Fallen Kingdom

Celestia sat on her bed, dying. I was next to her, helping her raise the moon for the last time. I'd take over after tonight, whether Tia died or not. She was so weak, and the fact that she had, until now, been dealing with the weight of the moon and the sun combined on her own didn't help at all. She had refused my help and had only just let her pride fall, as she couldn't get the silver sphere into the sky without falling into a coma before dying.

"Twilight... I don't think I ever told you this..." Celestia coughed gently. My lower lip quivered.

"I really appreciate what you have done for me, all of these years. I do. I just want you to know, that you have become a sister to me. Just as Luna was. That said... please... forgive me." He head fell back and she closed her eyes. A small sigh left her.

"It is traditional," she said, gasping. "For the next of kin to choose a memory for her dying family member. Could you? I'd like to die with a beautiful image in my mind. Do what you did for Luna." I nodded and wiped away the tears forming in my eyes. With a flash, I was in Celestia's section in the Realm of Magic. I sifted through all the memories, all spread out in the air around me.

They all flashed, with light of their own. A large square floated to my left and I watched through Celestia's eyes as her little sister charged at her, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!"

"I missed you too," Celestia said, crying as well.

Such a brief memory, but one that I was particularly fond of. I had never forgotten that wonderful moment of Luna and Tia, sisters again by blood, and friends by promise. No, I hadn't forgotten, even after the hundreds of years that had passed.

"How cute." I whipped around to face a shadow. She was smiling, her teeth glinting as the only features visible on the mare.

"Pinkie?" I asked, astonished.

"Well, yes, who else? I was your best friend. I'd follow you to the ends of the earth. I guess you won't do the same, seeing as how I died, and you are still here... Oh well. I forgive you Twilight. You just have to make it up to me.

"You know I've always wanted to be a princess. You ought to let me rule, just for a day. Celestia is letting me. I mean, she'll let me do anything since I am killing her." Pinkie laughed maniacally. I stood rigid with fear.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I though that was obvious? I'm stealing her energy! And she's got quite a lot, too! In fact, once I'm done..."

I quacked. "No! The dead are benevolent spirits who can't leave the Afterlife! Pinkie, go back! I thought you were at peace. Please be at peace." I sat down and sobbed.

"Twilight, we're here because you're not at peace. We're here to torment you, silly! Don't you blame yourself for us dying?" With that, the shadow was gone.

How could she have known that?

The moment I brought the memory to the surface of Tia's mind, she died. Her body turned to white dust and drifted away, quiet, as if nothing was wrong. Like I wasn't left behind, a hollow shell.

That day would forever be remembered as the day Twilight Sparkle broke all the windows in Canterlot. I mean, after Tia's death, of course.

The scream I let out nearly broke my vocal cords, and I sobbed for a long while afterwards, broken and angry at the world. Luna wasn't there to comfort me, and neither was Flash Sentry. No, they were both dead. The last person I wanted to see, though, entered quietly.

"Violet," I muttered angrily as my head lifted, catching an eyeful of dark fur.

"Lovely to see you, too, princess." She said cheerfully.

"Why are you here?"

She shifted around, and my eyes widened. "You're here to... to comfort me?!" I asked, astonished.

"Well, I know what it's like to loose everypony..." Violet sniffed.

"I thought you'd, I dunno, like a shoulder to cry on."

"As a matter of fact, I would."

Taking over after Tia's death was heart-breaking. Violet helped considerably, though she often disappeared within the castle gardens. I was okay with that. Sometimes she got annoying, though her friendship was very appreciated. In the time after Tia's passing, I had set forth to build on Equestria's technological advances. My scientists had already made a radio, of sorts. Music was broadcast literally all the time. There were computers, too, like the ones in the human world. I, though, had tweaked the keyboard to fit hooves instead of fingers. The symbols on said keys were large and blocky to accommodate the hooves, though unicorns had specialized keyboards that had smaller symbols that they could just manipulate with magic.

Violet turned out to be quite a valuable asset. She cleaned up my room when I destroyed it in my grief, and she never questioned me when I talked to Dash or Rarity. She just said that if I could communicate with the dead, that was great, and to tell Rainbow that Violet said 'Hi'. I did that one day... it did not end well.

The Realm of Magic was empty as always, and I wandered about this vast infinity, hoping to find the others.

"Rarity?" I called out.

"Applejack?" All at once, five shadows came racing towards me, but stopped at the last moment, narrowly missing ramming into me. Two earth-ponies. Two Pegasi. A unicorn.

"Girls! I'm so glad to see you!"

"That makes one of us," Rainbowdash said cruelly. Fluttershy laughed, but stopped abruptly when nopony joined her glee.

"What? You don't want to see me?" I asked. "I thought we were friends." Applejack grunted, and Rarity spoke up.

"Oh, darling, how funny! You thought that just because we come when you ask, we're still friends! We're dead, Twilight. Death changes a pony," she flipped her mane, though all I saw was her silhouette move slightly.

"And besides, we are always here. You just happen to find us at a good time!" Fluttershy leapt into tha air and twirled gracefully. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh! Rainbow, Violet told me to tell you she said 'hi'."

"Doesn't she think you're insane?" Rainbow asked, feigning innocence.

"Don't you want me to deliver a message for you to her?"

"Fine! Tell her that I disowned her long ago, and that what she did to Scootaloo was-"

"Rainbowdash!" Pinkie shouted, her voice intensified by the natural echoing of the Realm.

"What? I'm telling the truth." Rainbowdash disappeared out of spite, and I scowled.

"Go away, Twilight. We want you to let us go. Just because you're loosing it doesn't mean we should miss out on the party in the Afterlife." Pinkie bared her white teeth, and for once, Everypony's eyes opened up. I fainted when I saw that all of them were pulsing with blood. I could see the bright red moving in currents beneath the glaze of the protective goo. The last thing I heard was awful, awful laughing.