Eternally Devoid - Chapter 1 - The Insanity of Normality
"...I want no one to escape..."
Twilight Sparkle awoke from her sleep and started going through the motions to start her day off. Over the years, her obsessive tendencies began to wane as she mellowed. Still, she tried to keep to the semblance of a routine. As she did most mornings, she started a shower after waking. She'd rush into the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast afterward, then brush her teeth, then gather whatever notes and materials she needed for the day.
She was making progress - some days she messed up the order of breakfast and tooth cleaning, but she never freaked out over it.
Her job was stressful enough that she didn't need the stress of adhering to a personal checklist anyway. She had landed what most unicorns would consider a dream job - she was a professor at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Unfortunately, her class was mostly made up of teenagers. While she could wow them some of the time, most of the time the students assumed they knew everything they ever needed to know.
Teenagers are much the same no matter the species, really.
The dream job came with one cost, however - she had moved back to Canterlot. Though she tried to keep in contact with her friends from Ponyville, it was not always easy. It was harder still to actually meet up with them.
=+*+*+*+=
The years were a little less kind to Rainbow Dash. Everything had been looking up for her. She was so close to achieving her dream of becoming a Wonderbolt. All that had remained was one final tryout, and all that would have been required was to perform the Sonic Rainboom in front of them.
Unfortunately for her, she had nearly hit a bird while practicing a few days before. She had twisted out of the way, but spun out of control. She impacted the ground at a very high speed, almost killing her. It took some time, but she had recovered and was still able to fly. Her days as a stunt flyer were over, however. Though her wings were as solid as they ever were, her brain was a different story.
After the impact, she began to have problems with vertigo. They were extremely slight, not enough to hinder her as a weatherpony - but enough for her days of stunt flying to end. At a high enough speed, she simply wasn't capable of flying in a straight line.
Still, the Wonderbolts respected her, especially after she had saved their lives in the past. Even if she could not fly with them during their performances, they could get her as close as possible.
"Spitfire!" Rainbow Dash yelled skyward. "You're not in sync with the rest of the team! Focus!"
"Sorry, Coach!" Spitfire replied as she shook her head and rejoined the others.
Rainbow Dash stood below on a cloud with a whistle tied around her neck. While she could not perform as a Wonderbolt, the stunt team had decided she could be part of the team in a different capacity - as a flight coach. She would train them through practices as well as observe possible new additions to the team.
While it was not everything that she had wanted, it was close enough for Rainbow Dash. Even as a coach, she was still a Wonderbolt.
Rainbow looked up and groaned. "Soarin, no!" she shouted. "Loop, twist, dive! Not loop, dive, twist!" She looked down. "Take five, guys. We all need a break here."
Being part of the team came with one cost - she was always with them. Most of the time that meant being on the road, but when she went home, it was at the Wonderbolts' home base in Cloudsdayle. Though she tried to keep in contact with her friends from Ponyville, it was not always easy. It was harder still to actually meet up with them.
=+*+*+*+=
All it took was one spark for Pinkie Pie to find a new passion in life, one that better fit her hyperactive personality.
That spark was being at one of DJ PON-3's live shows in Manehattan. She was hooked once the beats dropped. It would be a new way for her to party, and she embraced it.
It didn't take long for her to learn all she needed to know about being a DJ, and she became great at it. Now going by the stage name Hyperaktiv, she traveled far and wide spreading her own music to the masses.
The resounding reaction was approval. For a while she was the opening act for DJ PON-3, but eventually she moved on to headlining her own gigs. Life was good. No, it was better than good for her - it was awesome! Not only was she making other ponies happy with the music, she was making a great living and partying all the time.
With the bits she was bringing in from her shows, she was even able to buy her family an adjacent patch of land to expand the rock farm.
She was doing right by herself and her family, getting to see the world, and never found herself wanting for a good time. It was a dream come true for the pink party pony.
