she lay there, making Twilight grimace.

Pinkie Pie was lying there, her hooves cracked and bleeding minorly, staring off into space on her side, her breathing quick yet steady.

Fluttershy was lying on the ground, unconscious, her wings in a similar state of disrepair to Rainbow Dash’s, but then her eyes shot wide open, her blue eyes shaking, her pupils shrunk to pinpricks as she took a deep, shuddering breath. “AAAAHHHHH!!!” She let out a screech full of nothing but raw, unfettered pain, her body trembling as she rolled over, her wings flopping around uselessly as she screamed again, squeezing her eyes shut as tears poured down her face.

Applejack’s eyes shot open at Fluttershy’s screams, quickly flying to her hooves before stumbling onto the grass, hissing in pain as she took in the extent of the damage to her hooves. “Dammit… ow…”

Pinkie Pie, however, stood up slowly, her broken hooves compressing under the weight of her body, drawing a wince from her as she walked over to Fluttershy, limping heavily. Once she reached her side, she collapsed next to her and began to speak soothing words. Fluttershy’s screams lessened, going from loud screeches to pitiful sobs and whimpers as she held her face in her hooves.

Twilight watched all of this happen, looking down at her own fractured hooves and her two shattered wings, wincing as she stood. The pain was nearly unbearable, but she stood tall, feeling her body wobble, weaker than usual. She looked up, saw the broken tip of her horn barely at the top of her vision, and grimaced at the sight. It’s fine, all of this can be fixed with a spell…

Twilight gasped loudly, stumbling back, drawing the attention of Applejack. “No, no, no…” Twilight mumbled, shaking her head as she looked at the ground, her body shaking.

“What… is it, Twi…?” Applejack strained out, finally getting to her hooves and balancing herself.

“My magic, all of it…” Twilight looked up at Applejack with a terrified look in her eyes, her purple eyes widened to the limit. “It’s gone.”

Ch. 2: Setting Off

The air hung heavy, the wind stilled, leaving an eerie silence as Applejack comprehended the words that had left Twilight’s mouth. After about 15 seconds, Applejack’s mouth fell open as she shook her head.

“Twilight… magic can’t just disappear like that, right? Whaddya mean it’s… gone? Like, it’s not there?” Applejack stuttered out, having a hard time wrapping her head around the situation. Twilight was faring even worse.

“I know magic can’t just disappear like that!” Twilight exclaimed, looking up at the sky as she tried to think, her mind racing at a million miles per hour. The skies were very clear. “But… it is. I can’t… it’s not… I…” She tried to calm her breathing, but the pain that coursed through her body made it hard to even take deep breaths.

Applejack would’ve tried to be the one to settle everypony down, but as she looked over to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, she felt a twinge of fear enter her heart. She next looked at Rarity, seeing her unconscious, and finally at Rainbow Dash, who was still lying on her back, staring up at the sky with wide, unblinking, quivering eyes.

“Rainbow,” Applejack began to limp over to her rainbow-haired friend, her hooves compressing and cracking slightly with each slow, lopsided, painful step. When no response came from Rainbow Dash, she spoke again, but louder. “Rainbow!” No response yet again. Applejack snorted, a little worried by the lack of response from her. She was one of the most active ponies, and even in a scenario like this, she’d be at least up and about, right? “Rainbow Dash!”

At last, Rainbow moved, her eyes flying over to meet Applejack’s, her pupils narrowed considerably, her irises big and wide as she breathed quickly and rapidly. Then, she tried to roll onto her hooves, her wings moving with her, causing her to let out a cut-off wail, her eyes squeezing shut. “AJ… w-what the buck… is happening?”

Relieved that words had finally left Rainbow’s lips yet concerned about her health, Applejack sighed and shook her head side to side, finally stopping a few feet away from Rainbow, and sliding down onto her stomach. “I got no clue… but, if what Twilight said is true, then I’d reckon that it has to do with our magic… disappearing.”

“Disappearing?” Rainbow’s eyes flew open as she looked back at Applejack, letting out a disbelieving chuckle. “No way! That’s not-” She rolled onto her stomach, her wing audibly cracking, causing a hoarse cry to escape her lips, finally causing her to look at her wings. Then, she froze, staring at the state of her feathered appendages. It looked like every feather had been attacked by a knife, cracked, split, and bent in a different way, some even leaking a few drops of crimson blood. “But that’s… holy shit…” Staring at her wings, the pain became worse, causing her to let out a strange dampened whimper.

“It happened to all of us… not just you or Twilight, but me, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity too.” Applejack felt her ears lower slightly as she looked behind her at the rest of her friends, specifically Rarity, who’d yet to wake up. However, her eyes also drifted to the wooden buildings not too far off in the distance. Ponyville. “But I pray to Celestia it didn’t affect others too.”

Rainbow, however, was not listening, her eyes instead transfixed on her broken wings, her mouth dropped open slightly as she began to tremble.

