A Dystopia for All
For around a decade after Nightmare Moon's plans for eternal night were ended, the lands of Equestria were ruled by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in balanced harmony. All the ponies lived peacefully together under the watchful eyes of their glorious leaders. Life had gone on well for the little ponies of Equestria. As time passed within the decade, technology had gotten increasingly advanced.
Magnificent machines were being built. Cars were being mass produced in factories. Technology was evolving much quicker in Equestria than ever. But constant upgrades meant outdated machines, constantly tossed away or upgraded to a more efficient model. Places where fields and forests used to reside were transformed into junkyards and wreckage heaps. Pollution smoldered the skies. The economy collapsed with a loud bang, killing many with famine and lack of shelter. Cities went from trying to make more fuel efficient vehicles to trying to figure out how to run. Everypony was helpless, trapped, and scared.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both tried to bring peace, but the damage was already done. The environment was crippled, and so was everypony's life. Life seemed to be ending, especially for the (what used to be) small town of Ponyville. The small civilization tried to, against all odds, survive by being calm and collected in this almost apocalyptic chaos that they have brought on themselves.
Three weeks before the absolute collapse:
"Thanks for letting us stay with you during these awful times, Twilight. It means a lot to us." Rarity said as all five of Twilight Sparkle's friends entered the Library single file.
"It's no big deal, girls. I know everypony's going through rough times. Plus, you're my best friends. I'd never leave you without a safe place to sleep." Twilight said with a small grin appearing on her face.
"Rough times I'll say. The boutique is surrounded by poor ponies that have nowhere to go. Sometimes I wonder why it hasn't been broken into yet. But I know it will be soon. It's bound to happen in such utter disarray." Rarity groaned with a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"Th' apple orchards have been dyin' and sometimes ah hear trees crashing down. I think they're being chopped down and raided. Big Macintosh told me to stay with you and that he would watch Applebloom." said Applejack as she was pacing back and forth.
"All the critters ran away a few weeks ago when I was asleep. I don't even know why…" Fluttershy started to cry.
"And I figured that if something bad happens, it would at least happen with all of us together as friends." Rainbow Dash announced with a bold smirk.
"Hey Twilight! Twilight! Twilight! What's going on Twilight? Why's the sky smoggy and why's the air so bad and why's everypony so nervous? Huh? Huh? Huh? Is the world going to explode? Oh no! What if it exploded…and then exploded agai—"
"Pinkie! Stop! Everything is going to be ok. Just calm down, please. Anyways…" Twilight yelled, obviously annoyed at Pinkie's rambunctious behavior.
Twilight continued, "…I've prepared a supply of food that should last us at least a few months and I made sure the water pipes weren't clogged or broken so we have drinking water and bath water. I've laid cushions out so everypony has a place to sleep. I want everypony to try to make the best of this situation. I promise all of you that we will get through these tough times. The princesses are working hard to end this chaos."
Two weeks before the absolute collapse:
"Twilight, I'm scared…" uttered the little yellow Pegasus softly. She was trembling heavily, which was normal for her, but Twilight could tell she was much worse than usual.
"Fluttershy, I know how you feel, but the Princesses are trying their best to undo this damage."
"But Twilight, the forests are being destroyed and the air smells so heavily polluted. It smells like a mix of fire and metal…or something…else…" Fluttershy said, trailing off.
"Fluttershy, what are you getting at?" Twilight questioned. She was getting awfully nervous at what she thought Fluttershy was talking about. For the last couple years, times have been stressful. Since the economy was crashing down on everypony, it has been rough trying to live on a normal pony's salary. Even those richer ponies who used to live in style were sharing the same hellish experience as the trampled on, meager ponies.
"Well Twilight, it's just that…" Fluttershy started to talk in a whispering voice. "In many places, there have been reports of horrible things like big riots and other really scary things…and in riots people usually die. What if it's not metal we smell? What if it's…blood?" Fluttershy was now staring at the floor, looking like she was about to cry.
