Ashes and Dust

We had walked in almost total silence ever since I was made aware of my only remaining purpose in life. The idea that I could somehow kill that devilish creature seemed preposterous. Something that had the ability to possess other creatures and then wipe out an entire civilization couldn't possibly be killed, much less by me, but I had to at least try.

Though what’s the worst that could happen if I failed? I would finally be put out of my misery, it actually sounds like a win-win situation... No, I couldn't think like that, not while I still had somepony to protect. Twilight may hate me, but she's the only friend I have left and I have to prove to her that I can still be the same dependable pegasus that she knew before the world went to shit.

I sat silently at what used to be the Ponyville train station seeing the results of my rampage everywhere I looked. In one direction the rails used to run through a mountainside on its way to Canterlot Station. The tunnel the train would have gone through was now caved in and Canterlot was now nothing more than a crater whereas once it had been considered the most impressive and advanced city in all of Equestria.

In the other direction the rails led to Appleoosa, a small up and coming town that could be quite neighborly when they wanted to, but they knew how to stand up for themselves when push came to shove. At one point the civilians had been ready to go to war with a neighboring buffalo tribe over a property dispute, thankfully it had been resolved peacefully (for the most part). In that direction I noticed that a train lay broken and toppled over on its side, with several train cars that had been disconnected and tossed aside as though they were a foals toy train set. I hoped that nopony had been on it when the event occurred.

I turned and glanced over towards Ponyville central. Twilight had returned to her tree home claiming that she needed to retrieve a few things, though I wondered how much could still be intact after the events from the day before. The library was shattered and dead, ash sifting in and out amongst the paper scraps that floated out of the holes in the place.

I wondered what she was searching for; maybe she was just saying her final goodbyes to the place that had been her home for so long. Besides the occasional visits from the God of Chaos or an experimental spell gone wrong, it had been a place of peace where she could be with the ones she loved. Now she could never return.

Every thought I had of Twilight was filled with regret, all of her injuries were completely my fault. I shuddered at the tragic irony of being gifted wings and having one torn away so soon. Flying was an integral part of my life, and she literally had an aspect of her being torn apart. Now not only could she not fly, but the simple task of walking was a task in and of itself.

The missing hoof was the insult to the injury. Not only had I made her lose what she had only just obtained, but I took what she used to be as well. The limp was evident as she trotted, her weight all placed on her severely weakened legs. I couldn’t help but wonder if the pain would ever end, not only for Twilight, but for Equestria. It could be that I had sent reality on such a vast tangent that there would never be universal peace, or happiness, again.

I looked up at the dark gray clouds. The sun's glow could barely be noticed beyond the layer of unchecked weather. I could imagine that the sun was above it all, shining in a halo of glory. Or did it shine at all, with Celestia gone? Maybe the glow was just ambient magic from the Endless Dark, allowing us some cheap excuse for day.

The soot piled against my hooves as I waited. Finally, I could make out a purple figure trotting towards me from the ruins of Ponyville. She had a sack on her back that appeared to be bulging with materials of one sort or another.

"Hey Twilight."

She didn't respond. After her insistence to travel with me to achieve the end of the otherworldly force, she had been tense and quiet. She bandaged what remained of her wounds herself, prepared her own gear, and generally kept to herself. She had rarely talked to me except in orders.

"What did you get back there?"

She gave a cold glance at me, as though considering my question. I had made some progress by having her hear me out a bit, but I wanted her as my friend again. There was only so much of the past that I could get back.

"Things. Don’t concern yourself Loyalty."

Well, that hardly answered my question. Walking closer, she sat a few feet from me and fiddled with the items in her pack. I could hear the clicking of metal objects and the swishes of liquids. I waited, eager to get moving, but not wanting to disturb her. She would be angry if I bothered her, and I didn’t want to take any steps backwards in our relationship if I could help it.

She stood up, hovered a bottle of gray liquid in her aura of magic, and then trotted in front of me. The bottle was filled with the murky gray filth, and it followed Twilight over before hovering above me, the wooden cork popping out.

"Don't move."

I stayed stock still as she poured the substance over my coat, and it chilled me to the bone as Twilight spread it over my hide. I sat there shivering as her magic hummed and she stretched out my wings. The liquid tingled and burned along my hide, like my body was flash-frozen and then put in a furnace.

What was she doing to me? Maybe she had changed her mind and decided to execute me. It was certainly painful enough. But soon the pain subsided, leaving me confused about what in the world had just happened. I glanced at my hide and noticed that my coat was now a dark gray, and my mane had been turned black. I jumped in shock.

"AH! What did you do?"

She turned and made eye contact with me. "Everypony knows that Rainbow Dash was the harbinger of death across Equestria. Now they won't kill you when they see you. It's not completely permanent, so calm down."

"But gray? Come on, I like being multicolored. It’s cool."

"I thought it suited you."

She is just wonderful. I suppose I deserved the insults. I deserved whatever she had to throw at me. If insults would make her feel better, then I shall endure.

