link
(It’s pretty interesting and only 41 minutes :)
Also please leave a comment on what you think: Did I manage to nail the style of the original series or not? I hope you'll have fun reading this.
*** ***
Imagine the world if every single pony were to disappear…
This story isn’t about how such an event would occur, but what would happen to the world we leave behind. Will our cities and remarkable creations pass the test of time? Or our legacy will be lost forever in the sands of history?
Come with us on a journey where we show what will happen to the world without ponies! Welcome to Equestria! Population: zero.
*** ***
Life After Ponies
(Narrator: Nocturnal Mirage)
Ponyville, Equestria.
The streets are quiet… nothing moves… In the time of ponies, this place was bustling with life. Earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns filled the town with sounds of laughter and joy, but now, nopony will ever set hoof on the deserted streets. The only sound is the wind blowing in the narrow alleys among the empty buildings. The toys in the playground are at the same place where the little colts and fillies left them. The wooden desks in the school silently wait for the students, but they will not return. The doors of the famous Sugarcube Corner are still open wide, like friendly arms for a hug, only nopony left to enjoy the delicious treats left in the confectionery…
1 DAY AFTER PONIES
320 miles Northwest from Ponyville, the lights in the capital begin to flicker in the starless night. Since nopony left to refill the lanterns and put new candles in the sconces, darkness will soon settle upon Canterlot…
However, unlike the rest of the city, there is one place where the lights did not die out. The Great Castle, once home of the royal sisters, - Princess Celestia and Luna - remains illuminated.
Midnight Flame, chief engineer, of the Royal Academy:
“The Castle has a unique lighting system. Of course there are traditional torches and lanterns, but the building gains 80% of its power supply from the watermill installed below the Alicorn Falls. The energy flows through several inverters which turn it into electricity. This is an automated process, and it could go on even without ponies for several years.”
Canterlot remains the last beacon of ponykind, because of its extraordinary power source. That is, for now...
3 DAYS AFTER PONIES
While the lights of the Great Castle are still shining bright, the windows in all the major cities like Neigh York, Manehatten, Baltimare and Hoofston turn dark forever.
Honest Insight, future researcher, editor “The Recipe for a perfect disaster”:
“Most cities on the surface gain their energy from burning coal and oil. In a world after ponies there’s nopony left to maintain the continuous input of raw materials, the power-plants will consume every last bit in their furnace and shut down eventually.”
5 DAYS AFTER PONIES
Even though there are no more ponies, the town of Ponyville isn’t completely deserted. The critters in Fluttershy’s cottage have used up all the food they could reach and find themselves in a death trap. Since there’s no more energy, the refrigerators are melting down and the dripping water buys Angel Bunny a little more time. But if he won’t figure a way out of the house, he, along with the other animals which Fluttershy took care of so lovingly, will most likely parish.
Not far from there, another animal is facing the same threat. Her name is Winona and she’s the only resident of Sweet Apple Acres. But now, when her owner, Applejack is gone, she will have to find a way to survive on her own. Will she succeed?
Whistle Wind, dog breeder:
“Despite the fact that dogs have been domesticated thousands of years ago, they will most likely survive in a world without ponies… They are very intelligent, agile and can rely on their amazing smell to find sustenance. Dogs would probably wander into town and search for food in open houses and trash cans.”
Winona is safe for the moment, as long as the food the ponies left behind lasts. Will the same thing apply to Fluttershy’s critters?
Driven by hunger, the rodents start to use their teeth on the wooden floor. Soon, the hole will be wide enough for them to escape. But unlike Winona, their safety isn’t guaranteed, because Fluttershy built her house on the edge of the infamous Everfree Forest.
Honest Insight, future researcher, editor “The Recipe for a perfect disaster”:
“The Everfree Forest is one of the most ancient and most dangerous places known to ponykind. It’s the home of several vicious species, such as timberwolves and manticores. In a world after ponies, there are no more organizations of animal control or gamekeepers to patrol on the border of the forest, thus nothing will keep these creatures in there anymore.”
7 DAYS AFTER PONIES
Sugarcube Corner has new visitors. Angel has led a pack of rodents of all kinds into the building, searching for food. But aren’t they too late?
