Ego Aeternam.
“Endings are not always bad. Most times they're just beginnings in disguise.”
― Kim Harrison, Something Deadly This Way Comes.
I land against the soft grass with a thud, my knee sinking into the green as I crouched to soften the impact. Not for my safety, but to not disturb the landscape as much. Rising from my kneeling position, I take note of the everlasting expanse around me. The land is packed neatly with flora and vegetation, the grass soft and green and flowers decorating the ground with their beautiful colours. A lone tree stands isolated from it's kin, standing boldly against the field of grass and flowers at the peak of the hill.
Noting the tree, I leisurely walk up the hill towards the tree's trunk with the grass and flora pushing against my jeans and trainers. The strong fabric-like material my jeans were made from held firm and had never ripped in the millennia I had worn them. My trainers were similar as well, never once becoming damaged in the thousand years I had them. How have they never ripped and ,more importantly, how can I wear them for a thousand years? Well, there is a simple yet still complex answer. You could say that matter itself cannot fathom the existence of these articles of clothing, since all logic says they don't exist. I had created these using willpower and the ambient energy which never ceases to flow around me. Though you could also debate the more simple answer, which is that I never created them with damaged states. I envisioned both my leg-wear and trainers in a whole-state and thus they cannot leave that form which they are founded upon.
Coming from my mental-philosophy concerning my clothing, I quickly take the final steps towards the tree's trunk and face the solid wooden structure. Running my open palm against the bark, I close my eyes and breathe calmly as I feel the rough yet smooth texture sliding across the skin of my open hand. Then, I felt it. A tiny, almost unnoticeable groove carved into the bark. A nostalgic smile spreads slowly across my face until a small curve is present as my face displays a genuinely happy smile. The shape forms in my mind, the same shape I had carved into this tree so long ago. I would remember nothing about that day, had it not been my quick thinking to carve the same symbol into this tree. The same symbol which had adorned the body of this land's late ruler. She would watch over these fields from her mountainside-castle. By mountainside, I mean her nation's capitol named "Canterlot". Her nation was great, vast and magical. Literally. Her very "people" were magical in nature since they were "ponies". Some would fly high into the air and control the land's weather whilst another race would stay on the ground and farm crops for all the land to feed on. And the final common race would use their magic to enhance the lives and intelligence of others through study or by using magic to enhance their individual crafts to further their civilisation.
Then there was her. One of the few to inherit all the abilities of the three races, but with their inner magic even greater than that of any natural unicorn. She was once of these "Alicorns" who would have immortality, yet they only had a miniscule amount compared to the never-ending expanse I had. They only had as long on this planet as I wanted them to. Thus, like the rest of the pony races, the Alicorns died off with the remains of their people once the birth-rates dropped. None of them knew why no more ponies could be born, but I knew.
A simple factor sealed the final nail in the coffin for their race, though they all passed happily. The factor which halted the reproduction of the ponies was that the already deceased ponies over the course of their history had filled every available space for their souls to be preserved. I had specifically created enough of these soul-containers for the rest of the worlds population, but no more. I had promised myself that no more than the amount I had decided could be stored. The location of these containers is very...celestial. Up above, high in the sky, the stars held the souls of the dead. No Gryphon, Dragon or Pony would have their soul uncontained within these celestial bodies. All would be sealed within until the world was reconstructed.
Though here I am, reconsidering resetting this planet. I had demolished countless worlds, swallowed stars out of boredom, and yet I actually feel saddened by the prospect of all the history and memories being forgotten. Seating myself against the trunk, I lean back into the solid material and sigh in both contempt and sadness. Moving my eyes to the right, I see the mountains hugging the horizon watching me like sentinels from the past. Far in the distance, I see Canterlot staring down at me in all it's golden glory. It's shimmering white marble walls reflecting the golden rays cascading from above. The city itself lacking any resident, yet here I am hoping that she is staring back at me from her throne room. An empty hope, and I know it.
I can even here the distant happy laughs of foals, ghostly voices of those long since gone. A cool breeze blows across the plains and sifts through my messy black hair with the calming scent of grass mixed within it. The rays of sunlight running across me like water increase in warmth and I open my eyes to look towards their source. My godly eyes aren't blinded upon staring into the Sun, and that is what I'm thankful for the most out of all of my deity abilities. My eyes are strong, so strong that I can actually see into the core of this solar body. Within, is the distinct shape of Celestia's "cutie mark" which symbolises that I had her soul contained within the closest possible star, just so she is never too far from me.