The hour passed comprised mostly of silence. "Twilight spent an awfully long time messing with some metal object that she was careful to keep away from my prying eyes. Despite my best efforts to find things to occupy my time I couldn't even get a peek, I'd have to ask her about it later. I did a few gentle loops in the air trying to stretch the muscles in my wings as I waited for her.

She stood up and waited for me to land. With her saddlebags on her back, she nodded at me before starting to trot down the tracks. I glanced at her briefly, surprised at the sudden departure, and then followed behind her. I had hope she might explain more about what we were doing, and more about our journey in general.

"How long is it to New Appleoosa?"

"By train it is only an hour or two, but by hoof? Roughly ten to twelve. Go fly up and check the time, I really don't want to wander the rails near the Everfree at night."

Briefly acknowledging her comment, I flew upwards, straining my wings. The events of previous days took its toll. I guess letting another being wear your skin for a day as it slaughters thousands of innocent ponies can have that effect on you. Only halfway to the cloud layer and I was sweating and panting from the effort. I luckily found a swift updraft and glided into it, the air current sweeping me upwards.

I hit the cloud layer, literally. It was surprisingly solid and I bounced right off. I ran a hoof across the surface of the cloud. It felt more like a rigid rock than anything else. Curious.

I scanned the clouds for a weak point and luckily enough I found one. To my left seemed to be a small gap. I fluttered over and squeezed my head through, looking for the sun. That is when I saw the most curious sight.

I darted down and flew straight to Twilight. As I landed she noticed my panic and stood at attention.

"What's wrong?"

"It looks like the moon is flying across the sky and it's about to move right in front of the sun. How can the moon move without Luna? What are we going to do Twilight?"

Twilight swore and looked upwards thoughtfully. Deep in thought, she began to focus her magic on some sort of spell.

"Maybe we can..."

Just then a blue blur blinded us. The light seemed to concentrate into a solid orb of magic and sped off into the cloud layer, tearing it apart. It vanished in the sky, seeming to take the problem with it. Through a large hole in the sky, the moon slowed to a halt and returned to its normal behavior. Meanwhile the sun sped up to maintain its normal distance from the moon.

"No…”

Twilight seemed shocked beyond reason. She spun around, casting a plethora of spells that cast reflective lights around, that burst in color, or that vaporized the bushes.

"What are you doing? Twilight what the hell is going on?”

Twilight forced herself to calm down, looking around suspiciously.

“Of course not. They are all gone.”

I stepped in front of her and looked her in the eyes.

“Twilight, what just happened?”

She sighed and settled her heart rate, breathing deeply. Swallowing, she spoke with some residual caution.

"The moon was being controlled, probably by the being that caused all of this. It would’ve had the same effect as Nightmare Moon’s attempt at eternal night. Only the moon would’ve shrouded the sun behind it, causing enormous flares of light around the edge of the moon. The flares could be absorbed as residual energy and used to power the moon. Without Celestia to manage the situation, the moon would have grown both in power and size. There is a book titled A Study on the Possible Eventualities of the Nightmare Rule that describes various ways Nightmare Moon could’ve further established her rule without opposition from Celestia. That was what was just attempted.”

There was silence for a bit while I contemplated her words.

"So what stopped it?"

"I thought it was something I knew, but now I am unconvinced. I think it might’ve been the moon itself, resisting somepony other than Luna trying to manipulate it. I’ll concern myself with some more detailed studies later. I think we should just camp here for the night, outside the forest. Grab some wood Loyalty.”

I quickly gathered some twigs as Twilight started a fire. She sat on the side opposite me, organizing her gear while I sat confused, trying to find some reason to hope against such a power. What kind of power could control Luna’s moon and how could I even begin to fight that? Even for a pony as gifted as Twilight it seemed farfetched. The powers that were in play here existed so far beyond us.

Then some music began to play. Soft and melodious, the music pierced the quiet dusk and my considerable worry.

I turned over to Twilight, who was sitting in front of a small radio. The notes were smooth, and the beat slow. I began to hum quietly to the song as I became acquainted with the music.

I've made a couple mistakes
Had quite a few heartaches
And while I've made a future here
Far too high now are the staaaaaa------

It broke off into static and the music ceased. Twilight looked perturbed for a moment, fiddling with various components before unhappily shutting the device off and tossing it back into her bag. Deciding to lie down and get some rest, Twilight dimmed the fire to a small crackling heat. I, consumed with conflicting thoughts and regret, tried to stay up for a while longer, trying to make sense of what kind of world I now lived in. All I could think was that life had become gray; the ash, my coat, my future.

But the exhaustion was too much to bear, and the recent flight took more out of me than I was willing to admit. I gave a glance at the sleeping form of Twilight, wishing I could wake up to find that she had forgiven me, that maybe this was some sort of elaborate prank, and soon Pinkie Pie would hop out of a bush and laugh at how she fooled me, the rest of my friends following her.

Rarity would make comments on how horrible I looked, entirely grey. Applejack would tell me I wouldn’t have been fooled so easily if I wasn’t such an airhead pegasus. Fluttershy would help me up, and hold me close as she apologized for participating in such a horrible idea, and saying that she would try and make everything better for causing me pain.

Tears were still flowing from my eyes as I fell asleep.