“You stay here, sugarcube, I’ll check on Rarity and them, okay?” Applejack hesitantly stood, her legs wobbling as she didn’t wait for a response from Rainbow. Instead, she limped over to Rarity, who lay unmoving on her stomach. “Rarity,” she said as she got within earshot, trying to see if she’d awake. “Rarity, you okay?” She wasn’t expecting a response, but, you know, it was worth a shot.

Reaching the unconscious mare’s side, she raised a hoof to poke her in the side, pressing a little hard to see if any reaction would provoke her. But, there was none. If her chest did not rise and fall, a pony would think her to be dead. “Rarity!” Applejack shouted, a little worried. A pony shouldn’t be out this long, but then again, she didn’t know much about horn trauma. But, Twilight was still up and about, even with her horn cracked nearly in half.

Her thoughts were cut short as another shrill cry from Fluttershy pierced the air and Applejack whirled her head around to see her staring at her wings, Pinkie Pie still trying to soothe her, this time to no avail.

“M-my wings, my WINGS! Oh, ah- AHH!” Fluttershy’s scream reverberated through the land around the hill, the leaves of the tree above them vibrating from its sheer intensity. Then, the scream faded, and so did Fluttershy herself as her head flopped to the ground, falling unconscious as well. Pinkie Pie eventually perked her head up, her blue eyes looking around a bit before spotting Twilight. Then, she stood up, her legs wobbling a bit before she began to walk over to her, still limping heavily.

“Twilight,” She began, catching the attention of the purple alicorn who’d been staring into space, mumbling under her breath. “What… what’s happening? Everything’s going wrong, and I feel… different, aside from the pain.” She looked down at her hooves briefly before looking back up.

“I… don’t know exactly what’s happening,” Twilight said quietly, looking aside slightly. “But, I know that whatever happened… took my magic away, and I think it affected all of you as well if I’m going off of injuries alone.” She looked down at her own cracked hooves and back at her tattered wings, grimacing. “Right now, my main concern is… well, trying to figure out what exactly happened, as well as make sure everypony’s okay,” She looked at Ponyville. “Including everypony back at home.”

Pinkie Pie nodded at Twilight’s words, her own mind racing. She felt different than usual, was it because of her magic being taken? She didn’t have much, she thought, so how would it have affected her? “Okay, Twilight,” She eventually said, before looking over her shoulder at Applejack and Rarity. “Should… we check on Rarity?”

“You stay with Fluttershy, she seems to be taking it the worst,” Twilight said, her eyes briefly landing on Rainbow Dash, who seemed to still be staring at her wings, before landing on Rarity. “I’ll check on her.”

Pinkie nodded before turning back to Fluttershy as Twilight began to walk toward AJ and Rarity, her limp less pronounced than Pinkie’s. As she approached, she suddenly noticed Rarity’s left hind leg twitch, her ears flicking as her eyes slowly opened.

“Rarity?” Applejack turned toward her, lowering herself slightly to check on her. “How are you-”

“Oh my!” Rarity suddenly pushed herself up, her head smacking against Applejack’s jaw, causing her to fly backward and land with a heavy thud. “What happened?” Then, she grimaced, looking up at her horn. “What happened to my horn!? My marvelous horn! And my magic!” She looked every which way before her blue eyes landed on Twilight, who’d stopped and was looking at Applejack with concern. “Twilight, be a dear and explain, please! What in the name of Celestia happened while I was out?” She then looked around at Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. “This seems bad…”

Twilight looked back at Rarity and cleared her throat. “I don’t know what specifically caused this, but I do know that we’ve all been affected and that our magic is… gone. Do you not remember the sound? The… the feeling of doom?”

“No, I do not, but… I just can’t believe this. The pain, oh, the pain!” Rarity sat back on her rump, looking up at her horn. “It feels as if Tartarus itself has been unleashed upon me!”

“I feel the same, Rarity, and I’m sure most of us do too,” Twilight said softly, looking down and away some. “But, right now, I feel that we need to move to Ponyville. If we can get help from there, then we’ll be fine.”

“But what if everypony back home had the same thing happen?” Applejack slowly sat up, rubbing her jaw slightly. “Hay, what if Equestria as a whole is affected!?”

“Let’s not think about that right now…” Twilight responded, looking over at the others. “Can you gather them, Rarity? We’re going now.”

Rarity slowly got back onto all four hooves and flipped her mane, despite the pain. “Well, I suppose if this is more than a localized event, then we’ll need everypony possible to help. Oh, and of course, we need to stick together.” She then trotted away toward Pinkie and Fluttershy.

Twilight sighed, looking at the ground. “Well, I’m glad she’s at least a bit level-headed. I can’t even comprehend most of what’s happening, especially with the agony on my head!” She grits her teeth and looks up at her fractured horn.

