The World's End

by The Accursed One

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Celestia, Dark, Alternate Universe, Sad, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 4205

A tale about Celestia's life during the late years of Luna's banishment, with a bitter ending.

Celestia learns the hard way how bad it is to be immortal. Her life during the last years of Luna's banishment is her best teacher in this subject. WARNING: Feels may happen. You have been warned.
Cover art by SilverCommando. (No link to his/her page because he/she is banned from deviantART)

Also, yay! 10th story on FIMFiction!

Published 2014-06-01 04:10:04 UTC
Last updated 2014-06-01 04:10:04 UTC

The World's End

The World’s EndBy The Accursed One

        I’ve seen it all. Lives created and destroyed before my eyes… Some consider me a god, but I’m not. I just haven’t been able to die. Never aging, yet always wasting away. I just wish I could end all this suffering! Why must I be forced to endure this eternal torture until the world’s end? I have to, unfortunately, just deal with the fact that I’m powerless to stop the deaths of all my friends and family.

        ‘Life...’ I chuckled a bit at the thought. This couldn’t be called life; it’s too damn painful. Death, as sweet a release as it is, will never come for me. Walking into my shower, I contemplated my existence. I’m just the leader of a small country, not an all-powerful goddess like my subjects seem to believe. ‘Why is this all happening?!” I screamed in my head as I turned on the water, pure hot for maximum potential relaxation.

        Water is my favorite thing in the world simply because it hides my tears. At this point in my infinite life, I should be surprised, but no tears come. I slammed my head against the wall in frustration with both myself and the world. The pain does nothing, but it never hurts to try. Another day of monotony will come tomorrow: hosting the Solar Court, smiling and waving to my subjects, then finally going to some dumb charity event while pretending to care.

        Thankfully, there is one other to share my plight, but she’s gone. I had to force her, my own sister, into submission and punish her for acting out by sending her on a one thousand year round-trip to the moon. If she hadn’t gone insane, at least I’d have some sort of companionship in this world. These thousand years, the pure essence of loneliness and boredom, will no doubt take their toll on my sanity. Sure, my sister’s imprisonment was centuries ago, but the effects still affect me as if it was yesterday.

*****

        Time has finally come for the Solar Court, also known to me as Hell in its purest form. Idiots go up and ask me for some reform or another, then I decide whether or not to give it to them. And then my imbecilic nephew, a damn power-hungry prince, always comes up to me to ask for more power! Oh look, here he comes now…

        “Auntie, I request that you give me rule over the hamlets, or at least one part of the land, so I can actually be of use to our society!” he pleaded, not noticing the anger flaring up in my eyes.

        ‘Blueblood, you’re already a part in the government. I always tell you you have enough power, and you do, so why, for the love of the sun, do you keep asking?!’ Oh how I wished I’d be able to say that… I was practically fuming now. I almost struck him, but stopped at the last second. He wouldn’t want me to mess up his “pretty little face,” so I told him, “No, you may not. You’re already useful.”

        “B...But Auntie-”

        “No means no, Blueblood! Guards? Get this sorry excuse for royalty out of my sight.”

        The guards dragged my distantly related nephew out of the hall. Thankfully, it’s about lunch time so I can finally get some escape from idiocy. Too bad there’s no escape from my despair…

*****

        Time for the Court to start. Thankfully Blueblood got his job over and done with quickly and I’m calmer, admittedly after having a glass or two of wine. I told the captain Shining Armor that the Solar Court shall re-open now, checking the clock as I was talking. The next pony, an orange mare from the backwoods town of Ponyville, came in.

        She bowed to me and said, “Um, Princess, my town, Ponyville, is interested in hosting the Summer Sun Celebration this year. May we?”

        After pondering the idea for a moment, I finally replied, “Yes, you may. I will send my student to check on the festival in one week’s time.”

        The pony thanked me for my time, honestly a rare occurrence nowadays, then she left to let another in. This repeated until the court adjourned and I had to set the sun before the charity dinner I had to attend tonight. Oh joy…

*****

        After the dinner, which went better than I had expected, I headed back to the castle for some much-needed rest. During a night’s well-deserved sleep, I had what may be the best dream I’ve had since the Nightmare Incident.