Mr. Cake, Grand Award winning pastry chef:
“We put several ingredients into our products in effort to conserve them for a longer period, however, other ingredients, such as milk will become spoiled after a week or so. You wouldn’t be able to eat them after that time.”
The tasty treats no longer look desirable, but that doesn’t keep the hungry rodents away.
Green Leaves, biologist:
“Unlike, equines, other animals have stronger acid in their stomach; therefore they can digest the compounds that are produced during the decomposition process, which would be harmful to us.”
Even though the food is tainted, Sugarcube Corner has become a new Canaan for Angel Bunny and the other animals.
Mr. Cake, Grand Award winning pastry chef:
“Confectionary treats have a very high nutritional value thanks to sugar and after ponies are gone, all kinds of animals will probably find a way inside and have a feast on the products.”
14 DAYS AFTER PONIES
58 miles from Sugarcube Corner, the picture in Cloudsdale looks quite somber, since it has turned into a ghost town, like every city of ponykind. The cloudhouses are abandoned, but a strange humming noise is still audible. A tall building made of cumulus clouds towers over the deserted city and a thick flow of steam is coming out of the chimneys. The Weather Factory is still in operation.
Midnight Flame, chief engineer of the Royal Academy:
“The weather Factory in Cloudsdale was one of the first facilities built to run entirely on solar power. If you look closer, there are hundreds of panels on the roof. These solar cells provide the energy for the entire building and since Cloudsdale’s hours of sunlight are one of the highest in all of Equestria, the weather control would still be operational even after 50 or 70 years without any intervention from ponies.”
The Weather Factory’s heart is the control room. This is where one of the largest, most complex computers of the kingdom resides.
Cloudchaser, automated weather control supervisor:
“This system was designed to help the weathermares work. It is based on the known weather patterns of the last 400 years and the main unit repeats the cycle every year. This enables the weathermares to focus on isolated »malfunctions« of the weather as we call them, which is still plenty of work. We register about 50-80 malfunctions a day just in our 320 000 square mile radius. This number goes up to 670-730 a day nationwide.”
The weather in the Cloudsdale region is still under control, as long as the solar cells work. But for how long?
1 MONTH AFTER PONIES
It has been one month since all the ponies have disappeared from the face of the planet and this time has already left its mark on Canterlot. Vines start to coil around the snow white walls of the Garden.
Green Leaves, biologist:
“We’re standing in the famous Canterlot Gardens. This is the home of many exotic species of both the flora and the fauna. Many of them reside only here in the entire kingdom, and they need tender care on a daily basis. This means the picture would look different even after one month. Here for example, we see the creeping ivy. Vines like these are a constant threat to the Garden’s ecological balance.”
Plants like the creeping ivy, and its relative, the kudzu were brought in from the Griffon Kingdom for decorating purposes, during the Second Age of Equestria. It was a big mistake...
Lucky Clover, lead gardener, Canterlot Gardens:
“Despite our best effort, we have not been able to get rid of these vines for centuries now. Back in the Second Age, somepony thought it would look nice if these plants would grow around the walls of the Garden. But the creeping ivy and the kudzu can grow more than 30 centimeters a day, much faster than the average plants. We need to cut them back every day to keep them at bay.”
After one month, the lack of maintenance is already showing. The vines of the creeping ivy and the kudzu coil around everything, slowly suffocating the other plants of the Garden. But they won’t stop there.
Green Leaves, biologist:
“The lower sections of the Great Castle are only 100 feet away from the entrance of the Garden. If the vines find a way to reach the castle walls, they will settle on them for sure.”
1 YEAR AFTER PONIES
One year has passed and the life without ponies continues on. Since she used up all the food the residents of Ponyville left behind, Winona now joined a pack of other dogs and they slowly revert to what they once were: predators.
Whistle Wind, dog breeder:
“We tend to forget that dogs are predators by their nature. They were like wolves before we domesticated them and they will quickly cast off the traits we would find cute today in order to survive.”