"Fluttershy, I'm sure the Princesses are figuring some way to help us get out of this mess." said Twilight Sparkle with false confidence. Secretly she knew the two great ponies she looked up to were unable to help for an unknown reason. She sent them letters upon letters, but stopped receiving replies recently. She wanted to investigate, but had no way of doing so. It wasn't very safe to leave your house because the beggars would follow you desperately, and thieves could beat you and steal your possessions. It was a horrible thought. The more desperate ponies killed others who walked outside in hopes of uncovering a small pack of food, water, or medicine. Barely anypony dared to leave the small comfort they had left to walk into what used to be familiar territory. Keep in mind that this was before the collapse, when a string of hope was still flying through the air.
"Oh and Twilight," Fluttershy said as she was lifting her head up "I don't feel safe out there. I live on the edge of the town, you know that. It's pretty far away. I was out there a few minutes ago, and I don't have the strength to go out again. Please Twilight; may I stay here for the night?"
"Of course Fluttershy, I wouldn't want to go out either; it's just too unstable out there."
Fluttershy slowly walked towards Twilight Sparkle, slowly increasing in speed. When she was within reach of her, she grabbed Twilight in a crushing hug, tears flowing from her large, jeweled eyes.
"I want all this to end."
"I know Fluttershy, I know…"
One week before the absolute collapse:
Twilight woke up in the middle of the night. She didn't know why, but she remembered at the end of her dream was a loud shattering noise. A shattering noise! She rushed down the stairs and barely saw a masked unicorn through the darkness. She was being robbed!
"Get out! RIGHT NOW!" She said; her voice drowsy and shaking. The robber just stood there, as if he or she wasn't expecting to be caught. Then after a few awkward seconds, the intruder charged at Twilight with its head lowered and its horn poking straight forward. Twilight was still sleepy but could narrowly avoid the intruder's attack. The intruder instead hit the wall and fell to the floor. The loud thump of the smack woke all the residents in the house, being all her friends. The five came rushing down the stairs to see what caused the loud noise that had awoken them from their borderline horrible dreams. Twilight Sparkle flipped the light switch to reveal that the window was shattered into little fragments, and that the intruder had accidentally cut him/herself on the fragments still attached to the window sill. Together, shocked, they group of friends slowly took off the mask to see who it was. They already saw it was a blue unicorn. When the mask was off, they saw that it was a male. He looked like a young adult, younger than the mares he had tried to rob. He looked like he bumped his head too hard on the wall, as he was still unconscious.
"See Twilight, we aren't even safe in our homes anymore. This is just getting to be way too much." An angry Rainbow Dash growled aggressively. "I say we take this robber and show him he broke into the wrong pony's house!"
"Uhhhh…" groaned the young robber appearing to be waking up. A now very angry Rainbow Dash kicked him with her hind legs, knocking him unconscious again.
The robber pony woke up in a bed in a room that looked strangely like the room he was in before. That's because it was still Twilight's house. His eyes slowly unsealed and rose at such a slow pace to allow his eyes to adjust to the light. He noticed he had dried blood on his face and a very sensitive bruise near his eyes and cheeks. He heard a few loud voices, but couldn't understand what was being said as all he heard was mumbling. His ears eventually caught on around the middle of the conversation.
"…should just throw him out! He doesn't deserve to be nursed back to health. For all we know he would've killed us in our sleep if Twilight hadn't woken up." A still very angry Rainbow Dash argued.
"Nah listen here, sugar cube. This pony is so thin he looks like a walkin' skeleton. He obviously jus' wants some food or shelter." Applejack explained calmly.
Then Rarity cut in. "Well obviously he's just a ruffian who likes breaking into innocent pony's houses. I say we throw him out to the beggars. Maybe then he will learn his lesson." As everypony was arguing, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle approached the bed. They gave a long look at this mysterious pony. They both thought they should at least give him a chance to explain before making any decisions. The unknown robber pony was now looking at them with a curious stare, as if wondering where he was. All the ponies except Twilight and Fluttershy were still arguing.
"Applejack, don't be so trusting. Rainbow and I both agree he has no place among us. He should have just asked us for help instead of committing the act of burglar—"
"W-where…am I?" came a voice from the bed. Everypony quickly stopped talking and cautiously walked towards the bed. No one really knew how to react. It was an awkward silence as the bedridden pony was looking at all the others, only receiving cold stares in return. "What happened? Where am I and why is my face bruised?" The pony said, attempting to break the silence.
After around 30 seconds, Rainbow Dash was the one to tell him.