I warmly smile upwards to the star set in the sky, it's rays of light shining through the single solitary tear of sadness slowly slipping down my cheek. Quickly wiping the tear way with the back of my gloved hand, I grab the rucksack strapped to my back and pull it off before laying it onto the grassy ground. Slowly unzipping the seal along the top, I reach inside until I feel something cold and metallic before yanking the object from it's confines. My reflection stares back at me once I lay eye on the object, the smooth golden surface reflecting my saddened expression. The golden headpiece sits in my hands with delicately precise carvings of spirals which still hold up even with the immense age of the object. The only size of it's ancient nature being the slight rusting of the gold around the edges, and the noticeable crack through the lavender gem set in the centre.
An almost unnoticeable dent is also present on the left side of the crown, with only one explanation of it's presence. My face scowls slightly. That day when Equestria was attacked by the Changelings, the crown was launched from the head of it's owner. Thus creating the dent. The impact from such a powerful force must have also left a small dent in the marble floor of Canterlot's castle. I can't investigate there though, too many ghosts of the past and their relics of times long since passed. Funny... I guess that's why I never venture to the Castle of the Royal Sisters in the Everfree then, huh? I'm afraid of all the spirits all trapped in time and all the memories of the place being dug-up by my presence. Why do I fear spirits, when I know exactly where they are? And where they will be forevermore? And why must I fear relics of old resurfacing, when no one is left to do the digging? I don't know, stranger. But maybe I just don't know how I can go on. No matter what, I endure for the rest of eternity. I could fly into the void of space and create a new world, but I feel that something exists here and I should find it. No, I MUST find it! But what? Where?
In a flash, I shoot from the ground. Pulling the rucksack from the grass, shoving the crown back into it, I sling it back over my shoulder and make my way to the nearby town below Canterlot: Ponyville. Feeling the sun blaze down with even more welcoming warmth, my resolve burning even more, I break into a sprint with my supernatural speed inherited from my godhood. My boots stomp roughly into the earthen ground as I speed across the plains to the ruins of the once joyful town. Coming to a halt once at it's outskirts, I fling my head from side to side to check if anything was to my sides before cautiously advancing towards the town. A large wooden sign with the words "Welcome to Ponyville" stands isolated with thick vines and other vegetation binding it in a rich green. Rotted wood forms the sign with it's metal heavily rusted. I brush my hand along it as I pass, my fingers quivering upon contact with such heavy memories flowing through the very words carved into the wood. From here I can see the whole town and Canterlot perched above. That place is where I will end my journey, all I need to do is find whatever gravitated me to this place.
Taking a look at the ruins, one thought comes to mind. Never before have the words "sifting through the ashes" become so appropriate for the situation of searching. Still cautiously walking, I approach the town before kneeling down besides a small pile of rubble and sifting through the random debris strewn into a pile. In a crouched position, I suddenly take hold of two objects with both hands and yank them from the pile into view. In my right hand, a purple helmet with a pair of white stripes running through the centre. A small black strap beneath the helmet, possibly to hold the helmet tight on the user's head. In my other hand, a scooter with a blue wooden board with red wheels. The wood was rotting slowly, the blue paint slowly peeling away with age. Bolts holding the crimson wheels to the board were already decomposing, rust apparent across the entire item. The helmet was also in a similar state of decay, the scent of age and memory prevalent within the items.
Setting the items down in respect, I stand up and continue my search. Hearing a slow, deep groan, I twist around before launching myself away and rolling across the ground as a sign collapsed where I was stood. With a nervous chuckle, I stand up again and continue my slow walk through the ruined town. My journey is rather uneventful, the town's occupants having long since passed on. Coming across a carousel-like building, I shrug my shoulders and enter the building whilst taking note of the sign hanging loosely from it's entrance's doorway. Pressing a gloved finger against it to hold it in place, I closely read the words carved into the painted wood. The words "Carousel Boutique" are carved into the peeling paint with rotten wood obvious beneath the paint. Sighing, I remove my finger from it's position against the wood which causes it to promptly drop to the ground. On impact, the wood shatters and peeled paint and splinters dust the ground with a resounding "thump" slicing through the thick silence covering the town like a smoky fog.