Applejack watched Rarity trot away before responding to Twilight. “Maybe it’s her way of coping, Twi. I mean, she has a horn like you, and y’all always talk about how sensitive it is. I reckon she’s keeping her pain inside right now so she can try and lighten the mood. Or, maybe she’s… well, I dunno…” She looked back at Ponyville with a distant look in her eye. “I’ve gotta get my act together too. I can’t be sitting around thinkin’ I’m hurtin’ when the rest of y’all are obviously hurtin’ more.”

Rarity soon returned, carrying Fluttershy on her back, straining with each step. Pinkie Pie followed just behind, her limp causing her to walk slower than normal. “Well, I’ve acquired Fluttershy. Rainbow said she’d be with us shortly.”

“How soon is ‘shortly’?” Applejack asked, looking over at Rarity, and seeing her carrying Fluttershy, she walked over, powering through her limp, and stood by her side. “Here, let me carry half of ‘er.”

Rarity didn’t complain as Applejack began to carry half of Fluttershy’s weight, but upon hearing her groan, she raised an eyebrow. “I can carry Fluttershy myself, dear. There’s no need for you to cause yourself such pain.”

“I’m good, Rarity, trust me,” Applejack said, breathing through gritted teeth, looking over at her with a small grin. “Y’all goin’ through worse.”

Rarity rolled her eyes but smiled slightly. “You’re always like this, aren’t you?”

Applejack snorted. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, darling, nothing.”

Soon enough, Rainbow Dash trotted up to the group, her eyes blank and trained on the grass under her hooves. Twilight looked over at her and smiled slightly. “Ready to go, Rainbow?”

“...” Rainbow didn’t answer, leaving a tense silence to hang in the air. Twilight looked away slightly, her smile faltering as she eventually turned fully toward Ponyville.

“W-Well, are we all ready to go?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Rarity answered, nodding slightly, giving Applejack a side glance.

“Yup, I’m ready to get this show on the road,” Applejack said, returning the glance with a slight chuckle.

“Yep!” Pinkie Pie said, suddenly cheerful. “We’ve got some investigating to do, as well as some first-aid and snacking!”

Twilight nodded at Pinkie’s words before stepping forward slightly. “Well, then let’s go!”

With that, they all began to walk forward, slowly descending down the shallow hill, except for Rainbow Dash, who stayed behind for a few seconds, staring at the ground. “...I can’t… fly anymore…”

Pinkie Pie looked back at Rainbow, frowning slightly. “Rainbow, c’mon!”

Rainbow looked up slightly before letting out a sad grunt and trotting forward to catch up with the group, leaving the picnic on the hill behind as they set out toward Ponyville.

Ch. 3: Ponyville

The walk to Ponyville would usually be a simple, short walk back with no negativity to be felt. Usually. However, today was anything but a usual day as the six ponies walked back to the town, each injured in different ways, affected differently mentally, and even unconscious in Fluttershy’s case. The walk back was almost completely silent, with not a pony raising their voice with the atmosphere so tense and yet so still. But the silence wasn’t to last as a loud boom suddenly rocked the air as a plume of black smoke rose from Ponyville, which was much closer than before, causing everypony to jump, except for Fluttershy.

“What in tarnation was that!?” Applejack looked up at the rising smoke, her face twisted in concern and confusion. Rarity matched this expression as Twilight turned toward them.

“Whatever it was, it can’t be good. Now, like I said before, we’ll stop by my castle first, and then after that, we go to Sugarcube Corner,” Twilight said as she looked at Pinkie Pie, “then the Carousel Boutique,” she looked to Rarity, “Then finally Sweet Apple Acres.” She finished by looking at Applejack, who nodded and sighed.

“Explosions mean nothin’ good, and if it’s changelings again… well, we’re mighty screwed aren’t we?” Applejack said in a less-than-confident tone, but Rarity chipped in.

“There’s always the chance that the changelings don’t have magic too, darling,” She commented but looked back at the rising smoke. “Thgouh, I suppose that doesn’t help explain… that.”

“Standing around won’t help anypony! C’mon, let’s go!” Pinkie said, beginning to walk again as the rest followed, Rainbow Dash sticking behind.

Upon entering the town, they noticed the similarly eerie quiet that had descended upon the town, no winds blowing, no ponies speaking, and no animals heard. They all slowly trotted down the streets, peering down alleys, around corners, and into houses as they all made their way toward the large crystal castle in the not-so-far distance.

“Where’d everypony go?” Twilight asked, not expecting an answer, but needing one anyway. She felt her heart rate increase at the overall sense of wrongness in the air, a far cry from the almost poisonous joy that the town usually exuded.

“I don’t see anypony in their homes either,” Rarity said, standing on her hind legs to peer into a house, squinting her eyes into the darkness before falling back onto four hooves and joining the group again. “I’d think this was another one of Pinkie’s parties if it weren’t for the fact that, well, she’s here.”

Pinkie Pie looked over at Rarity, a confused frown on her face. “My parties usually don’t involve taking everypony’s magic away or large explosions.”

