it-gets-worse

[it-gets-worse]

Time Ticks On, Chapter 2

Twilight walked up the steps of the Klocktower, carrying a box of gears and springs in her arms. She muttered sizes and diameters under her breath, trying to recall which pieces she would need to offer first.

Her steps lead her to the floor that held the Klock itself, a mighty contraption capable of unfathomable powers! Or, it would be, were it not desperately in need of many repairs.

She walked towards the section currently being repaired, letting her eyes unfocus for a moment, before concentrating on the air before her.

Twilight’s arcane eyes traced the immense energies in the air before her.

The Klock struck the hour, sending forth a pulse of energy so strong, it shook the Tower. Outside, Twilight knew another world would meet its demise.

Twilight’s steps were unaffected by the lurch of the island, having long since gotten used to the harsh movements.

“Klorr! I’ve brought up the parts!” She called into the room.

Klorr quickly moved out from behind massive turning cogwheels, rushing towards the box. She stumbled in her haste, almost falling over. “Good! Good! Quickly now, we haven’t any time to waste!”

She grabbed the box from Twilight and began to rush back to her workstation. She quickly lost her balance, falling to the ground. Brass gears and copper springs spread across the floor in every direction, like sand from a broken hourglass.

“No, no, no, no!” She crawled towards the spilled metal, gathering up the pieces as best as she could as she went. “Every hour longer we take is another world gone! Millions have already been consumed by this broken machine! We must preserve the trillions remaining!”

She stopped as a harsh cough wracked her form. She lay, shaking from the intensity as her hands weakly grabbed at more gears.

Twilight slowly walked towards the older woman. She grabbed Klorr under the shoulder, raising her to her feet. “Klorr… You can’t go on like this. Everytime you fall, your energy gets weaker.”

The Klockmaker sighed. “You’re right. But I’ll be damned if I don’t give it my all. The sacrifices I’ve made to keep myself ticking long enough to make the progress I have!”

She shrugged off Twilight’s arm, shaking as she began to move again. “I have to repair the machine! I must!”

[it-gets-worse]

Throughout Life, you will experience Sadness. Tragedy and Misery will occur. That’s a natural part of life.

These stories are not natural. They are akin to cuts set on the flesh, designed to leave ugly scars as awful reminders.

If left untouched, these stories shall only lead into a cascade of misery and woe.

Alter the course of the Stories written, and prevent the tragic ending.

THE RULES:

You possess the Perfect Vessel, an object of extreme power.

You may ask anything, but your powers are tempered by a few rules.

You may insert yourself directly into the story, but be warned: This will create a physical form that is subject to the whims of the Author.

You can still send asks via the Vessel.

Be wary of actions that lean too much into your Divine Power.

Pinkamena Pie

“First, there was the Dragon. No, no. First there was the Unicorn. No, wait, the dragon is to blame.

Pinkie took her hands away from the keyboard to claw at her face in agony. She quickly brought her hands back to the keys, making up for lost time.

Lost. Lost! Yes, that’s it!”

Time Ticks On

Twilight stepped towards the black tower, her footsteps slow and careful. She had been called to this strange place, to aid in repairing a clocktower.

Suddenly, the island lurched. She stumbled, quickly regaining her footing.

She turned around and stared at the massive ball of Fire in the far distance, that dragged a neaby tiny star into its mass. Quickly following, dragged by the gravitational pull, was was the small country of Silverpoint, dragged through the depths of the dark into the hostile warmth.

An old woman leaned her head out of a window far above. “Quickly, you fool! We haven’t a second to lose! We must restore the Klocktower before more worlds are lost!” she shouted down at Twilight; the few hairs left on her aged head shifted in the wind as she gazed down at the newcomer.

The Perfect Performance

Rarity gazed at the music sheet before her, her hands trembling as she tuned her guitar, creating an awful noise.

Her hands gently touched the page, worrying if the song was right.

Would this song be good enough for Rarity?

()()()()()()

“Pinkie Pie blinked, staring at the last sentence.

Let’s try that again.”

()()()()()()

She wasn't concerned about how Rarity would react. Rarity loved all of her songs.

What she was worried about was whether her work was worthy to be presented before her band leader.

She strummed the strings, mouthing the notes as she played, and going over the lyrics in her mind. It had to be perfect.

()()()()()()

“Pinkie Pie’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the words on the screen. It had been quite a while since she checked on Rarity. What had happened in that time?

Has Rarity been cloned? Had she met other versions of herself, dragged in from across the multiverse? Maybe the fault was with Pinkie, and her Senses were just acting strangely, perceiving the realm wrong.

She shook her head. Never mind that. She had to focus on the others right now. She’d return to Rarity’s story later.”

Curse of Breeze

4 [Castle Strahd in the distance, as AJ glares towards the castle]

AJ stared up at Castle Breeze, the fortress outlined by the moon. Wolves howled in the distance as a cold wind blew through the village.

Too long had they lived underneath the vampire Count’s fearsome rule. Too long had they lived in fear of when the fiend would feed next. Too long had they lived in fear of those close to Breeze, afraid of when the lesser nobles would take what they wanted without consequence.

It was time for a change. It was time for a planned rebellion. No more would their livelihoods be lost to the evil of the valley! It was time to end this Curse of Breeze!

Needs of the Many

Apple Bloom stared into the fire. Her eyes glanced up at the figures before her. Her mind was empty. She didn’t want to think about the past.

Silverspoon stared off into the dark, just thinking about how life had become. She wrung her hands together, her mind full of regrets.

Sweetie Belle smiled as she breathed in the night air. A new adventure awaited them in these lands!

Her smile waned as she saw the glum expressions on the others’ faces.

“Come on, chin up! We’ve a new adventure ahead of us!” she cheered.

Apple slowly turned her head to look at Sweetie. “Yeah. Against an army.”

Sweetie rolled her eyes. “We’ve fought armies before! And won!”

“Not last time,” Silverspoon muttered.

Sweetie’s smile fell. She stared into the fire, listening to the crackle of the dead wood.

“... this time will be different. The army led by the General Dash is weak. Her methods are leading to food shortages across their entire territory. They’ll be weaker than the others were.”

“We know that already,” Apple Bloom stated.

The quiet returned as they all stopped talking. The crackling of the fire was the only noise to be heard.