Suddenly, a swarm of voices fill my head and I slam my back into the building's wall and grasp my head with my gloved hands. The roars and bustle of a marketplace fills my head which, with my eyes shut tightly, makes the town seem like it's occupants are actually alive. The sounds reach their peak, like the strength of my hands holding my head, they all of a sudden disperse with the sound of a female scream which shakes through my very being. After what feels like an hour, I slightly peek through my eyelids and slowly retract my hands back to their hanging position.
"Just ghosts of a time long since passed. Nothing more." I whisper to myself with shuddering breathes.
Returning to the task at hand, I enter the carousel-like building and promptly let my eyes wander across the decrepit surfaces and structures. My steps echo within the ancient structure, causing me to jump nervously at every sound the building makes. That's when I saw them. In the corner were three corpses far into the decomposition process. Nothing but skeletons huddled together in a protective position. One was larger than the other two, it's hooves holding the other corpses closer to it's chest. Both pony skeletons were obviously unicorns, evident by the small and large horns. It appears one was a foal, was the other it's parent or perhaps a sibling? The final body is maybe feline in nature, with small decaying scraps of both a purple ribbon and collar though small blue gems were encrusted in the collar. The scene is strewn in cobwebs with the skeletons being held together even closer as a result.
Sighing, I turn around and begin exploring the room. A few mannequins of an equine body-shape litter the room, some tipped over whilst some still stood like how they did all those moons ago. All the mannequins were in varying states of decay, with some completely shattered whilst some being chipped with cobwebs stringing across them. Wandering over to them, I see something peeking from within one of the cracks appearing on one mannequin. Intrigued, I raise my fist into the air before punching the crack to reveal the inner contents hiding from me. Sifting through the dust, I retrieve a small photograph with hints of yellowing as the only sign of it's great age. Within the image was a group photo of six young ponies and a single lone dragon, though the dragon's form was very young. With a huff, I loosen my grip on the image and let it gently fall to the floor like an autumn leaf.
Walking back to the door, sighing, I turn back with my gloved hand grasping the wooden doorway. With a final shake of my head, I leave before gently closing the wooden door behind me as a sign of respect to the fallen trio. Stepping off the porch of the carousel-like building, I return to walking through the streets of the town while wondering where to go next. A new shop of unusual shape presents itself to my vision, the building decrepit and in the shape of a large gingerbread house with peeling paint and smashed window panes. Advancing, I cautiously slide open the door to reveal a completely pitch-black room. Clasping my fingers into a fist, feeling my inner energy flowing from my finger tips, I open my fist allowing a small sphere of blue to glide up to the ceiling and light-up the room inside. Taking slow deliberate steps inside, I spot a new group of bodies huddled into a corner.
From here I can see two large middle-aged size ponies with one a more mare-shape than the other. A married couple, perhaps? Both had scraps of aprons of differing colours held against the ribs of their skeletons. The mare having pink and yellow scraps of fabric whilst, what appears to be, the stallion had a more regular white apron. His skeletal body also has the decaying remains of a red and white hat and a bow tie with similar colours. In between this couple were three more bodies, the largest having the rotting remains of a cupcake in front of her with her hoof guiding it towards the last two skeletons. These skeletons were much smaller than the other three, and even smaller than the foal I found at the carousel-like building. Are these newborns, with their lives ended so suddenly without having any ability to comprehend what happened? Was the pony with the cupcake attempting to keep them happy in their final breathes, while she had to hear their cries as her tears also began to flow? All the corpses appear to be holding each other with family-like compassion, were they a family? I can never know, their tongues have long since rotten away. Their words are silent, their screams ending years before.
"Just like the rest, dead. What happened here? Why have I been cursed with eternal life to never learn where I went wrong with this world?" I whisper to myself. Who else could I speak to, when every ear on this planet has rotten away into dust?
Releasing a breathe filled with exhaustion, not of the body but of the soul, I turn and exit what appears to be just a bakery with nothing but memories of the past left to fill it's walls. The streets are as lifeless as before, but now I see them. Bodies, great and small, littering the ground like leaves. All rotten, their flesh having no chance of preservation, leaving skeletons behind to give poetic irony to the once lively town. Where to next, I ask myself. My steps leave imprints in the dusty ground, the ground once walked by many living beings happily going about their lives while being blissfully unaware of their future. A breeze blows through the town which cause my shirt to blow slightly with it, the banners ,beside the tents in the distance, waving in the wind.