The new pack has become the ruler of the outskirts of Ponyville, since the elks and deer has taken over the orchards and the smaller forests nearby the town. These plant eaters provide excellent sustenance for the pack, but their reign won’t last for long. Beside the smaller animals, other creatures have discovered the abandoned places. Manticores, and large packs of timberwolves wander on the main street as the Everfree Forest starts to take back what was once hers.
Green Leaves, biologist:
“If the creatures of the Everfree would come back to Ponyville, there would be massive territorial fights between them and those once domestic animals that have survived. The major threats to them would be the manticores and the timberwolves. These creatures are extremely territorial and have a whole arsenal of weapons at their claws. My guess is that they would eventually snuff out the population of the domestic animals.”
It seems the fate of Winona, along with the other animals is sealed...
10 YEARS AFTER PONIES
The lights of the Canterlot Castle still break the darkness in the cold night. But not for long. The wheels of the watermill below Alicorn Falls are slowing dow, no longer providing sufficient power supply and the lights begin to fade.
Midnight Flame, chief engineer of the Royal Academy:
“We are on a constant battle with nature. If nopony left to clear the upper stream of Turquoise Pride river above Alicorn Falls, the windmill will not be efficient.”
10 years have passed since somepony cleared the Turquoise Pride river from the beaver dams. In the time of ponies, a 200 member team was responsible for taking down these natural dams on the river every year, but without any monitoring, the beavers have pullulated on the area, emerging a dam big enough to limit the runoff of the river, causing the wheels of the watermill to spin slower. The amount of energy produced here is only the half of the values of the earlier years, and this energy is simply no longer enough to maintain the lights in the Castle. After 10 years, the last lanterns die out and the darkness settles upon the majestic building.
However, the Great Castle has to face a much bigger threat in the future...
40 YEARS AFTER PONIES
Ponyville has become the town of decay. Most of the windows are broken, allowing the forces of nature to assault houses from the inside as well. As soon as the wooden buildings are exposed to moisture, they begin to rot. The dirt roads have disappeared under the green blanket of weed. On the western edge of the town, Fluttershy’s cottage is no longer visible. The Everfree Forest is expanding toward Ponyville and has already consumed the home of the element of Kindness. Even though the skyline of the town is still recognizable, the end is near. Smoke fills the sky on the horizon…
Honest Insight, future researcher, editor “The Recipe for a perfect disaster”:
“Wildfires have always been a problem in the Ponyville region. Especially in the summer, when there’s no rain for two months. It takes only a spark and the dry moorland turns into a living Tartaros in minutes.”
In the time of ponies, there were more than 30 cases of wildfires in the Ponyville region a year. But since there are no fireponies left to stop the flames, the great open fields, where once farmers made their living are being consumed by the inferno. As the first flames reach the city limits, the fire expands rapidly, fueled by the dry wood of the buildings. Everything that took years to build becomes ashes in mere hours. The weakened structure of the Town Hall gives into the heat and the large building collapses, sending a cloud of smoke and ember toward the sky. Ponyville, the home of the Elements of Harmony is gone forever.
75 YEARS AFTER PONIES
The last noise dies out in Cloudsdale, as the Weather Factory eventually shuts down. The system designed to keep the weather at bay forever, stops…
Midnight Flame, chief engineer of the Royal Academy:
“The problem with the Weather Factory is the lack of maintenance. The solar cells could only be efficient if they are cleaned regularly; otherwise the panels produce 5% loss of performance in a year. So, if they get dirty in a world after ponies, who will clean them? They won’t be able to power the factory forever and the facility will inevitably shut down after 60-70 years or so.”
The last 75 years did not leave the city of Canterlot untouched as well. If the Princesses would come back, they wouldn’t recognize their home. The Garden is nothing more than a giant, continuous mass of vines. The creeping ivy and the kudzu have taken over everything, snuffing out the other plants and now their deadly tendrils coil around the Castle…
100 YEARS AFTER PONIES
25 years have passed, since the weather Factory in Cloudsdale has stopped functioning and nature has claimed back the skies as well.
Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, awarded flier, weathermare in charge:
“If there’s no Weather Factory, or us to keep things under control, the weather will be like in the Everfree Forest everywhere. You know clouds moving on their own, giant storms out of nowhere, basically a giant mess!”