“I have to disagree on the large explosions part,” Applejack said with a smirk, causing Pinkie to giggle.

They all continued to walk, occasionally passing by areas that they knew usually had many ponies around but now lay completely bare, not a soul to be seen nor heard.

“Do you think everypony left?” Pinkie Pie looked to Rarity, who frowned in thought.

“Even if everypony did… why would they? What could’ve caused everypony to leave, much less cause such a horrible explosion?” Rarity asked, looking over her shoulder at the mostly faded column of black smoke.

“Usually, I’d have an answer… but right now, I don’t have a clue. What could take away our magic? The only creature I know of that could do that is Tirek, but he’s locked away in Tartarus, and besides, he couldn’t do something like this at this scale.” Twilight sighed to herself, looking down at her hooves as they walked. “I don’t know what to do after we go through Ponyville.”

“Well, I say we use every book that we have, Twi, and then we could find some ancient piece of script that could tell us exactly what we need,” Applejack said, trying to restore some positivity. “It’s happened before, and sure, we’re all, hurt, but it could all be a super simple solution, like… flipping a switch in ancient ruins? Or, hay, even finding our magic in some large ball of magic!”

“But what if it’s not so simple? What if this is all some pony’s evil plan to plunge Equestria into inconsolable chaos!? Because… it’s working so far!” Twilight grits her teeth, looking up as they enter another alley.

Applejack sighed and shook her head. “Well, we’ll see when it comes down to it, I suppose.”

The walk continued in mostly uncomfortable silence, not another pony seen for most of the walk toward the castle. However, as Twilight turned the corner of a house that led onto a main street, she spotted… something, certainly not a pony. It took all of her willpower to cover her mouth to not scream.

In the middle of the street was a dark, shadowy being, its body consisting almost entirely of a dark, flowing substance, but its form was all wrong. It seemed like a snake, but it had arms and legs… too many arms and legs, 50 arms and legs like a centipede. Its mouth was full of hundreds of sharp teeth, each similar to a shark’s teeth, and it was currently devouring a pile of ponies. Horribly mutilated ponies.

“What’s wrong, Twi-” Rarity went to speak but was harshly shut up by Twilight covering her mouth with an injured wing and shaking her head.

“Don’t… speak…” She whispered quietly, her eyes wide as she backed away from the corner. Pinkie Pie, however, needed a look of her own, which would end up being a horrible mistake.

Upon peeking around the corner, she caught sight of the horrible being of darkness, her ears flattening as she comprehended what she was seeing, but unfortunately, the creature spotted her as well, its head sharply turning toward her, all 16 bright green eyes on its head locking onto her. With a reverberating twisted screech that sounded like a mix between a dragon and a tiger’s roar, it suddenly whirled around, its body coiling around itself as it darted toward the corner, causing Pinkie to shout,

“RUN!”

Immediately, all of them, sprinted for their lives, including Rainbow Dash, who’d finally snapped back into reality just as the creature rounded the corner, its immense size crashing into the side of the building, the wood snapping and splintering with the impact, drawing a wail from Rainbow as she quickly followed the group.

All six of them ran as fast as they could, ducking into alleys as the creature pursued, and despite its immense size, it could slip in between buildings with surprising ease, each of its limbs propelling its dark body forward with uneasy, horrifying grace. This was also the time that Fluttershy woke up, her eyes fluttering open to the sight of the creature running behind them, her body still balanced on Applejack’s and Rarity’s backs. She screamed loudly and the creature screeched back, its body suddenly lunging forward, its mouth missing the three by mere inches.

“W-W-WHAT’S HAPPENING!?” Fluttershy cried out, not daring to move in the worst case that she’d imbalance her carriers.

“It’s a dream, just close your eyes darling!” Rarity yelled out over the chaos of wood snapping and galloping hooves.

“Close my eyes! Close my eyes… close my eyes…” Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut, trying to drown out the sound of the creature's many limbs impacting the ground and walls of houses. Then with a cry, she opened her eyes, tears welling up. “I can’t do it!”

“Then just hold on!” Applejack grits her teeth, pushing her injured hooves to the absolute limit, her legs roaring with pain.

“We’re almost at the castle!” Twilight said, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie running slightly in front of her as they exited the alley they were in, coming into view of the now much closer crystal castle. The creature also exited the alley, the two houses exploding into wood and mulch as it let out its twisted call, its rage tearing up the ground underneath it as it crept ever closer. However, as they ran, Twilight suddenly began to slow down, her legs starting to give out under her, and as the creature approached her, she let out horrified pants as she attempted to push harder, to no avail.

As Rainbow Dash got to the castle, she pushed open the doors, letting the others rush in, but as she looked back, she saw Twilight lagging behind, the creature right behind her, its many arms suddenly reaching out.