Then, I see it. I'd be embarrassed about not noting it's presence before, but who would be alive to know of my mistake? A large castle is what I can see, made from solid blue and purple crystal of varying hues and shades. Though, like the rest of the world, It was abandoned and decrepit evident by the cracks and chipped edges caused by the wind constantly blowing against it over so many years. With a deep breathe, I enter through the castle's great archway and immediately spot a circle of thrones made from a similar crystal as the very walls around me. Only one throne is occupied, though that is probably the wrong choice of words. Two skeletons are seated in the same throne, one on the lap of a slightly larger corpse. The larger body is obviously that of a pony, with both a horn and the decayed bones of a pair of wings hanging at this pony's sides. What intrigued me the most was the younger body on this pony's lap, it had scales. Purple scales, darker and decaying with a thin layer of dust across them, still hang to the bones of this creature with long green spikes going down it's back. Rotating around the throne, I take a look at the being's face. A pair of frills with a similar shade of green as the creature's spikes sit at either side of the being's head. Though the thick hide of the creature remains, the rest is gone leaving it's mouth void of flesh and it's eyes nothing but dark sockets. Unnerved, I backpedal before I realise that this creature was the dragon from the photo I found in the mannequin. So, they all knew one another? But why were they separated, did they not know their end was coming? Perhaps. But still, that's saddening. To be so close yet so far from them in their final moments.
Running a hand through my messy black hair, the gloved texture smooth against my scalp, I notice a staircase upwards. Curious, I exit the room and ascend up the crystalline steps into the upper floor. Finding a room void of anything but another staircase up, I sigh before ascending the next set of steps. Finally reaching the top, I appear to be at the peak of the castle where I can gaze across the entire valley with my deep blue eyes. From here I can see Canterlot even clearer than before, but I can also see a distant farmhouse and a small cottage beside the Everfree Forest. Taking those two unusual locations into account, I leap off the balcony I had been stood on. Unfazed by the wind whipping through my hair, I flex my dark crow-like wings out and gently soar through the sky in the direction of the cottage. I will locate the farm later.
Flapping my great wings, I softly reach the ground once more and stare at the ancient building. Small rotting birdhouses dot the branches of small dead trees leading across a small bridge and towards the cottage's doorstep. Reaching the small bridge, I use my longer legs to completely step over the bridge due to it's ancient nature and that it must be ready to collapse by now. Then, I reach the door. Now that I've been in those past buildings, I expect at least one skeletal remain left behind. Opening the door left me stunned, as there was even more than "at least one" within the cottage. The corpses of animals great and small littered the room but were more concentrated on a single corner. Were they piled up there, or was something there they wanted to protect? Stepping over mounds of mice-like skeletons, I reach the corner and begin to brush aside the corpses until I find two very unique ones. Left within the corner were the bodies of one pegasus and one small rabbit. The rabbit corpse was one I attempted to brush away like the others, but even in death this rabbit has kept it's defensive hold on this little pegasus, that is a deep and loving sentiment which almost forms a lump in my throat at the prospect. Just like the rabbit, a skeleton of mismatched parts is holding her tightly. Defensibly. What was this creature, one with a feline arm and avian arm wrapped tightly around the pegasus?
Stepping back from the mound, I begin searching around the room for photos to use as clues as to what happened. I come across a pair of framed images with very well preserved images within. One was, once again, a group photo of those six mares and young dragon together forever since they were frozen in time within the photo. Best Friend Forever. Those three words come to mind and, funnily enough, were actually carved into the wood of the frame. I laugh, a hoarse croaking sound, until I remember that the last time I laughed was with Celestia. The laugh ends with me becoming solemn once more. I then take a look at the other photo, though the lump in my throat increases in size at the sight. The image is of a butter-yellow pegasus with a long pink mane in the centre of a group of furry animals. But also a creature of many different body pieces like a lion's paw, gryphon talon, a dragon's leg and another more equine leg. This is quite a strange being, staring back at me with yellow eyes and red pupils. Though it still smiles happily at the camera, it's goat-like face grinning. A large bear is present behind the group, being that he is the only one who could be seen at the back, and has a grin as happy as the rest of the animals. So that's what the corpse was that's as big as me... it was a bear. But the corpse wasn't defensive or like it was fighting, so no one came and killed them personally. Then what killed them? Returning to the image, I can see that though many small critters were at the hooves of the pegasus in a display of affection, but a small white rabbit was actually hugging the pegasus as they both smiled at the camera.