25 years of uncontrolled weather has left the cloud buildings of the city raggedly. There are nopony to tame the elements of nature; therefore sky-cities like Cloudsdale are decaying much faster.
But decay is also causing problems in the Canterlot Castle. The throne room is still dominated by the golden thrones of the alicorn sisters and time left this place untouched. Here we could still find the large, colorful window paintings that depict milestones of ponykind. The legendary figures of pony history are looking down into an empty room with steely features. It seems nothing could destroy them. But when a powerful storm assaults the gothic windows, the glass gives in to the decay.
Midnight Flame, chief engineer of the royal Academy:
“The lining of the throne room windows are quite durable, but need to be replaced every one in a while. After a century, the lining would lose its ability to dilate and narrow, becomes inflexible and eventually the glass will fall out.”
As the storm rampages uncontrollably, the windows of the throne room break, one after the other and the images of Celestia, Luna, Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony fall down and shatter to pieces on the marble floor, their faces fade into oblivion.
300 YEARS AFTER PONIES
It has been more than 200 years, since the Weather factory has shut down and now, the building facing its final moments. It wasn’t designed to repel the furious attacks of nature for so long without any maintenance. Ironically, this is the first structure that collapses, for it’s on the highest point. Once the mighty facility falls down, the shockwave creates a chain reaction and all the cloudhouses will turn to dust in a 2 mile radius. The balance of the entire city becomes disrupted and whole Cloudsdale lurches to the left. Despite the fact that more than 35% of it was destroyed, the home of the element of Loyalty survives. For now…
Meanwhile in Canterlot, the majestic towers of the Great Castle still rule over the skyline, but a silent enemy attacks the building from the inside. Since all the windows were broken in the past, the creeping ivy and the kudzu claimed the lover sections and their tendrils slowly reaching upwards to the throne room.
Midnight Flame, chief engineer of the Royal Academy:
“If vines, like the creeping ivy or the kudzu settle on a building, they slowly erode the material of the walls. Their roots form small ducts and water gets inside of them. The water freezes in the winter, its volume increases and presses against the walls of these cracks, causing them to become larger and larger and eventually the material will turn to dust and the building collapses.”
The Castle has endured time so far, but will it be successful in the future as well?
Midnight Flame, chief engineer of the royal Academy:
“The walls are made of 10 feet thick marble blocks, so this makes them quite durable. I think the Canterlot Castle will be standing even after a thousand years.”
500 YEARS AFTER PONIES
200 years have passed, since the Weather Factory collapsed and Cloudsdale has evaded its total destruction, but now the end has finally came to deliver the sockdolager for the city. Cloudsdale’s center of gravity has changed with the fall of the Weather Factory and caused the entire city to lurch to the left. The old spell cannot take any more pressure and the home of the Wonderbolts breaks into two. The heavier cloud platform with 62% of the buildings on it plummets into the earth, and the other part falls right on top of it. The spell fails altogether and dissolves and the remains of Cloudsdale turn to vapor in a few seconds. Nature has eventually taken down the symbol of the freedom of flight from the sky…
1000 YEARS AFTER PONIES
There is only one building that’s still recognizable from the once beautiful capital of Canterlot. The towers of the Great Castle continue to dominate the horizon, while all the smaller buildings have disappeared among the blanket of plants, bushes and giant trees. Most of the Castle turned green, since the creeping ivy and the kudzu have coiled around the walls with their tendrils. The thrones of the Princesses are still there, but moss and dirt covers them.
Silent Javelin, archaeologist:
“The throne of the Princesses will be preserved for thousands of years exactly because they are made of gold. Gold doesn’t react with the environment, therefore it won’t be corroded. Even if the building falls on the thrones, and bury them, archaeologists of another world would still be able to find them under 100-200 feet of earth. We know, this from experience because we have discovered relics from the First Age, which was 6800 years ago, but the objects were still in decent shape, because they were made of gold.”
