A thunderous crackle erupted in the distance, lighting up the area. Rarity made sure to cover her mane with the rain hat she was wearing, walking through the streets of Ponyville. All around, other ponies scuttered about for shelter against the powerful storm. She was slightly pushed to the side as a strong gust of wind reached her. Rarity sped up her pace, hastily reaching the nearest building, lifting up her hoof and rapidly knocking on the door.

As she stood outside in the rain, Rarity could hear somepony inside fumbling with the door. Once it opened, she found herself staring into the eyes of an android who barely fit inside the building. The android made way for her to enter.

“Welcome, Miss Rarity,” the android said.

“Yes yes,” Rarity said as she walked, in, taking off her raincoat and hat, placing them upon a coat hanger. She shivered, then adjusted her mane, glancing around the building and seeing several ponies who were most likely taking shelter from the rain. “Where’s Pinkie, Mister Hands?” she asked, looking up to the android.

“Miss Pinkie Pie is in the kitchen.” The android looked over at the other ponies. “Excuse me, I must make sure our guests are accustomed.” Hands then walked over to them, offering a blanket to a small filly.

Rarity smiled at the machine, then began walking. She was just about to enter the kitchen when a pink blur ran out, almost bumping into her.

“Oh!” Rarity exclaimed, taking a few steps back in surprise. “Well, hello Pinkie!”

“Hey!” Pinkie replied, walking over and setting a train of steaming cups on a small table. “Hot cocoa for everypony, on the house!” She turned back to Rarity, who watched as the ponies each picked up a cup.

“How is Mister Hands behaving, Pinkie?” Rarity asked, following Pinkie to a table, then sat down together. “I know I’ve said it before, but I never expected to find one of them working in a bakery.”

“Hand’s hands are really useful!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Other than that, he hasn’t had much trouble settling down. Besides, it was this or getting ‘deccomishoned’, whatever that means.”

“Are you getting a lot of new clients?” Rarity asked, looking to the side and watching as the android talked to a filly. “Human clients?”

“Mmm…” Pinkie placed a hoof on her chin. “A few, actually! And boy, do they eat a lot!” She giggled, smiling at Rarity. “How about you?”

Rarity looked back at her, smiling. “Why, yes!” she exclaimed. “Humans wear clothes almost all the time, so naturally a lot of them came to me to try some of the local fashion. It’s quite the task, actually. I end up using a lot of fabric, but some of them have gifted some of their own fabric for me to use.”

The two fell silent, looking out the window, watching as the rain fell.

“I miss the old world,” Pinkie sighed, looking at Rarity. “We thought everything was so complicated, right?” she asked, her mane poofing down a bit. “And now… Now everything is ten times more complicated… I mean, there’s a lot of new, good things, but I just…”

“Miss the ignorance?” Rarity looked down, sighing. “Like when our worst troubles were so simple, but now we’ve seen some of the worst life can give?”

“Yeah…” Pinkie muttered. “When wars were just old mare’s tales and not a reality?”

They both looked out the window and sighed, “I miss the old days.”

“Thank you, Shaman,” the zebra said as he picked up the little pouch of leaves. Zecora smiled at him as he walked away, then leaned over the counter of her little kiosk, watching as the zebras of the small town went about their business. She turned and walked over to her cauldron, grabbing a large, wooden spoon and continuing to mix her special brew, then froze as a small snowflake made its way inside, falling onto the goop. Confused, she turned and walked outside, seeing several snowflakes falling.

The zebras had all ceased their activities to look upon the sky as it began to snow, dense clouds floating above the Zebrican desert. Zecora turned around in surprise as one of the amulets hanging from the wall—a small skull—began to move erratically. She picked it up, then walked back outside.

She stood and stared at the sky as the ground began to shake. The zebras began to panic, running around the town frantically in an attempt to find shelter from both the cold and the quake. Zecora slowly walked further away from her kiosk, dropping the skull amulet on the ground, then falling to her knees.

“When ice meets Zebrican sand,” she weakly muttered, “darkness will fall upon the land.”

The wind began to pick up, blowing sand and dirt all across the town. Zecora remained still, watching as light began to shine in the distant south, strong enough to be seen amongst the sand and the snow. The quake continued, ripping apart the ground and forming massive chasms, large enough for some unlucky zebras to fall into, screaming at the top of their lungs as they were swallowed into the earth.

Zecora could hear screams all around, voices begging for help that would never come. She weakly stood up, knees shaking, helplessly watching as a massive, icy claw fell down from the sky and upon the little town, crushing an entire building below it. A maniacal cackle resonated all throughout the area, damning those who still lived. Zecora watched in fear as creatures, no, demons began to form out of the snow that was falling: massive creatures of ice that began to scour about the town, hunting down the innocent zebras that lived in it.

Zecora turned around and began to run, her heart racing faster than her legs. She bumped into another zebra, unwillingly making them fall into a chasm on the ground. Their scream pierced her soul, but she kept running, fearing for her life, with no set direction. She then tripped, falling ungraciously onto the snow. She crawled, trying to get up and run, but something grabbed her leg, dragging her against the snow. She looked over her shoulder, to see one of the ice demons holding her legs.