Smiling myself, I lay the photos down gently onto the cupboard I took them from and turn to leave. Exiting, I remember that my next trip is to the farm I had seen from the castle's balcony, so that's where I go next. I think I remember a dirt pathway leading there, constant impact of hooves must have caused it all those years back. It's hard to have a concept of how fast time goes other than it being slow for you and fast for everything around you. That's how it is, I guess, when you're truly eternal like me. Only I can know what it feels like to live forever. None of these ponies had that curse. And the "immortality" that Alicorns had can't even rival mine. Sure, Celestia may have lived for at most a couple thousand years but not even a couple billion years is anything compared to forever.
My thoughts are interrupted by the roars of thunder above and the rain suddenly gushing down in freezing rods. Lightning flashes above and a distant tree is illuminated by fire caused by the lightning bolts strike. My hair dripping, I continue onward yet regardless of the cold rain draining what heat I should have. But I'm a god now. An eternal being of creation, destruction and whatever I want. Yet here I am, chasing ghosts. Summoning a lantern into my hand, lighting the construct of my power, I hold it out before me with my hand holding it tightly. Night has fallen, and the dark clouds are suffocating whatever light could have aided me. Step by step, the wet muck of the ground sticks even more to my trainers and the splashes caused by the impact of my steps leaves splatters of the watery earth on the lower areas of my jeans. Then I saw the two bodies.
In the middle of the dirt trail, casting shadows across the ground when the light of my lantern reached them, was a large pony skeleton beside another who was much younger. I approach, attempting to analyse the situation that has passed. A small trench is behind the larger body, the skull of the skeleton dented and cracked with half of it buried like that of an impact. One of the wings is strangely positioned with a crack in one of the vertebrate. Did the larger one crash so roughly that they died on impact? But beside it was another body that deserved as much investigation. It was the same size as the skeleton of the foal back in the carousel-like building, possibly the same age? Same local school? Did they know each other? But this one didn't look like the one from the carousel-like building. No, this one looked far more saddened. It's hooves were locked around the neck of the larger pony, the smaller foal-sized pony having it's head pressed against the fractured skull of the larger pegasus. Kneeling down, I can see that this foal has wings which were very small and even had some form of damage, evident by the amount of cartilage which was smaller than that which a pegasus foal should have. Did this one never get to fly, perhaps? I can also see that, by adjusting my head to face the foal's, that the snout is pressed against what appears to be breakage in the larger pegasus' neck. Her neck broke as well? The most distressing thing however, is that with the rain falling it looks like the empty sockets of the foal still run with tears. Like even in death it cannot escape the intense loss it feels
I nod my head slowly as a sign of respect before continuing on my journey to the farmhouse. Once within distance, I enter through an archway with a rotting sign reading "Sweet Apple Acres" above me. With a deep breath, I continue onward. I can see a barn with rotten wood and peeling paint, I'll investigate that first. Walking over, I attempt to push it open with no success. Seeing that it was locked, I reared back before ploughing my leg into the wooden boards. I succeeded in opening the door, but I also shattered most of the doors planks too. Peering inside, I see nothing but walls lined with rusted tools and decaying piles of hay and straw. Noting here, then.
I turn back and walk onto the farmhouses porch. My foot sinks through one of the porch's planks due to it shattering with age but I continue on regardless. Grasping lightly onto the doorknob, I slowly turn it and open the door gently though a resounding creak still echoed through the house. Once inside, I'm surprised by the lack of corpses which I had come to expect. Instead, pots and pans are oddly placed on the walls as decoration with a dining table covered by a rotting white fabric. An apple pie sits in the centre of the table on a plain white plate, the pie in a state of intense rotting but still existing due to the lack of life in the area, so no flies had really gotten to it. Only time, my enemy, has invaded this house and decayed it's belongings.
