In that fleeting moment of chaos, the world around me transformed into a violent whirlwind, a surreal nightmare that would be etched into my memory forever. My first images were disjointed flashes of destruction, a cacophony of sound and force throwing me in every direction. As my body tumbled about the room and off the edge, I tried to cry out yet nothing could hear me. All were too caught up in their own problems to notice me roll over to the edge. The only thing that stopped me was a bolt of metal hooking through my hand, impaling my palm, and hanging me off the shocking scene.
The violent forces that raged around me did not discriminate. It ripped through several buildings around me before finally fading from its black-and-white form. A lone pegasus at the center of the explosion, her body being crushed by immense power. Yet, I could make out who it was as the ripples shook me about and weakened the blood bracing keep me several floor from the ground.
I was trapped in a haze, my mind swirling in confusion and disbelief as I tried with every ounce of my strength to process the intertwining reality of my situation. Desperation clawed at my senses as I sought to reach out for help. I groped for stones, pieces of floor, anything that could provide a glimmer of rescue. Each movement escalated my suffering, transforming my struggle into a futile dance of despair as it all just kept falling apart. The absence of familiar voices, of any reassuring presence, left me feeling utterly abandoned in a world where agony had become my only companion.
Light flickered dimly in my eyes at the skin giving one loud final tear of utter agony. My body began its final plummet, the ground racing toward me, faster than I could process. As soon as it made contact, a loud crackle of crunching sounds followed as everything went number than stone. The noise was enough to keep my eyes open, but my body wouldn't move. The pain stopped, and everything sense in my entire body slowly faded away into a horrifying bliss.
I was alive, but I could not move. It was a bizarre paradox; my mind raced with thoughts, fears, and questions, but my body lay still, trapped in a vessel that seemed to have forgotten how to obey. As I lay there, a horrific scene began to unravel before my eyes, sending jolts of confusion and dread through my consciousness. What I witnessed was a dream gone horrific, a nightmare painted in shades of terror and sorrow.
The sounds started off softly, like whispers of a gathering storm, several more crunching sounds echoed around me. My eyes, the only part of my body still able to respond, darted across the horrifying landscape, soaking in a sight that would remain etched in my memory for eternity. The sky, once a canvas of ethereal blue, had transformed into a stage of blood-stained terror as hundreds, no, thousands, of pegasi began to plummet from the heavens.
Their graceful forms, once been symbols of freedom and beauty, twisted grotesquely mid-air. Broken wings flapped listlessly, bodies contorted in unnatural angles and faces that once sparkled with life became unrecognizable masses in their tragic descent. With each impact upon the ground was a scream silenced upon the ground. Punctuated only by the sickening crunching sound that filled the air. Lucky few met the earth with enough force that they splattered, painting the ground in a disturbing crimson hue. Others survived with mangled and torn-apart bodies, awaiting a far more painful fate.
The desperation of the moment escalated beyond comprehension. In a frantic attempt to save their kin, bursts of unicorn magic erupted like fireworks. Their horns glowed brightly, weaving spells meant to catch the falling pegasi, but it was as if their power was snuffed out before it could reach its target. The magic that should have been a lifeline faltered, spiraled out of control and crumbled into nothingness. With each failed attempt, hope waned, replaced by an all-consuming dread that seeped into my very soul.
I watched in utter disbelief as the radiant light from glowing horns sparked and flared, only to fizzle into obscurity. The magical displays rained down upon me, luminous trails twisting in wild arcs, and yet, nothing remained capable of altering the grim fate of the beings spiraling toward disaster above.
Soon enough, my eyes caught a glimpse of the one I would later know as King Kray. He hovered through the corpses with a strange helmet in his hand. He spotted me and barely gave a grumble. "You're not Rarity's body!" His voice was laced with malice and disgust. His eyes slowly widened upon a realization unknown to me. "Hold on, according to the timeline she was helping a friend with her clothing." His words made no sense, timelines? What did any of this have to do with helping me? He leaned down and asked. "Do you know where Rarity's body is?"
"I... I... I..." Despite being away from reality and all of its agony, my words were nothing but a jumble much to his annoyance.
"Answer me..." His eyes glowed with such evil, yet his words were so kind. However, another voice echoed above the both of them.
On the fourth floor, green flames shot outward toward King Kray. He raised an arm and blocked it so easily and turned away from me completely, despite my attempts to protest. His laughter muffed my pleas as he remarked at the source. "Oh, you know exactly where Rarity's body is... Her lovely dragon according to the timelines!" He mocked the rage of Spike looking down at us.
"Give her back!" The booming voice belonged to a massive dragon, his scales shimmering ominously in the fading twilight.
This dragon, once a majestic guardian of the realm, had undergone a transformation born from bitter greed and grief. His once iridescent emerald scales now glinted black, reflecting a darkness that mirrored the turmoil within his heart. Fueled by a heart-wrenching loss, he had grown larger, more formidable, yet somehow more sorrowful. His massive wings cast shadows over the land below. He was clutching ahold of something, too small to see from my position compared to his incredible size.
"Fool, I came here looking for her."
"Liar!" Spike was so emboldened that it didn't even faze him to trample over the corpses and myself, clashing with King Kray head-on, making the leader drop the helmet in all the craziness.
Much to my shock, eyes glowed within the helmet. The helmet flipped upright and spoke with a feminine voice, "Are you Rarity?"
"No..." I mustered my last energy.
"That's okay..." The voice was so very different from King Kray. It was so inviting and kind like a motherly voice. "Do you know where her corpse is?"
I couldn't answer her at all.
"We must find her before the Pale Mare does." Her words made no sense to me, who was this Pale Mare and why were the King and her afraid of it? As the tension mounted, the voice that echoed around me morphed into something sinister. "We have already failed once, we will not fail again!" The anger within that statement was wrapped in an eerie melody, rich and poisonous, weaving around my senses like a silken thread.
"I am the last piece he needs. Please, help me find her." The plea was a haunting symphony of urgency, promising both power and freedom from this peril. It was a paradox that weighed heavily upon my chest, for I understood the consequences of my inaction, yet my body rebelled against my instincts.
Across the battlefield, Spike, the brave dragon who had fought valiantly for those he loved, was caught in a furious confrontation with King Kray. Their struggle resonated with the very essence of love and sacrifice, a poignant reminder of what was at stake. Spike's cries for mercy shattered through the air—echoes of desperation that pierced my heart. "Rarity!" he screamed, his voice filled with hopelessness that mirrored the shadows creeping ever closer.
The kingdom that was once known as Canterlot was slowly morphed into a labyrinth of lost souls. It dawned on me that it wasn't just the dragon's grief, but a grief all shared in this darkest moment. Given to us by the evil King Kray, and yet a piece of his power was asking for my help. It was pleading with me, in the same tones of pain and anguish that the dragon growled with, but for the safety of the King who brought about these evils, rather than against him.
"Please, help me." The words were deafened as Spike plummeted to the ground. King Kray pulling all the magic out of his giant far.
It was in that instant, in the face of utter desperation, my words moved on their own. I wanted so desperately for the fighting to end. Never wanted to side with this tyrant, yet not see any other way out to save my friends. So I replied with one sentence that changed my life. With each anguished cry from Spike, the fire ignited within me. "Spare him... And one other... I'll accept..."
"... Thank you. I won't ask who this other is just yet... When we are one, that answer will become very clear." Strings shot out of the helmet and over my broken body. On that day the Veiled Mare stole my body. And banished my consciousness to the deepest parts of my mind.