It was that day again. That day which Celestia dreaded every time she woke up in the morning. The one day were her problems couldn't be fixed by using that fake smile of hers, and nodding. It was her death day, as she liked to call it. Not very imaginative but that was beside the point, it signified her only respite in the realm of the living. Every time a day like this would come along her eyes would fail to focus for an hour, then her mane would cease to waver. Finally her heart would stop beating.
She really wished someone could accompany her on this long journey, however, they would undoubtedly give in to the temptation she is faced with. The promise of death is amazing, you become a god in your own right. Anything you wish to do, you can. There is no mountain in death that you cannot climb, no abyss deep enough to deter you from climbing down, no creature strong enough to strike fear in your heart. This is why ponies die. Not because of their "killers" or natural causes, they die because they wish to.
Celestia let out a sigh as she felt her heart beginning to slow. Ponies constantly wish to know why they die in each other's hooves, yet the answer is so simple that a sick little filly was able to figure it out. From that day on she did not faulter in the face death, she merely continued moving on. The reason why she was able to defeat her enemies was purely because they could not kill her. Her sister, in truth, is stronger. Every time Celestia fires a beam of magic she over exerts herself a thousand times, that is the key to her strength; death. Every time she raises her "beloved sun" she dies a million times over just so her little ponies may live on. She swore yesterday that the nobles managed to stress her enough that a normal pony would die in her position.
Slowly the sun empress’s eyes closed of their own accord. Carefully Celestia exhaled her last breath, being sure to savour it, as it may be her last.
"Is it really that time of year again Celestia?"
Celestia opened her eyes and took in the sights around her. She sighed knowing it was to be the exact place she arrived last year. She knew it to be rude not acknowledging her host, so she said the only thing that came to mind.
"What gave you that idea, Death?" Snapped Celestia, looking over her new host. The being in question stood on its hind legs in an elegant manner, one which looked perfectly normal for a creature of her size. She wore a dark red dress with no outstanding features. The beings face had no fur what so ever and long grey silky hair flowed down her back. Her other limbs were similar to legs in some ways, however, those similarities ended when the "feet" were observed. They consisted of five tentacle like appendages attached to an odd base. The creature eyes were quite small compared to Celestia's, they consisted of a light blue with a small "muzzle" beneath them.
"Celestia! I would have hoped your manners are improved by now. After all, we both know it's not my fault you're stuck here. I don't purposely drag you back down here. There is only so many deaths a single body can take after all and you take many more than what I would recommend." Scolded Death.
Celestia couldn't help but hang her head in defeat. "I'm sorry, Death but coming down here never gets any easier."
"How do you know this place isn't up?" Retorted Death.
"Please cut the small talk, Death. I just want to be done with this."
"When you were younger you always wanted to delay the inevitable, it's a pity you've changed so quickly. Oh well, everyone needs to grow up sometime. I wonder when your sister will arrive here, most likely not for a very long time. After all she values her life higher than any other being on Equis."
Celestia was quite surprised to hear that about her sister. Luna's whole life has changed, she spent a thousand years on the moon and she is shunned by her own subjects, yet she can continue to fight on. She is most definitely the stronger sister.
"Well, aren't you going to get moving?" Asked, Death, genuinely curious.
Celestia sighed and with much reluctance started travelling down the road. It was a very unique road. She asked death about it once when she was younger, apparently the creatures she bases her appearance off are called humans and this is an old road used by the species. She asked where they went, the only answer she received was; "To the stars, dear Celestia". One thing about this road she knew for certain was that it would never be used in Equestria. A few nobles had proposed the use of this system, however, they were immediately shut down by a certain royal decree.
The road truly was a sight to behold, you could travel down it forever and never find what you are looking for but that is not the purpose of the road. A road isn't a destination, it is used to get to a destination. So Celestia did the only sane thing a pony would do in this situation; she turned and approached her destination. Others might have wondered why a plain wooden door was standing out in the middle of a strange road. Well, this simple door was not just any old door, it was a memory. One which, Celestia would always remember.