***** Flashback to years ago *****

        ‘Another application to the School for Gifted Unicorns? Let’s see what this applicant has going for her…’ I thought, opening the scroll. It read, “Name: Twilight Sparkle. Age: Five years. Magical prowess at time of application: Above average. Intelligence: High. Test date: 5/28.” ...Wait, 5/28… That’s today! I quickly rushed to the school to oversee miss Sparkle’s application test.

        The test for this year’s batch of applicants was to hatch a dragon’s egg by magic. Not an easy task, but it’s not supposed to be a cakewalk. This Twilight Sparkle pony apparently is above average magically, and she seems determined to enter the School. I’m betting she won’t make it, though, because hatching a dragon’s egg takes lots of raw power.

        I was right. Twilight tried and tried, but nothing but sparks flew from her horn. She apologized to the judges for wasting their time, then an explosion filled the ears of everypony around. A flash of a rainbow flew past the only window in the room, then Twilight’s eyes went pure white. I haven’t seen such a thing since the days of Starswirl the Bearded. The dragon’s egg hatched and Twilight’s parents turned into potted plants. The dragon even magically grew to a large size.

        Twilight was out of control, so I had to stop her. Just tapping her on the shoulder was enough to stop the ensuing chaos. Everything turned back to normal. I told Twilight about her ability and that I wanted her to be my personal student. I’d never seen a pony so happy, and it made me happy that somepony else was this jovial. I actually genuinely smiled for the first time since Luna’s banishment.

***** Return to the present *****

        A week after deciding Ponyville should host the Summer Sun Celebration, I decided to send Twilight Sparkle to the town to check their progress. After she was out of my way, not constantly warning me about this “Mare in the Moon” nonsense, the time to relax came upon me...Wait. Mare in the Moon… A pony trapped inside the moon… That must be Luna! She’s almost returned! Now how long is it until she’s back?

        I quickly checked the books that Twilight kept bothering me with, and they show that tomorrow is the big day. The day of the Summer Sun Celebration, as well. Finally, my dearest sister shall return and we’ll rule side-by-side for all eternity! I can hardly wait until tomorrow!

        I could barely work through the haze of euphoria that worked its way into my brain after I learned the news. Luna’s return brought some questions to me, though. What if when she came back, she was still the insane pony known as Nightmare Moon? What if she doesn’t remember me? What if she died? I shuddered at the last thought. Hopefully my sister is normal, that way no further drama occurs.

        Sleep evades me, unfortunately. It’s okay, though, because rest is at the back of my mind. It’s not like I won’t have any coffee to help me out in the morning. I depart for Ponyville in a few hours, too, so I need to try to get some more sleep. I bet an hour of sleep isn’t going to work at all. Raising the sun is hard work, and so is raising the moon. I have to be awake pretty much most of the day, so I like taking whatever time I have to sleep.

*****

        The time has come. I woke up from the few hours of sleep I got, then drank two cups of coffee. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and fix my mane and tail, then headed out to the carriage. The guards started flying, taking me to the location of the Summer Sun Celebration. The flight was boring, but it’ll be nice to visit Ponyville again. It’s been oh so long since I’ve been there.

        The carriage landed, and a crowd of ponies started swarming it. They all immediately bowed to me, and I told them to rise.

        “Is your mayor still in the town hall? I’d like to speak to her if at all possible,” I inquired.

        “No, Your Highness. The mayor is in the crowd somewhere,” somepony replied. I couldn’t put a name to the voice.

        Suddenly, a pony with a grey mane and wearing a bow tie walked through the crowd. She bowed, then addressed herself to me as Ponyville’s current mayor and asked what I wanted.

        “I’m just wondering where you have the Celebration planned to take place. Is it in the town hall or is it somewhere else? Also, what are the other plans?” I asked.

        “Your Highness, it’s in the town hall. The whole building has been decorated for the occasion by our wonderful dressmaker Rarity. The local farmer Applejack, the pony that visited you in the first place, is in charge of the food, Pinkie Pie, our party pony, planned the whole event. Everypony helped out, but those three stand out the most,” the mayor replied, hoping everything in the area was to my satisfaction.