“TWILIGHT!” Rainbow screamed, and without thinking, her body acted, darting forward and grabbing Twilight, pulling her away from the creature’s arms, one of the sharp claws clipping Twilight’s face. Then, she pulled Twilight into the castle as the creature surged forward and slammed into the doors of the castle, unable to enter, its form slightly too large to fit. It slammed against the crystals, its roars echoing through the crystal halls.

Rainbow Dash fell to the floor, panting harshly as she looked back at the creature, her entire body tensing in fear as she saw the eyes of the creature that had just nearly killed Twilight and herself. However, her eyes then trailed down to Twilight, who was covering her face with her hooves, blood leaking freshly onto the floor.

“Twilight! Shit!” Rainbow Dash crawled toward Twilight, biting her hooves in worry as she looked back at the rest of her friends, who had turned to look at Rainbow, Twilight, and the creature. “Somebody! Get a first-aid kit or something! Twilight’s hurt!”

They all gasped at the proclamation, but Applejack nodded resolutely, knowing where exactly to look since she was the one, after all, to tell Twilight to get a first-aid kit. “I’m on it.” She then galloped off into the crystal halls.

Fluttershy was curled up on the cool crystal floor, curled up in a ball, her ears covered with her hooves, and her eyes squeezed firmly shut to drown out the creature’s angry roars. Pinkie Pie stood next to her, looking between her and Twilight.

Rarity rushed over to Rainbow and Twilight, looking down at the blood seeping onto the floor with a grimace. “Twilight, dear, you must show us the wound.” She said grimly, watching as Twilight let out a shaky wail.

“It hurts… dear Celestia… it hurts so much…” But, her hooves slowly fell away from her face, causing Rainbow and Rarity to let out shocked gasps at the severity of the injury. Her entire right side of her face had one horrible gash down the side, her right eye having been terribly disfigured, blood spilling out of the entire wound, bone visible through the torn flesh and blood.

“Oh my…” Rarity let out a shaky sob, her hoof flying to cover her mouth. “Applejack, hurry!!” She cried out as she turned around just in time to see Applejack galloping toward them with a large red box in her mouth. Upon seeing Twilight’s injury, her face paled and she put the first-aid kit down.

“It’ll be alright, Twilight,” Applejack reassured shakily as she opened the box, looking through the expensive medical equipment. “It’ll be alright… trust me.”

Rainbow Dash sat to the side as Applejack got to work stopping the bleeding and applying disinfectant and gauze, her eyes wide and her mind in turmoil. What had happened in Equestria to let this happen? To let something so horrible enter? Her eyes flitted over to the doors, where the creature still sat, silent now, its sixteen sharp green eyes glaring at them through the doorway, causing her blood to turn ice cold. Nothing was alright anymore… nothing at all…

As Twilight was slowly patched up, the creature outside never left, glaring at them through the open doors, its two frontmost sharp hands gripping the doorway, its maw opened wide, revealing the numerous sharp teeth drenched in blood. Pony blood. In an already horrible situation, everything had fallen deeper into an abyss that none of them had even expected to be a possibility, and now, they would have to learn. To adapt. To live in a magicless world with a creature as malicious as that… and maybe more.

Ch. 3.1: Unknown Tragedy ||TW: Gore||

The sounds of wet munching were all that could be heard. It was a dominating sound. A horrible dominating sound.

It moaned and groaned, its massive, slithering black body pulsating on the floor. It was terribly large, rolls of the disgusting black substance flowing over itself like slime. Its lips smacked together as it let out another one of its horrible groans, its massive body rocking side to side before it leaned down, one of its long, thick tentacles wrapping around something unseen.

A thick, slow ripping sound was heard before a slick pop filled the room followed by a loud thud, and she fell into view. A blue eye was missing, the vibrant sheen in them replaced by a haunting dullness, half her face was mangled, and her beautiful blue and pink mane was tangled and half-pulled out. Her left foreleg was nowhere to be seen, a torn, bloody stump all that remained, whitish-pink bone visible through the mangled red flesh.

Even with her hooves over her mouth, she couldn’t contain the muffled whimper, silently praying that the creature didn’t hear. Thankfully, it didn’t, and she remained unseen beneath the table, the sounds of its slobbering still continuing unfettered. It moved back slightly, more of her body being seen. She was gutted, disemboweled to the fullest, most brutal extent, with only slivers of her bowels remaining inside the dark, torn cavity of her stomach. Her once perfectly maintained and groomed beige coat was matted and covered with both crimson blood and a rancid vile black substance that mixed together. It smelled horrible.

A loud boom outside caught the creature’s attention, dropping what it was eating onto the floor, a clump of unidentifiable red and pink mush. With an almost lazy dull moan that sounded terrifyingly like a pony, it slowly slid out of the room, a loud clatter and shatter being heard as it slithered away. After it was gone, she let out a shaky sigh of relief mixed with the agonizing feeling in her head.