I then begin to explore the house by walking up the stairs into the next story. Walking down the hallway, the sound of creaks caused by steps being my only company, I come to a door. On it reads "Apple Bloom's Room". Who is that, and what does this room hold? These are the questions I ask myself as I gently turn the doorknob and enter cautiously. There, In the corner, was what I expected. The dead, frozen in time yet decayed by it, were laying in the corner in a protective group. One was very large, a stallion if I can determine through body structure. A large wooden horse-collar around where it's neck would be, though it's wood was decayed and the metal rusted. The other much smaller pony seemed to be a mare by body structure and an elder by the brittleness of the bones. An orange bandanna was held around the neck with one edge having a white frilly trim with a red apple pattern ran through the orange area. The next pony looked like a mare too, though the bones didn't seem as brittle as the other mare. This mare had a brown Stetson hat perched on the peak of the skull, though it was dusty and torn. A pair of small red ribbons lay on the floor too, did she use them to tie her hair back when she had some? Back before her hair rotted away like the rest of her? Two small bodies were still left for me to investigate, however. One was strangely canine. Around the skeleton's neck was a fading red collar with a dusty golden circle at the front. Kneeling down, I push my finger upwards after placing it below the pendant to get a closer look. Written via carving was the word "Winona". So, that was this dog's name?
"Now, to the final one." I grumble deeply.
Getting closer, I see that a large red bow, ragged from age, is tied to the top of the young pony's head. Another foal. I grow intrigued once I spot a piece of paper held tightly to the pony's chest with it's hooves clamped tightly keeping the paper from falling. Curious, I take my hand and pinch the corner of the paper before slowly tugging it from the corpse's grasp. Finally slipping it from the hooves of the skeleton, I flip it around to inspect it. It was a photo! Staring into the image, it reveals a trio of foals with one having an orange coat and purple mane with a large blue pony behind her with a rainbow mane. Two pegasi... two pegasi... Were these the two I found on the way here?! Was the orange foal forever with her idol? Even in death? And the other two foals were with an older pony like the orange one. One foal had a white coat with a pink-swirling mane beside a larger pony who had a white coat also but a pure purple mane. A cat also sat beside the purple-maned pony...with a collar similar to the one I found at the carousel-like building! The final foal was in the centre with a yellow coat and reddish mane. A similar shade of red was the... bow tied to her head. The pony beside this one wore a brown Stetson hat and had an orange coat and blonde mane and tail which had... one red ribbon tied in her mane and one in her tail. So this foal really wanted to be with her friends too? Friends to the end, I guess.
Setting the photo back into the hooves of the foal's body with respect, I quickly exit the house and leave the farm before giving one last look back. The apple trees in the distance were all dead with their leaves a rotten green and bark a deep black. No apples can grow here anymore. Turning my head to face forwards, I continue on down the trail back to the town. Slowly, my vision starts to darken. Puzzled, I lift the lantern closer to my eyes to see that the flame was slowly dying. Then, with a final flicker of light, the flame within extinguishes and darkness consumes me. Fumbling in the darkness to put my hand against the hidden lantern to reignite it, I trip over something concealed by the dark and I fall to the wet ground. Cursing under my breathe, I enter a kneeling position whilst trying to reignite the lantern to light the path. With my eyes turned downwards, surrounded by darkness, I notice a sudden white light ahead of the path so I raise my head to investigate whilst still on my knees.
Ahead is the moon high in the sky, it's silver rays of light cascading through the clouds what had previously concealed it. There, highlighted by the moon's light, were two figures. Both pegasi, one small and young whilst one was larger and older. The largest was prone and didn't seem to even breathe it was that still. It didn't make a sound. The other, however, was crying loudly whilst shaking the other pony with her small hooves.
"Rainbow Dash, please, wake up!" The young one cried, over and over again. She didn't even stop to breathe, she just kept screaming those same words over and over again louder and louder.
Finally, once her cries reached their peak in terms of volume, she screams in anguish before burying her snout into the larger one's neck. Jumping from the ground, I rush over to the pair. Suddenly, a huge wave of inky purple explodes down the path which consumes the pair and slams straight into my chest with the force of a train. Flying back down the path, I land on my back and roll from the intense momentum. Sliding to a stop, I quickly get back up and sprint towards the pair to see if I could help. Reaching where they were, I recoiled in shock. It was the same couple from before, a small body and a large one. Both skeletons. Both having been dead for many years, just like the rest. Spotting the lantern revealed by the moonlight, I lift it up towards my chest with a shaking hand.