It all came with one cost, however - she never found time to settle down. She tried to keep in contact with her friends from Ponyville, but it was not always easy. It was harder still to actually meet up with them.
=+*+*+*+=
"What do you mean, 'sales are off?'" Rarity yelled at one of her employees.
"Calm down, dear, it's not my fault..." an earth pony mare whined. "Our stock just doesn't seem to be selling well in Appleoosa."
Rarity was not impressed with the earth pony's excuse. "Cross Stitch, when I hired you on to run the Appleoosa Carousel Boutique location, I expected you to be somewhat good at the job. Of course the same things that sell here in Manehattan would not do well in the frontier - I wouldn't expect them to. You need to learn to adapt to the local style."
"Yes, Miss Rarity, I know, but..." Cross Stitch sobbed.
"If I might make a suggestion, dear?" Rarity asked. "Your job may depend on it."
"Yes?" Cross Stitch asked.
"Play to your strengths, darling," Rarity said, regaining the calm demeanor she liked to present to the public. "You are great with technique and numbers, but you may need some help with design. Hire on a local who knows what works well in the area. Branch out some with the designs."
"But... then they wouldn't be Carousel material, Miss Rarity," Cross Stitch said.
"You don't have to simply mirror my designs, Cross Stitch," Rarity said as she walked over to one of her sewing tables. "Look at how well the Stalliongrad location does. That area is fairly far north as far as Equestria goes, yet they do well by selling a lot of winter wear. The New Harmony location's line incorporates a lot of Zebra and Griffin fashion elements to cater to the locals. Do you see where I'm going with this, dear?"
"Yes... yes, Miss Rarity, I'll do that," Cross Stitch said. She was trying to regain her composure, but tears were still trying to escape her eyes. "I'll bring on an Appleoosan to help design things that will sell there."
Rarity noticed she had driven her subordinate to tears, so she walked over to Cross Stitch and wiped a tear from her eyes. "Darling, I don't mean to be harsh, but I can't be at all the Boutique locations to personally check up on things and make them work. That's why I trusted you with the job. I still do. You just need to try to think outside the box, as it were. Hire a local pony. Observe what the townsfolk are wearing. Try to make some friends there while you're at it, you'll be glad you made the effort and business will improve as well."
"Okay, Miss Rarity... I'll give it a shot," Cross Stitch said.
"Good," Rarity said. "You'd best hurry along now - tonight's last train for Appleoosa leaves in an hour. I know you'd wish not to miss it."
Cross Stitch smiled as she departed Rarity's office. "You'll get far better numbers from my location next month, Miss Rarity."
"I know," Rarity said as she waved to her departing employee. As the door shut, she reflected on what had led her to this point.
It was a sheer twist of fate that her Manehattan location took off like it did - so much so that she had packed up a few years previous and moved her main operation there. She then caught a second lucky break when a fellow designer had sold her his own shop, a location in Fillydelphia. Within the year, she had opened more Carousel Boutique locations all around Equestria.
Her business had skyrocketed as a result, making the Boutique the biggest and best selling clothing business in all Equestria.
While she tried to balance both the financial and design ends of running her business, that left her little time for anything else.
She had become the most famous name in fashion in Equestria but at a cost - very little time to spend off the job. While she tried to keep in contact with her friends from Ponyville, it was not always easy. It was harder still to actually meet up with them.
=+*+*+*+=
A small green earth pony colt was bouncing around the Apple family ranch like the unholy spawn of a greased bolt of lightning and a superball. He was bouncing around happily and getting into everything.
Then he found himself stuck in an apple tree.
He couldn't get back down. He looked down as tears filled his eyes.
"MOMMY!"
Across the orchard, Applejack heard the colt's cry. "Dangit," she cursed silently. "Hold on, Applewood! Momma's comin'!" She raced across the orchard as Applewood's cries got louder.
She soon arrived at the offending tree and looked up. Applewood was indeed stuck in it, clinging to one of the high branches. "Boy, how do you keep windin' up in such bad spots?" she asked, unable to get mad at her young child.