And there was the pain. It was unbearable. Her horn was gone, shattered into bloody shards, and her head pounded like a pony was driving a chisel into her skull. Her kind legs felt weak and shaky, almost unresponsive to her will to stand up, to run away, and her brain swam with confusing swaths of unidentifiable gibberish, the only understandable thing being the emotion behind them. The unmistakable burn and sting of pain, sadness, and grief, a grievous ache that filled her entire body from head to hoof.

She silently prayed that this was all a twisted nightmare, some fabrication, an illusion brought upon her by a bad point. She wanted it to be fake. She didn’t want to accept this reality. She once again looked up at the pony that lay in front of her, hardly recognizable with how mangled she was, but she knew her best, even in this tragedy. Even in this haunting scenario.

Her mouth fell open in a shaky spiel of shaky sobs and whimpers, all of them eventually coalescing into a single word that she could only say, fueling it with as much emotion she could, but it ended up being little more than a fragile whine. “B-B… B-Bon-n-ny…”

It had all happened so fast. There was a sound, a pause, and pain, and after all of that, it appeared and ripped her apart. Her Bonny, her drop of sweetness in this world of unacceptance. And though she wanted to scream as loud as she could, all she could do was squeeze her eyes shut and let the tears flow out freely, her mind not obeying her, like a fragment of her being was unavailable, her hind legs remaining unresponsive as though she’d never had them.

Lyra stayed beneath the table, praying for something impossible that would never come.

Ch. 4: Rest and Recovery

The six ponies had moved into a room further in the castle after Twilight had been hastily patched up, each of them silent in their own way. The location of the creature outside was unknown, but it wasn’t a threat at the moment. It couldn’t get inside at the very least, but that was a relief that could not be enjoyed.

The room they were in was the castle’s library and amidst the vast piles of books and tables littered with papers scrawled with smart words was a singular red couch, and on it was Twilight.

Twilight was passed out, half of her face covered with thick white gauze, and even with half the roll covering the wound, the thick red tinge of blood could still be seen through it. Her breathing was slow and deep, but she was not out of danger yet. None of them were.

Through the tense silence in the library, a silent sob was heard from Fluttershy, who was curled up in a ball behind one of the largest piles of books. She had been crying ever since Twilight had been bandaged, a sob or two exiting her every so often.

“W-why… why is this h-h-happening to us…?” Fluttershy weakly asked, wanting an answer desperately. “W-what did we… d-do to deserve this…?”

Pinkie Pie, who was sitting next to Fluttershy, gently raised a hoof and placed it on her side as a source of comfort in this scenario, but there was little comfort to be had. What had happened was more than a tragedy.

“We didn’t do anything, Fluttershy,” Pinkie said quietly, trying to reassure her in any way she could. “This just… this is something that we had no control over. It… it’s…” Her voice trailed off, her blue eyes wandering up to the vast ceiling of the library as if the necessary words were up there to be read, but nothing came to her mind.

Rarity, meanwhile, was in another corner, looking down at the darkest spot that she could, her makeup runny from tears of her own. “This is horrible, horrible… what could’ve possibly happened to have caused all of this? She almost died… right in front of us.” Her voice rose in pitch as the weight of the previous moment crashed over her. “She almost died… she could’ve died… Twilight… almost died…”

She held a hoof up to her temple, shaking her head. “No no no… not in Equestria, this is the nicest, most perfect place in the whole world! Nothing could possibly do that… nothing could’ve done this, nothing… so why? How? This is all so…” Rarity grits her teeth, shaking her head harder.

Across the room, Applejack and Rainbow Dash sat close to the couch that Twilight lay on, both of them sat with their heads low. Occasionally, Rainbow would look over at Twilight and just ensure that she was still there, still breathing. Every time she did so, she would silently sigh with relief.

“She’ll be fine, Rainbow,” Applejack suddenly said firmly, catching Rainbow off-guard as she looked back over at Twilight, her head swinging toward AJ. “I know she’ll be fine.”

“How are you so sure?” Rainbow said, wanting to believe her, but at the same time, this was out of nowhere. “She was attacked by that… t-that thing! That monster! You saw it too!”

“I did, Rainbow, I saw it,” Applejack agreed. “But like I said, I know she’ll be-”

“You don’t. We don’t know what that thing was!” Rainbow stood facing Applejack. “One claw, AJ. One claw! That’s what one claw did to Twilight!”

“I said I know,” Applejack said with a firmer voice, her head turning to face Rainbow but her gaze still on the floor.

“We don’t know if she’ll be okay! What if that thing had poison, or was infected!? Twilight could be dying right now and we wouldn’t know!” Rainbow raised her voice, her eyes wide with both fear and heavy concern. “Applejack, check her again! Something could be wrong and we-”

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack suddenly snapped, causing Rainbow to snap her jaw shut and stagger back. “Close your damn mouth! Your words are worrying the rest of us! We don’t need to hear what could be. So just… shut up for now.”

