Thirty Minute Pony Stories

In the time before, we ate what we were given. We crawled under the whips. We looked up at the sun and it looked back with empty eyes, too distant even for disdain.  We said nothing when our foals were taken, nor when they returned, whip held high. The empire spread, and so did our pain. But we did nothing.

But one day…I did. I slipped my chains, my hunger my saviour, and fled to the shadows. I joined those others living in the embrace of the moon, and they whispered change. I begged to join them, but the moon had other plans. I was needed for something else. Something more.

In the time before, the sun never set, yet I would sleep the sleep of ages.

~

In the time after, I awoke. I stumbled to the palace to find it in ruins. They found me weeping for my people. I was taken to the new palace, the home of both sun and moon. The moon greeted me with joy, and the sun stood nervously behind her. She was different. Closer. Without my noticing, the whips began to fade.

I ate what I liked. I strode above the city. I looked to the sun and moon and they smiled. I laughed as the foals gaped at me, the pony from the past. Life went on, and I did everything.

Then, one day, the sun called me to her chambers. We talked, as we had many times, of times to come, and of times best forgotten. She thanked me for my service, for my silence, and asked if there was anything she could give me. I looked into her eyes, and for the first time in years I felt the whips.

In the time after, the moon never sets.

Norse Pony’s comments: I love the cadence of the words in this. It’s got a rhythm that’s very pleasing to me. And the IMPLICATIONS are thick on the ground, which is always a good thing in my opinion. I especially like the implication that the empire hasn’t gone anywhere in the future time, it’s simply wrapped in a velvet glove so the ponies don’t realize they’re in Celestia’s palm. And that ending, jeez, that could mean so many things. I love it.