Continuing on down the path, shaken by my ordeal, I manage to return to the town once again. Only this time it was under the cover of night, and a slight mist was hugging the ground. Breathing in the cool night air to steady my nerves, I take my large crow wings and wrap them closely against myself whilst stood in the middle of the street. Looking down, my eyes closed but a thin black mist still seeped through my eyelids, I use my energy to teleport myself to Canterlot's entrance. Feeling the waves of time and space warp around me, I teleport instantly to my desired destination.
Feeling the temperature and winds change instantly, I knew I was there. Opening my eyes, there it was. Canterlot's golden archway into the city. Even here, Equestria's finest city, time has left it's mark. The once pure white marble walls now had a fine layer of grey and decomposition lathered on like filthy paint. The gold has lost its shine with years of rain, leaving it without its soul. Just like the rest of the city. Like the rest of the country... Like the rest of the world. Advancing, raising my palms to be outstretched, I thrust my arms forwards and the two great golden doors slam open.
The resulting slam sound echoes through the entire city, the roar exploding across the city and swallowing like a plague. Undeterred, I continued down the street towards the castle while flinching at every sound coming from the darkened shadows. I can hear them, even now, I can still hear them like the last time I was here. Many years ago, when Celestia still walked Equestria, I came here to investigate what happened. Only I ran once I started seeing the dead as spirits all calling to me from every corner. It was an unnerving experience what left me shaken for quite some time. Skeletons line the streets, all frozen in the same spot they were when whatever happened occurred.
It was sunrise by the time I reached the castle's entrance, I had taken detour after detour to investigate but I always found the same thing. Corpses and memories of a time long since passed. Sighing, I weakly open the doors with a single hand pushing them apart. Entering, I spot the stairway upwards to ascend into the throne room. Step by step my body screamed at me to just leave, to exit whilst I still had time to go back. But I need closure. Heavy thuds were my only company as I walked across the throne room, corpses of ponies rich and poor surrounded me to the left and right. Had they came here, seeking refuge from whatever dark tide had came to consume them? Or had they came here on a schedule to ask of the princess to benefit their lives without care of the less fortunate? That would explain the dead nobles, but I think the first reason is more plausible given the poorer ponies being present as well.
I finally reached the last set of steps, the ones leading to the throne of Equestria. The throne of it's two rulers. Laying my eyes on the three corpses was as saddening as every corpse I had encountered on my journey here. One was large, male, and wore rags of what appears to have once been a form of chest piece tuxedo. A white one, with black trim on the edges and a deep blue bow tie. Small golden buttons ran down the centre of it with a shrivelled red rose in one of it's pockets. A unicorn, evident by the horn attached to it's skull. The corpse has both arms held out and holding tightly to the other corpse... defensively? Hmmm... So this unicorn was maybe related to this Alicorn corpse? Well, Celestia mentioned that she had a nephew who was a unicorn, so perhaps he was defensive about this extended family. But, I though Celestia thought he was vain, so why would he protect some other pony instead of himself? Maybe Celestia shouldn't have judged him so carelessly... Speaking of the Alicorn he is holding, it looks like this was Celestia's sister, Luna. Though the only way to tell is the hoof guards made from silver and the black and silver crown on the skull. Could I check via the hair colour, eye colour or the cutie mark? No, all those are rotten away. Gone.
Turning away, I look at the pony I had come so far to meet again. There, sat in her throne, was Celestia. She was in a terrible state, skin rotten away like the rest of her body. The only evidence it was her was the golden hoof guards she was wearing and the strange golden chest plate she wore. Did she teleport here to spend her final moments with these ponies? Did she want to be frozen in time in the same place she had kept her kingdom safe whilst perched atop her golden throne? It matters not, her soul will go on and is still with me. I can feel her watching me even now, not from the empty eye sockets of her skeleton, but the rising sun shining through the window from the horizon. Even from here I can see the sun watching me with her cutie mark at it's core, radiating the warmth she had shown me last time I saw her. Smiling, I remove the rucksack from my back and set it onto the dusty marble floor.