Rainbow stood there silently for a long moment before her gaze slowly looked across the library, meeting Fluttershy’s wide, terrified eyes for a brief moment before she looked back at the ground, staring at her cerulean hooves. “Damn it…” She grits her teeth, a few tears filling her eyes. “This is all so motherbucking crazy… it’s insanity!”

“I know, Rainbow…” Applejack sat back down, hiding her face with her Stetson. “But panicking will do the opposite of helping, and spreading that panic will do worse. I’m worried about Twilight too, but… we need to stay level-headed.”

Rainbow nodded slightly, sitting back down too, keeping her eyes on the floor. “Sorry… this is just…” She didn’t finish her sentence.

Applejack glanced over at Rainbow for a fraction of a second, letting out a soft sigh. “I’ll check on Twilight soon, and I’ll do so every… I don’t know, hour. Just for you.”

Rainbow’s right ear flicked in response and she smiled slightly, mumbling out a response. “Thanks.”

It wasn’t nighttime. And that was the worst news that everypony could’ve gotten from Rarity at that very moment.

“It should be night by now, but it’s not! The sun hasn’t even moved an inch in the last few hours!” Rarity paced at the tall library doors, her eyes wide and her mane frizzed unappealingly. “The sun hasn’t moved!”

Everypony else watched Rarity pace, their faces reflecting their shock and disbelief at the news, most noteably of them all being… Twilight, who seemed to have reacted unconsciously to the words.

Twilight stirred, letting out a long, low groan of pain. Immediately, Applejack and Rainbow Dash rushed to her side.

“Twilight! You’re awake!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her face flooding with relief. “Thank Celestia...”

“How are ya feeling?” Applejack asked Twilight gently, watching as the purple alicorn sat up on the couch, letting out a whimper of pain.

“Like Tartarus…” Twilight mumbled pathetically, her uninjured eye welling up with tears of both pain and emotion. “This is so cruel…” She wiped the tears away from her left eye with a hoof, sniffling.

“I know, Twilight…” Applejack carefully hugged the alicorn, who accepted it graciously before pulling back. “I’ll get ya some pain meds. That way, you can rest without… y’know…” She grimaced before dipping her head and trotting off, dipping out of the library.

“Mhm…” Twilight slowly repositioned until she was lying on her stomach, staring blankly at the wall, her good eye swirling with unadulterated agony.

Meanwhile, Rarity kept pacing by the door, muttering under her breath and Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were still in their corner, with Pinkie doing a good job at keeping her sanity in one piece.

Rainbow Dash sat next to the red couch still, her eyes filled with worry. Looking at Twilight’s tattered wings, she was reminded of her own wings. Looking over her shoulder at her left side, she spread her wing with some trouble, wincing in pain as she looked at her feathers. The blood had dried and she noticed that a lot of the feathers had fallen out. The pain was still bad, but it had become a strong, pulsing ache now. Besides, why complain about the pain? Twilight was going through the worst of it, double so now.

Sighing, she gently folded her wing, looking down at the floor, her only temporary escape from the new harsh reality that had befallen them. Judging by Twilight’s reaction, or lack thereof, to the mention of the sun’s frozen position, she most likely did not hear Rarity’s proclamation. Which would change eventually, but for now, she had too much on her plate.

But the very idea of the sun not moving was terrifying. That meant that it wasn’t just Ponyville. As they had feared, all of Equestria had been affected, meaning that the likelihood of the entire world being affected too was a lot higher than before. With the sun frozen, that meant Princess Celestia was affected, meaning that she was probably in just as bad of a state now, or maybe even worse. Everything was so much worse than they had first thought.

Applejack then trotted back into the room, passing by the rambling Rarity, and approached the couch with a bottle of pills in her mouth. She gently placed it on the couch and nudged it over to Twilight with her muzzle.

“Here ya go, Twi,” Applejack smiled softly, watching as Twilight looked over at the small white bottle, simply just looking at it for a few seconds longer before letting out a whimper.

“Ugh…” She looked away from the bottle and closed her eye, leaving Applejack to wonder why she’d not taken it. Then, it hit her and she mentally berated herself.

“Sorry, Twi. Sorry ‘bout that…” Applejack murmured with embarrassment, leaning down and grabbing the bottle’s lid with her teeth and grabbing the bottle itself with her front hooves, ignoring the pain as she held it as tight as she could and twisted, the lid coming undone.

With a tiny victory now earned, AJ placed the bottle on the couch sideways and tapped the bottom of the bottle until a single white pill emerged. She then scooped it up into her hoof and lightly nudged Twilight.

“Open wide,” Applejack said and Twilight slowly looked over, spotting the pill in hoof. In a desperate act to be free of the pain that haunted her, she opened her mouth, letting AJ drop the pill, watching as she swallowed it and mumbled out a slurred thank you before turning away again. “You’re welcome, Twi. Just rest now, ya hear?”

