In a dark room situated within a sombre castle, sequestered within a forbidding forest and surrounded by impassable swaps, mountainous terrain and features, a very bored pony toys with a crystal ball. This pony doesn’t do much in her sanctuary, she likes to laze about, but from time to time something usually piques her interest and it is usually because the crystal ball shouts at her.

To say that the ball shouts at her is a little of an overstatement. The sounds that come out may be voices, but they are certainly not directed at [i]her[/i], and they certainly weren’t aware of the world outside that little crystal ball. You see, the unicorn that lives in this castle had made this ball, she had crafted it a long time ago when she were a more proactive kind of pony.

She wanted to create a world. A world that expanded with her imagination. A world that was fun, and perfect, and bigger, and greater than the boring dreary walls of this small castle. A world that existed all in her tiny hooves.

Though she created a world that was perfect in her mind, it got a little boring. From time to time she put a few monsters here, perhaps a dragon there, and mixed things up a little. What fun was there in a static world?

Today was different though, while usually she would be gazing out towards the forest from the highest tower, or ordering ancient artifacts on some dustry old shelves, the unicorn was inexplicably drawn to the crystal ball instead.

[i]What do you have for me today?[/i] she thought to herself smugly. [i]Will there be action, or will I make my own?[/i]

She held the ball aloft in her hooves, staring at the fantastical creations she had wrought. The fun they had in the ball was exciting! There weren't any monsters here, just forest and swamp. There weren't any animals here, only trees and plants. There wasn't powerful magic, only the humdrum of studying simple cause and effect. The crystal ball had everything and the mare stared into its depth enviously.

The world was all in her hoof, to change and meld to her will.

The only thing she regretted was staying outside of it, never reaching in, never touching the world of her creations.

She peered into the ball, watching the happy little ponies play and banter and laugh and cry with a sense of deep longing. She spotted a purple and pink unicorn heading towards a familiar library. This one was her favourite, so much like her, yet not anymore. The little purple one had made friends and her often distant smile was banished in the transition to a heady grin that bespoke of her tranformation as she left her dusty old castle and came to live in the homely village.

The unicorn sighed and wiped away a few tears. It wasn't fair! She made such a nice world for them to live in and here she was, sitting alone and looking at them in the crystal ball. Unbidden, her emotions wrought a violent storm that shook the small world in her hooves and she snapped out of her reverie to watch in horror as the inclement weather stormed towards the peaceful village. 

She moved to stop the storm with her magic, but paused when she spotted the little winged ones grouping together, pushing it all away from their peaceful little village. The storm raged, and there was some houses lost, but at least nopony she saw was hurt.

She sighed in relief and felt more than a little guilty. The screams of terror and the desperate shouts still rung in her sensitive ears. Nervously, she looked back into the crystal ball, the world that was all in her hooves, the creation she most proud of… and covetous of. She peered into the ball… and saw the purple one staring straight back.

Her eyes widened, startled, but she couldn't look away. She couldn't look away because the eyes were heavy with an unspoken message. It looked… sad, like she was disappointed in somepony. They held her captive for what must have been mere moments, but felt more like a lifetime. They she shook her head slowly and broke away, lost in the crowd that had gathered to help rebuild.

The lonely unicorn set the ball down on its pedestal and lay down.

She needed time to think.

To think about the world all in her hooves.