"Boys will be boys, sis," came a deeper voice from behind her.
"Yeah, but you never was this much trouble as a colt, Big Macintosh," Applejack sighed. "Ah'm guessin' you heard him too?"
"Eeyup, sure did," Big Macintosh said. "Get under him, sis, Ah got this."
As Applejack lined herself up right underneath Applewood, Big Macintosh bucked the apple tree as hard as he could.
The shock of the impact caused Applewood to release his grip on the tree branch. A second kick from Macintosh sent the colt tumbling right onto Applejack's back.
Applewood started crying. "Ah... ah was so scared, Momma... Ah'm sorry..."
"There, there... Ah'm not mad at'cha, Ah'm jus' glad you didn't go an' get yourself in some real trouble," she said. "Bro, Ah'm gonna have to take the rest of the day to watch him..."
"Ain't a problem, sis," Big Macintosh said.
As Applejack cantered back to the house, she wondered why it was her lot in life to have to deal with a foal and try to run the ranch.
Applewood wasn't her foal by blood - at least, not directly. Three years before, Applejack had been visiting family in Appleoosa when one of her cousins had begun to give birth. While they managed to get her to the hospital and Applewood was born healthy, she didn't make it.
As her last wish, Applejack's cousin asked her to raise the colt as her own child - there was no one else to do the job, as her cousin's husband had died three months before in a mining accident. Applejack could not refuse the last request of one of her family.
It had been busy ever since as Applejack tried to balance the life of a hard-working farmer and the life of a mother. Most days, she was able to get the balance right. Sometimes, though, Applewood would find himself in trouble.
She had little help in taking care of the colt as well, for her sister had finally discovered her special talent and went on to run the Ponyville Carousel Boutique location. She was proud of Apple Bloom, but some days she wished she had a little more help.
Still, being the hard-working pony that she was, she made it work. Business didn't suffer any and Applewood was in a family where he'd be loved. All would work out and be well.
Still, it took a toll on Applejack's friendships. Most of her friends had moved on from Ponyville as life took them elsewhere. She tried to keep in touch with them, but they rarely were able to meet anymore.
=+*+*+*+=
Down the way from Sweet Apple Acres, Fluttershy went about her normal day. She took care of the animals as she always did. Whenever one got sick, she would nurse it back to health. When the day would come that the animal was ready to return to the wild, she'd release it.
Life was the same that it always was for her, at least as far as that went. Still, she missed her friends and their adventures, and their life's calling had taken them in different directions.
Twilight Sparkle had returned to Canterlot.
Rarity had moved to Manehattan.
Rainbow Dash was either in Cloudsdayle or on the road with the Wonderbolts.
Pinkie Pie's career as the party DJ Hyperaktiv had taken off.
Applejack had a family to take care of.
Fluttershy was happy for all of them, so she had no regrets there. They were all living their dream in some way or another, as she was at home with her animals.
Still, it made it hard for her to remain in contact with them. It was rarer for her to meet up with them, and rarer still that they could all meet...
=+*+*+*+=
"Students, turn your books to page 63," Twilight said as she wrote on the chalkboard. "Today, we're going to discuss..." She looked down at her own copy of the textbook. "...Healing magics... oh boy, this'll be fun... There are many schools of magic out there, and while most of you will end up specializing in one or two of them at the most, it is still important to learn the basics in other types of magic. You never know when your thrill-seeking pegasus friend will try an insane flying stunt or your earth pony friend will overdo it and break something, and you may not be close to a hospital. It is our responsibility as magic users to be ready for anything."
One of the unicorns in the back row raised her hoof. "Miss Sparkle?"
Twilight looked back at the class. "You have a question, Aria?"
Aria slowly lowered her hoof. "Yes... did something like that happen to one of your friends?"