        “Thank you. The whole village looks beautiful,” I quickly told the mayor, eager to get the Celebration over with so I could see Luna again.

We headed to the town hall, my student tagging along in my cart for whatever reason. She told me that Luna will return in less than an hour, and the Mare in the Moon strangely disappeared.

        The inside of the main building was even more stunning than the outside. Streamers were strung across the banisters, tapestries depicting Equestria’s triumphs hung from the walls, and the balcony where I was supposed to raise the sun was decorated with an image of Luna and myself.

        I walked out onto the balcony, my horn starting to flare up with the beginnings of the spell I needed. I started to raise the sun, but stopped in the middle of the spell when I noticed a bright light. It wasn’t the sun, and it wasn’t the moon. Just then, the light flashed, blinding everypony in the area temporarily.

IF YOU DO NOT WANT A SAD ENDING TO THIS STORY, CLICK THISTO GO TO THE HAPPY ENDING.

When my vision came to, I saw a pony - a blue alicorn - laying on the ground, unmoving. Luna has returned! Her chest, though, was neither rising nor falling, making me nervous. I immediately broke the spell I had going to attempt to magically resuscitate my sister.

Nothing worked. A doctor from Canterlot was called, immediately teleporting to my location. The only thing he did was pronounce my sister dead. Nothing in this world mattered to me anymore. Tears rolled their way down my cheeks for the first time in at least half of a millennium. The sun could go supernova for all I cared now.

        My sister… dead… My life is ruined! Nopony else who shares my plight is around now. I teleported home then threw myself on my bed in anguish, crying the whole time. Now I know I’ll never be happy. I just stayed in my bed, staining the sheets with my tears.

        The lands of Equestria were bathed in an orange, unmoving sunrise. A day of mourning started for Princess Luna, and everypony stayed inside. Stores closed and ponies just… abandoned the outside world.

*****

        Where am I? This field seems vaguely familiar, yet very alien. I looked beside me, and… Luna! She’s but a filly, though. The ground looks closer than it normally does, too. I… I think this is a scene from my foalhood. I’m not certain, but I think it was when Luna and I first became close friends.

        “Tia, come on! We’re gonna be late!” Ah, to hear the beautiful voice of my younger sister again…        “Don’t worry, Luna! Go on ahead, I’ll catch up.”        “Tiiiia!”        “Not everypony can be as excited for everything as you, dear sister.”        After a few more minutes, we arrived at home just in time to see our parents about to lower the sun and raise the moon. To get us ready for our eternal duties, they decided we have to help every night and every morning. I took my spot on the balcony in front of my mother, and Luna stood in front of her father behind us, facing where the moon will rise. All four of us activated our horns, each pair weaving separate yet similar spells. At once, the celestial bodies started moving, cycling day to night.Our parents then revealed to us a secret: Luna and I did the jobs by ourselves. Our parents only acted like they helped. We were finally ready for our eternal duties. Luna and I were so happy, we started crying tears of joy.*****

Waking up, I noticed wetness on the sheets. I must have been crying in my sleep. I finally worked up the strength to get up after a few hours so I could start planning a funeral for my dearest sister. She deserves it, even after her outburst that led to her eventual death at the hands of the demon imprisoned within her. Luna was so young… so innocent…

The meeting with my advisors about the funeral was thankfully quick. We unanimously agreed on keeping it private simply because only a few ponies ever knew Luna personally, and the majority of them are long dead. Only the guards, myself, Twilight, and Princess Cadance shall attend.

** Two days later **

“And may Princess Luna rest eternally in peace,” I said, crying as I finished choking out the last words of the eulogy for my sister. Pretty much nopony was at the funeral, and they all knew me well, so I didn’t mind being able to cry near them.

“Princess, I… I just don’t know what to say…” Twilight told me, going for a hug.