The thrones might resist the sands of time, but soon the Castle will be forced to bow down before decay…
1200 YEARS AFTER PONIES
The structure of the Canterlot Castle is sagging dangerously. The vines and the freezing-melting cycles of the water in the cracks have corroded the marble to a point where it cannot take any more pressure. A part of the wall falls down near the base of the highest tower and the structure wavers dangerously. The birds that made Celestia’s suite their home centuries ago, scatter across the sky in fear and the majestic Ivory Tower simply tumbles into the forest below, like a stick, sending a massive, suffocating cloud of dust in the air. The place where the Princess of the Sun resided is nothing more than a pile of rubble and soon the plants will grow around it, until there’s not even a memory left.
Midnight Flame, chief engineer of the Royal Academy:
“I believe the Ivory Tower will fall first, for it’s the farthest from the mountain side Canterlot was built on. But according to my calculations, the rest of the Castle will be spared.”
How do we know this will happen? Because there’s a place in Equestria where the future has come to fruition and the life after ponies is reality.
Alta Mira, Everfree Forest.
Silent Javelin archeologist:
“We’re here in the ancient city of Alta Mira and behind me you can see the Great Castle. This was once the capital of Equestria and the royal sisters ruled over the kingdom from here. This was also the place where Nightmare Moon was defeated. It has been abandoned for about 1000 years. As you can see, there’s not much left, but the features of the building are still recognizable.”
The city of Alta Mira shows us what would happen to our world without us. The roof is gone, collapsed centuries ago, the windows are broken and debris surrounds the Castle. It is nothing more than a naked skeleton.
Green Leaves, biologist:
“This is a perfectly good example of the damage vines can cause. This banyan tree has literary grown out of the marble floor, in the middle of the stairs. As it grew, its branches were pressing against the roof until it fell down. Once the seeds of plants like these find their way inside a building, they will accelerate the decay of the structure.”
Honest Insight, future researcher, editor “The Recipe for a perfect disaster”:
After a thousand years, most signs of our civilization won’t be recognizable on the surface. Nature will take over.”
Will this be the fate of everything we created? We shall see…
5000 YEARS AFTER PONIES
It has been 5000 years, since the disappearance of every pony in the world and the face of the planet has changed entirely. Our cities were swallowed by the earth, the forest or brought down by water or the wind. However, one last grim monument of our civilization still stands. It seems nothing more than a smaller hill from a distance, but if we take a closer look, we would recognize the dome of the Obsidian Tower, the highest structure since the fall of the Ivory Tower. The place where once Princess Luna lived still reaches for the skies desperately, before the forest around could consume it altogether. This is what’s left of Canterlot after such a long time. Even though most of the Castle has collapsed, this tower has passed the test of time, but now it will give in to the forces of nature.
One final rumble disturbs the quietness as the Obsidian Tower collapses into its own base. Eventually, Nature has won the battle.
10 000 YEARS AFTER PONIES
Honest Insight, future researcher, editor “The Recipe for a perfect disaster”:
“One could ask if there’s a place left on the world, which would be a sign of our civilization even after 10 000 years? I could name one. The Crystal Empire.”
Midnight Flame, chief engineer of the Royal Academy:
“Crystals are extremely durable, they can resist almost anything, so if there will be some signs of ponies in the long future, I’d say the Crystal Palace.”
Indeed. The top of the Crystal Palace still sticks out of the frozen ground, as the last artificial structure left on the world. The snow has consumed the entire Empire, since there were no more crystal ponies left to maintain the spell of the Crystal Heart, but the palace is so tall that it would be visible even after such a long time.
1 MILLION YEARS AFTER PONIES
1 million years have passed, since the ponies disappeared and there’s not even a single reminder of them left. Or perhaps there is one?
A pack of dogs are running around the large trees where the Ponyville Town Hall stood once. Even though Ponyville was destroyed countless centuries ago, new life has risen from the ashes. The Everfree Forest claimed everything and changed the surface back to what it was. Giant trees grow on the soil of Sweet Apple Acres and a puppy with brown patches runs to her mother playfully. These dogs are the descendants of Winona. They did not extinct as expected; they now share the land with the still existing creatures of the Everfree. Maybe they still have tales about us, from ancient times?
One thing is sure nevertheless: they have truly passed the test of time and survived… in a life after ponies…
Sean is back, and better than ever ;D