"How long has it been, hmmm? A thousand years? A million? Time means nothing to me anymore... But It did to you though, didn't it? How long had you spent with all your subjects nought but bones and dust?" I ask the skeleton. I don't expect a response, letting silence reign in place of her voice. How I wish I could speak to her again. She was the first I had spoken to in so many years, even If she wasn't human.
Sighing, I reach inside the rucksack and pull out the final piece of what she would wear in front of her subjects. Lifting it up in both hands, I approach the throne with her crown in my hands. Gently, I lay the crown atop her skull to complete her attire. Wiping any dust from her face, I feel tears of deep sadness gush down my face before I slam myself into a tight embrace with the corpse, howling in anguish. After what felt like an eternity, I finally released the corpse from my grip as a great weight felt like it had lifted from my shoulders and heart. Lifting myself, I turn my back and walk away.
Step by step, I feel the eyes of crowds watching me from their empty sockets. But they can't, their eyes have been eaten away by the ravenous maw of time slowly chewing away at their bodies. My breaths seem to wash cool oxygen further to my core and lifting my spirits more and more now that my journey seems to be over. I guess now this is all over, I should reset this world where this shouldn't happen. A world where the amount of souls existing can be limitless and enough soul containers are available so that birth-rates never drop to non-existence. This should never happen again. Maybe I'll give Celestia all the info I withheld from her, and maybe she'll continue her friendship with me as well. Hopefully the next lives the souls have won't be as sad and awful as what I inadvertently put them through. I must explain to you, stranger, that the souls only live one "life" as the same pony over and over again. They never realise that, the body I mean, since the souls want whatever the body always receives. Like how pony souls always love harmony, so they live as ponies and dragons love to hoard and fly so they live as dragons etc. That's how the system works, the system I created to store souls in cosmic containers which act as the stars of this universe.
Holding the doorway with an open hand, the stairway to the outside being just metres from me, I turn my head back towards the throne. I can still see the sun rising outside the window behind the throne, the light cascading onto the skeletons filling the room and banishing the cold night before. The sun seems even brighter now, like she knows what I'm going to do and is completely on board with it and wants me to care for her people more than even she will do. My face has a shadow of a grimace as a though flows through my mind like devilish tar. Was it me who killed them? A vengeful villain, what?! I'm supposed to have endless knowledge, yet I have know clue as to what eviscerated the friends and family of my only friend! My scowl deepens until a sudden flicker of heat increase when one ray is more welcome and warm. It's as if, up above, Celestia is trying to comfort me. And for that, I return to a more relaxed state of mind.
I smile at the skeleton seated in her golden throne, the rest of the skeletons in the room looking towards their princess. I'll need to completely rebuild this world, because if something here can wipe out the entire world's population then the world needs to be reconstructed where that threat can never develop. I'm sure Celestia will appreciate that, but it's going to be tough waiting millions of years without even a single possession of hers. just so she can be born again. Returning from that train of thought, I turn my back to the princess' corpse and exit the throne room and carried on walking until I had left behind Canterlot entirely. I continued on even further until I had reached the peak of the mountain Canterlot was built on the side of. Once stood at it's peak, I took one final look at the hellhole below. Void of life, the world below makes no movement or sound beside the odd gust of wind. Every tree was blackened and decaying, the only living tree seeming to be the one I had carved Celestia's cutie mark into. Grass? The grass below was in uneven amounts in patches of dead shrubbery, the only living flora being the fields around the tree with Celestia's cutie mark carved into it's bark. It's sad that the only way the area around the last tree is still alive is because I have to pour my own godly energy into keeping it alive. With an exhausted huff, I cut off the energy constantly flowing into that surviving piece of land. Gradually, the area surviving begins to die, shown by the grass receding backwards towards the centre where the tree stands. But even that is consumed by lifelessness, thus the planet is now dead. Pouring all my energy into my hands, I prepare to reconstruct the planet piece by piece so that the world she deserved is created, a world where this will never happen again.
"I've got a lot of work and waiting to do now." I say with a frown. "But it will be worth it." I speak as my frown becomes a small smile.
Author's Note
Thanks for reading!
-Lich
Edit: Minor spelling changes and alterations to descriptions. Hopefully this improves on the mistakes I made originally.