I obliged my student and tried to calm her down. It didn’t work, unfortunately, because she was just as distraught as I. “Twilight, Equestria has lost a ruler. You’ve proven yourself to be intelligent and able to work with other ponies. So, with the advice of my council, I’ve decided to make you a princess like myself and Cadence. The crowning ceremony shall be held in a week’s time,” I told Twilight in another attempt to calm her down.

“Really?! This is… what… when… WHY?!”

“Relax, my little pony. It’s simply just a way for Equestria to return to its former glory by its newly-reformed, diarchal government,” I explained, the tears gone now.

***** Weeks later *****

I’m starting to regret letting Twilight rule by my side. She’s effective at arbitration, but she knows little to nothing on how to properly run a country. Plus, it doesn’t fill the hole in my heart left by Luna’s departure. Twilight will still be a mortal pony, even if she ascends like Cadence did. The ascended are still mortal, while the naturally-born alicorns like Luna and myself can only be killed by the elder gods themselves, curse them for that.

I don’t know why I keep trying suicide… There’s literally no way it’ll work, but I guess I just hope it does one day. The noose is always tied onto the ceiling in my chambers, the stool always knocked over. Setting the stool back up and making sure everything is ready, I stepped on the stool.

I had the rope around my neck and was just about ready to kick out the stool when Twilight burst into the room. “Princess! What are you doing?! Why?!”

I removed the noose from my neck and stepped off the stool, then ushering Twilight towards my bed. I motioned for her to sit down, but she was frozen with fear from seeing me about to try futilely to end this misery that’s called my life.

"Do you really want to know why, Twilight?" I wanted to just keep talking, to not give her a chance to respond, but she was different. I wanted to give her at least a chance to stop her curiosity from destroying her.

Surely she would reconsider. I silently begged for her to reconsider and turn away.

"Yes, Princess. Please, I'm here for you, just tell me what's wrong." She pleaded in that caring tone that I had come to hate over the millennia.

Twilight, don't do this to me. I started to plead to myself, trying to resist breaking into her. But I was doomed, every part of me wanted to stand and scream. So I did the second best thing.

"Immortality. That's what's wrong. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live forever? Surely everypony else has. I always say it's a blessing, a gift... But I always lie.”

"Immortality is one of the worst things to have ever existed. I've hung myself night after night, always waking up to a guard that cut me down, normally hours after I had hung."

I moved my right hoof in front of me. "I've jumped from mountain tops only to slowly fall down, embracing each and every scratch and bruise, every broken bone only to lie at the bottom for hours, even days, waiting for my wounds to just magically treat themselves."

I moved myself closer to her as her pupils shrank, her legs began backing herself away from me instinctively as I rose my voice. "I've drank and injected myself with twenty times the amount of various poisons required to kill a pony my size!"

I took a breath, then realized what I had been doing, what I had been saying... And who I was saying it to. I wanted to just drop and cry my eyes out, but instead I just sat down, red-eyed.

"Tell me, Twilight... Do you consider immortality a gift?"

“Yes, Princess. Even after this, I consider it great. To live forever, to learn forever.”

I was really furious now. “You IDIOT! If you’re immortal, you lose all your friends. Everypony you will have ever loved will die and you’ll never see them again! It’s hell, Twilight, pure fucking hell. Imagine what you would feel if Shining Armor died. That feeling is exactly what I feel now, but worse. Much worse.”

Twilight simply shrank away from me after that. I think I may have gone a bit off the deep end, but I’m not going to worry about it now. What’s done is done. Twilight muttered a goodbye then left me by myself.

***** Many, many years later… *****

This is it. The elder gods must have some sort of vendetta against me. They took away my sister and made me live in this torture. Thankfully, the oracles have foretold the world’s imminent destruction. My suffering, if I recall correctly, shall be finally over.

Equestria has had a great run. I’ve directed the ponies into space, we established an empire throughout the stars, and met with many alien species. We’ve entered such an advanced technological age that anypony can communicate with anypony else anywhere at the speed of light. Every secret of this universe has been told to my nation and its citizens. How life came about, how the universe itself came to be, all these things are known now.