She screamed at the top of her lungs as the creature stood up on two legs, an ice blade forming on its arm, then violently pierced it right through her chest, again, and again, staining the sand and snow crimson…

Luna sat up on her bed, rubbing her teary eyes. She looked down at the serum line attached to her foreleg, then sighed, gazing over at Celestia, who had been sitting on the floor, staring at it for several minutes now. Luna frowned as she looked away, standing up and walking over to the window. She looked through it, observing Canterlot, watching as the ponies far from her castle went about their daily lives.

A knock on the door made both princesses turn. They watched in silence, staring as the door opened up for another pony to walk in. “Princess Luna? Celestia?” she asked, slowly inching inside. “I’m… I’m glad to see you on your hooves, Princess Luna!”

“Twilight…” Celestia muttered, still laying on the floor. “Close the door, please.”

“Okay…” Twilight muttered, closing the door behind her. “You wanted to see me? What’s going on?”

“Sit down, Twilight,” Luna commanded, pointing to a chair. The mare did as told, gingerly sitting down before staring at both the princesses, confused.

“Princess Celestia?” she asked. “What’s happening?”

“Twilight…” Celestia begun. “I want you to listen to us…”

“Alri—”

Celestia held a hoof up. “Don’t talk, just… listen.” She stood up, walking over to Luna, both staring out into Canterlot. “I know your perception of the world, of the powers that manage it, has been challenged lately, right?”

Twilight nodded, listening.

Celestia sighed, looking down. “Eons ago, when ponies had barely discovered fire, my sister and I were created. The first alicorns to ever grace the land…”

“Before we were seen as leaders,” Luna continued. “The people of this planet… Ponies, gryphons, what have you, they believed in other deities.”

Twilight watched as Celestia frowned. “When we were brought into existence, one of them told us we were to manage this world, bring order and harmony to it.”

Luna turned to see a confused Twilight. “Each of these gods had their followers, their temples. They cared for this planet in their own way, carefully deciding what to add and what to take away, as they have done for eons.” She walked over, closer to Twilight. “They chose us to do our part, then retracted back into the shadows. Eventually, knowledge of them was lost…”

“Yet they still watch over.” Celestia turned. “Threadess, Goddess of Light.”

“Weavess,” Luna added. “Goddess of Ice.”

Celestia followed, “Scorius, God of Fire.”

“And Aphotis, God of the Dark,” Luna concluded. “These four beings have been in the shadows, responsible for this world ever since its very beginning.”

“You mean that…” Twilight muttered. “They’re responsible for the appearance of the humans?”

The two sisters looked at each other, then sighed. “That’s…” Celestia muttered. “That’s the problem,” she continued. “They were unexpected, an accident.”

“These four gods,” Luna said, looking over her shoulder and back out the window. “They have incommensurable power, but they’re… they’re angry, Twilight.”

“H-how?” she asked.

“They see the humans as an accident that should not have happened, Twilight,” Celestia said. “A pox on this world, a disease that cannot be cured, one that has infected the world to its roots, and must be rid of.”

“What…” the pony muttered, leaning in closer. “What do you mean?” she nervously asked.

“Threadess,” Luna began. “She came to me in my dreams, telling me that the others were angry, and almost killing me in my own realm.” She rubbed her eyes. “They are going to cleanse the world, start over without contaminants, without the humans.”

“Why would they want to kill the humans?”

“It’s not just the humans, Twilight.” Celestia sat down. “It’s all of us.”

Twilight recoiled, her mouth hanging open. “Why would… Why would they do that?”

“Why should gods be benefactors by default?” Luna asked. “Gods can be a lot of things, Twilight. They decide what happens, and it does not matter what mortals think.”

“Can’t you speak to them?” Twilight asked, shaking. “You’re immortal, aren’t you?”

“How immortal are we?” Luna asked, chuckling sarcastically. “The mere presence of Threadess almost killed me while I slept.”

Twilight fell silent, eyes drifting around aimlessly. She looked up, shivering. “W-what’s the plan, then?”

The two Princesses looked at her. “Plan?” Luna asked. “Express your guilts, forgive your enemies and hug your friends.” She stepped over to Twilight.

“What about the elements!?” Twilight exclaimed. “There has to be something we can do!”

“We can fight, maybe last a month, or two. Apart from that, there is nothing to be done, Twilight,” Celestia weakly said, a single tear coming out of her eye. “The elements are not strong enough for this… Our extinction, everyone’s extinction, is imminent.”

“B-but…” Twilight walked over to them, then fell to the floor, looking down as the reality settled in. “I… I don’t want to die… m-my... my friends…”

Both Princesses moved over to her, then fell down to the floor as well. They each hugged Twilight, wrapping their wings around her. “Twilight… Luna…” Celestia gasped as tears began to stream out of her eyes.

“I-I love you… I love you both, so much…”