"You broke into my friend's house and I kicked you, long story short. Now she's nursing you to good health, even though you don't deserve it one bit." Rainbow Dash was infuriated at how Twilight could do that to someone who threatened their lives.
"Now Rainbow," Twilight tried to explain, "He looks so starving and dirty. We can't just sit idle and let him suffer. We need to help him. I can tell he just wants help."
"Help? We're the ones who need help. Now that the window was bashed open, anypony can just climb right in—"
"With the broken shards standing straight up, ready to jab a pony's hooves? I don't think so." Twilight interrupted.
"Fine, do what you want with him, but I won't have any part in helping."
"Pinkie," Twilight said as she turned her hear to the pink party pony. "What do you think about him?"
"I think we should help him. He looks so sad and lonely. Maybe we could be his new friends!" The pink pony exclaimed.
"Well then Rainbow, that's four versus two. We're helping him and that's final." said Twilight in a very serious tone.
The fighting stopped verbally after those words, but not mentally. A day went by; the group letting this new pony sleep. No one went upstairs during the day. There was barely any talking between the two sides; Rarity and Rainbow Dash against Fluttershy, Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. They stayed inside for protection against the hell known as Ponyville. Twilight continued to write letters only to receive no response. She was so frustrated at this; she felt her world breaking apart. The others stayed together in the house for days; making plans for what they would do after this returned to normal, talking cheerily to one another, their differences about the new pony slowly even out.
Six days before the absolute collapse:
The next day the bedridden pony finally decided to go downstairs. He slowly and painfully rose out of bed his mane ruffled and somewhat covered in dry blood. He crept down the stairs without taking a bath as he thought they were barely tolerating him lying in bed and that if he was to take a bath, he would be wasting the little water there was running. He walked past the little yellow Pegasus, still lying in her bed sleeping ever so gracefully. The first step he took on the stairs made a loud creaking noise, revealing his position.
"Fluttershy! Finally you're up. You've been asleep longer than usual—oh it's you…" said a depressed little Twilight Sparkle. Rarity and Rainbow Dash gave him an angry look and stormed out of the room. The pony slowly walked down, step by step, with his muscles aching. When he reached the bottom, he just stared at the ponies. After another long and awkward stare down, he trudged along towards the door. Twilight held out her hoof, telling her friends to let her handle this.
"Wait, where are you going?" Twilight asked as the rest of the ponies just stared questioning the situation.
"Home." responded the blue unicorn.
"But why would you leave now? We agreed that you could stay as long as you'd let us help you."
"I don't need your help. I do fine on my own."
"Then why did you break in. Is that how you live your life? By stealing and making other ponies miserable?"
"If you put it that way, then yes. That's how I live."
"Do you know how that affects other ponies? It cripples their lives. It makes them feel hopeless and vulnerable, stealing their possessions."
"I know it affects me just fine and dandy. I stay alive to tell my story. I tell the story of survival. I don't waste my time waiting around for two mares sitting on their ASSES, laughing at how pathetic and weak we are, to fix what they let happen in the first place. DO you remember what it was like before all this? When did you ever see a sign of help from our 'beloved' princesses?"
"Don't insult them. Don't EVER insult them. They have ruled our land since the beginning of time. You will show Princess Luna and Princess Celestia respect!" Twilight barked, no doubt regretting helping the rude intruder.
"I knew we shouldn't have been taking care of him! What did I tell, you Twilight?" Rainbow Dash yelled, coming into the living room. "First he tries to rob us of what little we have left and now he's mocking the princesses? I think he deserves another hoof to the face!" Rainbow charged at the blue unicorn, but his horn lit up and glowed as bright as a ball of fire. With that he easily froze the Pegasus in her tracks, dropped her to the floor, and slid her back against the wall.
"You'd better think about what you are going to do before you actually do it. Now if you lovely ladies don't mind, I'll be leaving now; out of your precious little manes." said the still unnamed unicorn.
"Wait…"
"What do you want, you imbecile?" he suddenly raised his volume, looking at Twilight.
"You're…bleeding." She looked at him with a shocked expression, pointing her hoof towards his abdomen. And there it was; a big cut across his stomach, where he cut himself on the glass during the break in, dripping blood onto the floor.
"Why yes…I guess I am…" said the blue unicorn with a blank expression on his face. "I believe you're right."