Even with my constant loneliness, I actually recovered a slight amount years after Luna died. I’m not constantly depressed anymore, and I’ve started to become happier after we’ve discovered so much. My only problem is that doctors have said I’m starting to become insane.

Well, the world’s destruction has me happy. I can’t flee to another planet, though, because the captain has to go down with the ship, doesn’t she? The only problem is that I might live and be simply thrown into a deep space trajectory, dying over and over yet still living.

Oh, it’s starting! The meteors raining down from the sky seem to be fun. I figure I’ll hop from one to another like a filly playing hopscotch. Then come the floods to create the world’s largest pool! Oh, it’ll be so fun! I went outside to start my last burst of joy before I succumbed to the eternal nihility that is death. That is, if the gods permit me.

Well, the world’s end was not as fun as I thought it would be. Meteors blasted through my very being, floods filled my lungs with so much water that they burst, and my body was crushed by falling buildings. The final happening of the apocalypse was the sun swallowing the earth. First, my flesh was burned off my bones, then my bones were incinerated. I was finally dead, finally… free...

Alternate Happier Ending

THE WORLD’S END: HAPPIER ENDING

        When my vision came to, I saw a dark blue alicorn laying on the ground. Could it really be Luna? She looks not a day older than when she was banished. I immediately rushed over to her body, listening for any sign of life. Thankfully, I heard breathing. Faint, yet still breathing. A doctor pushed me out of the way to check Luna’s vital signs, then he rushed her to Canterlot General Hospital.

*****

        I walked into Luna’s room in the hospital where she was recovering. I saw her open her eyes for the first time since she returned. “Lulu! Oh gods, I’m so sorry for banishing you to the moon! I hope you’ll forgive me,” I said, hoping she will.

        Luna leaned forward, hugging me as she replied, “Yes, Tia. I forgive you. If anything, I should be the one begging forgiveness.”

        I honestly didn’t care at that point. I’m just glad Luna’s finally back. We kept the embrace going for about a minute, then let go of each other. I stepped back a bit, telling Luna I’d see her tomorrow.

        On the way out, I encountered a doctor. “Excuse me, ma’am? Do you have an estimate on how long it will be until Luna is fit to rule beside me again?”

        “About a week, two weeks tops,” she replied.

        I nodded my acknowledgement then left the hospital to return home for the night. Sleep evaded me, of course, because of today’s excitement. It’s okay this time, though, because the nation will be too wrapped up in Luna’s return to do anything else. A free day is all I need, after all.

        **** A week later *****

       Finally, Equestria shall be ruled as it was meant to be. Luna has fully returned home. Her chambers received a drastic makeover, becoming more modern. I’ve started teaching Luna the cultural nuances of today as well, hoping she’ll pick up on everything in short time.

        Luna’s first raising of the moon since she returned was similar to when she was learning at first. Her magical ability degenerated while she was trapped since there were no natural magics on the moon, so it was harder for her. It happened, though, and the world became bathed in darkness.

        The world’s, and Equestria’s, recovery slowly happened after then. Equestria had its diarchy back, and delegates from other nations came to interview us. “How does it feel to know you have your sister back, Celestia?” they asked.

        I always replied, “It feels great to have my dear sister back to rule by my side for all eternity.” Of course it was true, but I had to put on a fake smile after the fifth or so time it was asked.

       The next day that Luna and I did not have to host a court, we went to the spa in Ponyville after hearing grand things about it from a famous dressmaker that frequents the facility. It was a delightful time to both relax and discuss our plans for the next year. I told Luna of my current plans and the new laws I’ve passed while she was gone, and we worked out other ideas I had.

        You know, I’m thinking of installing just a hot tub in the castle. Many decisions were made when I was at the spa, so I’m thinking it might work in the castle. Of course, if it doesn’t, I guess Ponyville’s spa will get a lot of business.

***** Aeons later *****

        The end of the world. A sad time for Luna and I, but we know we’ll be together for the rest of this life and the entirety of the next. In the end, companionship is the only thing that matters. Thankfully, we had each other in this horrid moment in our lives. Death finally came after aeons of life, and we embraced it like a parent. I guess that’s the end of our story, though.