Twilight sighed. She knew the answer - she had been present when Rainbow Dash had her accident, and luckily for her, rudimentary medical magic was able to keep Dash from dying. Still, she blamed herself for not noticing the brain injury and possibly costing her friend a promising career as a Wonderbolt. "I'd rather not go into details, but yes, knowing some healing magic has come in handy for me on more than one occasion," she said out loud. "If that's all, we'll go on to..."
As she tried to move the chalk magically to write down the first principle of medical magic, her magic blinked for an instant and the stick of chalk fell to the floor.
"Miss Sparkle?" one of the unicorn colts asked, seeing the momentary magical lapse from his teacher. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," she lied, "I'm fine. I guess I didn't get as much sleep as I wanted last night." She picked the chalk back up and resumed writing. As the words were written on the board, though, she started to wonder to herself if something was wrong. She had never had problems with her magic before. As she continued her lecture, she silently made a note to check things out later on.
=+*+*+*+=
As the Wonderbolts continued their practice, they only seemed to be getting sloppier in their precision flying. It wasn't normal for them.
A whistle rang out from below. "Ok guys, that's it for the day," Rainbow Dash said. "Pack it in, get some rest. Tomorrow's our last day of practice before going to Canterlot for the Winter Moon celebration. I want you at your best!"
Spitfire spoke for the group. "Got you, Coach," she said as she descended to the clouds. "We'll nail it tomorrow, then nail it again for the celebration. Right, Wonderbolts?"
The others replied in unison. "Yes, ma'am!"
"That's what I like to hear!" Rainbow replied. "We'll meet here again tomorrow morning. Dismissed!"
The Wonderbolts departed to the locker room to get changed for the night.
Rainbow Dash started to fly back to her office, but something felt off. She was finding it hard to keep herself level. "I hope this isn't getting worse," she thought to herself. "It's bad enough I can't be up there with them... I don't want to be earthbound again."
Her previous injuries were making it harder on her than most, but most of the nearby pegasi seemed to be having some trouble flying as well. It was barely noticeable, but a keen eye like Dash's would have seen it if only she were observing that and not the stunt techniques.
=+*+*+*+=
As Applejack left the house to grab some apples for dinner, she could hear a sickening crack not too far away. She then heard Big Macintosh bellow in pain.
"Big Macintosh? Hang on bro, help's on the way!" she cried out as she ran over to see what was going on.
When she arrived, she could see Big Macintosh crumpled up in a heap near the largest tree in Sweet Apple Acres. "What happened?" she asked, concerned.
"Ah don't know..." Big Macintosh struggled to say. His face said it all - he was in agony. "Ah tried buckin' this tree - it was the last one for the day, then Ah heard a snap an' couldn't stand anymore!"
Applejack looked carefully over her brother. She soon saw the culprit - one of his front legs had broken from the violent force that shuddered through his whole body when he bucked the tree. There was no way he'd be walking back to the house. "Apple Bloom!" she cried, knowing her sister would be home from work by now.
Sure enough, Apple Bloom ran over to her siblings as fast as she could. "What happened, sis?" she asked before seeing Big Macintosh's damaged leg.
"Ah need you to run back to town an' get Nurse Redheart," Applejack said as she struggled to hold back her tears. "Big Macintosh is hurt an' Ah can't move him. You gotta get help!"
The gravity of the situation sunk in for Apple Bloom. "Ah'm already gone, sis! You gotta be okay, bro, you just gotta!" she cried as she started galloping towards Ponyville.
"This is bad, Sis," Big Macintosh said through the pain. "It hurts so bad... you have no idea..."
"Help's comin'" Applejack said as she tried to comfort her brother. "Help's comin'. You just gotta hang on."
=+*+*+*+=
Things were far worse in New Harmony than they were in the rest of Equestria. Unicorns there had completely lost their magic. Pegasi had lost the ability to fly. Earth ponies were becoming more fragile.
Everyone was at a loss as to why.
On the outskirts of town, a dark force had completely enveloped a nondescript hut...