No response came from Twilight except for a flick of her ear, which was good enough for Applejack. Stepping away with a sigh, she looked over at Rainbow, whose gaze was locked on the floor, then at Pinkie and Fluttershy, who were still silently huddled up behind the pile of books, and finally at Rarity who was still pacing back and forth spouting nonsense from her mouth.

Seizing the courage to endure the pain of walking more, Applejack turned and trotted over to Rarity, the pain in her hooves starting to rear its ugly head the more she walked. She weaved around the piles of books, walking over to the white unicorn with a serious look on her face.

“Rares,” Applejack said quietly, hoping that this would be enough.

“-that could mean that the entire empire could collapse into irreparable anarchy, which would be the end of them because there’s no way to-”

“Rarity,” Applejack tried a firmer tone, stepping closer to Rarity.

“-and that would come back to us where we’re stuck here surrounded by horrible pony-eating monsters who want nothing more than to hurt us and to kill us, which is-”

“Rarity!” Applejack stepped closer, close enough that Rarity was pacing just an inch away from her, but even then she didn’t stop.

“-so we’re all going to die here, we’re all going to die to the claws and jaws of those rabid otherworldly beasts out there, and I don’t want to die, and neither do any of us, because we’re all too young to die since we’re just-”

“For Celestia’s sake, Rarity, snap out of it!” Applejack stepped in front of Rarity, getting close to her face and snorting.

“I am snapped out of it, I’m fine!” Rarity shouted with a hoarse voice, her eyes wide and shaking. “I’m just having a little revelation, that’s all! So move!”

Rarity slipped past Applejack, who gawked at the look in her eyes, and yet, she snorted and turned to face her again.

“No, you’re not fine. You’re gone and worried yourself into a damn panic attack!” Applejack trotted after Rarity, her hooves complaining as hard as they could, making her wince. “Just… sit down and breathe, Rarity, breathe!”

“I don’t need to breathe, Applejack, I already am and I’m breathing perfectly clear and fine!” Rarity marched onward, looking back at her with a weird look. “Maybe you should be the one who should sit down and breathe because you’re obviously not worrying about the sun not moving!”

“Shush it, Rares!” Applejack shushed loudly, pressing a hoof against Rarity’s muzzle and flashing her a glare. “There are more pressing issues at the moment, and that involves one of your friends.”

Rarity looks down at Applejack’s hoof like it’s a disease and pushes it away, but at her words, she looks over at Twilight, her face falling for a moment. “Well… maybe, I just… this is all so chaotic and unexplainable that I just, well, I just couldn’t stop myself from thinking about all the things that could go wrong.”

Applejack’s face softened, her eyes glancing over at the resting alicorn. “It ain’t healthy, not for you nor Twilight. Try to keep a clear head, ‘kay?”

“I’ll try,” Rarity nodded, looking back at Applejack. “Just… j-just cut me some slack, I’m not as good at staying calm as you are, Applejack. I’m not as composed as you always are.”

“You don’t have to be as composed as me, just as composed as you need to be,” Applejack said gently, stepping forward a bit. “I’m as lost and confused as you all are, but… all you need to do is focus on the present rather than the future. It’ll help a lot more than you think.”

Rarity’s eyes searched Applejack’s, her blue eyes glistening with unshed emotion before she looked away and wiped the building moisture with a hoof, her makeup being smeared in the process. “Well… you’re right, I suppose… thank you.”

Applejack smiled and took the final step forward, wrapping her forelegs around Rarity. “You’re welcome, Rarity.” The two hugged for a few seconds, both of them at temporary peace, but then, Rarity began to strain, her eyes opening with frustration.

“What’re you doing?” She asked, wondering why Applejack was getting so heavy all of a sudden.

“My hooves… they’re tired and hurtin’...” Applejack chuckled slightly, slumping into Rarity’s forelegs, who eventually just dropped her onto the ground with a loud thud. “Ow…”

“I’m not in any better condition than you, what makes you think I can carry all of that muscle?” Rarity snorted before letting out a single chuckle. “You’re a lot stronger than I am anyway.”

“Not strong enough, apparently,” Applejack let out a single chuckle as well, getting into a comfortable lying position on the floor. Rarity just shook her head and took a seat just next to her, looking across the library.

“Strong enough to keep us all in one piece, at least,” Rarity mumbled, letting out a sigh. “We’d probably have killed each other without you.”

“Don’t say that, we’re all just scared and confused. Sometimes, you just need an anchor to latch onto, but… even anchors come loose eventually,” Applejack yawned, laying a head on the floor. “And this anchor’s ready to get some rest.”

Rarity just silently acknowledged her words, her eyes flitting between Rainbow Dash, who was now sitting straight next to Twilight’s couch, her eyes on the red fabric, and Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, the latter of the two now in a restless sleep, while Pinkie remained awake and watchful, her blue eyes strangely empty.

This was tough for all of them, no doubt, but there were two ponies having it the worst, and one of them was the reason why they were all still together, mostly. At the very least, with Applejack still here, they would last a little longer, enough to see why it all happened.