Moving even an inch toward the door was difficult for Celestia. She hated entering this door every time she came to the afterlife, however, despite it being one of, Celestia's miseries it was still only the first challenge. Time was irrelevant in the afterlife, Celestia would wake up tomorrow no matter how long it took her to complete the challenges. So, for all she knew, she could have stared at that door for possibly a thousand years. Slowly, Celestia inched forward one tiptoe at a time; each step making her chest close in on itself a little more. After a possible eternity Celestia had traveled to the very front of the wooden door. There she closed her eyes and muttered to herself repeatedly; "It’s just a memory, it’s just a memory."
Author's Note
Please feel free to point out any mistakes you may find. I am Australian, so my spelling may differ depending on where you live. Still relatively new to writing so feel free to correct me.
In this dark and dreary place memories weren't a recall of what happened. They were much more than that. In a way memories were what kept this place alive, the echo of a ghost is nothing more than a memory. It is quite daunting in a sense, who knows what memory you could stumble across, a death, a birth, a loss, a gain? This place had rules, however, preventing such things from happening; each memory was personal, not random.
When Celestia opened her eyes the surrounding that greeted her was quite familiar. The area was small, but not down right cramped, cozy would be an accurate description. It was obviously a log cabin judging from the walls and ceiling. A small fireplace was at the end of the room and a large quilt lay on the wooden floor. Despite the calm environment shivers racked Celestia's spine, and for good reason too. A very large pony soon entered the room. The mare stood at an intimidating 5'8, her mane was a bright orange with a small twinge of yellow apparent, in complete contrast with her mane her coat consisted of a very dark sky blue almost the same shade as Luna's, the mares eyes in question were exactly the same colour and size as Celestia's. The characteristics of the mare are not what caught Celestia's eye; the foals on her back were.
The two foals on the mare's back were a spitting image of Celestia and Luna when they were much, much younger.
"Mommy when will dinner be ready?!" Asked the younger Celestia, bouncing up and down on the mares back.
"Shh. Your sister is still resting, dinner will be ready when the time comes," Replied the older mare.
The young Celestia pouted at her mothers scolding, yet did as she was told. She was growing restless, she hadn't eaten at all since breakfast, her mother seeing this decided that a course of action was required.
"Hush now little one, your time will come
Before it does you will discover magic and wonder
So hush now my little sun, as you have yet to rise"
"The day when you will close your eyes is yet to come, so hush my little sun
Hush and dream about the light you will spread, dream about the lives you will change
One day when your time to set has come, I will embrace you with open hooves"
"So Hush now my little sun, your time is yet to come."
Tears openly streamed down Celestia's face as she watched her slumbering self lay gently against her mother. She desperately wanted to be seen by her mother. She approached her mother and carefully placed a hoof under her mother chin. Sadly the hoof just went through her mother.
"Mum! Please I'm right here. Please... Notice me."
Celestia sobbed, she didn't care at this point. Is this how she was to live her life? Constantly watching the ghosts of those she loved. Maybe she could give up, after all, Twilight had ascended she easily had enough power to raise the sun. Luna could keep the nobles in check and raise the moon. Cadence would be there for, Twilight.
Celestia shook her head. That would never work. The common ponies would cower in the face of the unknown, they would start asking questions. She recalled the things they said about her sister.
"Vile beast."
"Witch."
"Unholy demon from the depths of hell."
No. Celestia couldn't give up. She lived not to view the ghosts of her past, but to acknowledge the achievements of those around her, to guide people through their hardships. After a possible eternity of staring a her mothers ghost Celestia was able rip her eyes away from the scene. It pained her, seeing her dead mother, who was undoubtedly waiting for her. She couldn't live in the past, she had to move on.
"Mother I know your waiting for me and I thank you for that. *sigh* But I have ponies relying on me, and maybe, just maybe one of them will fill my place. Until that day I cannot join you. I am sorry."
Unable to bare the sight of this memory, Celestia exited the cabin, vowing silently to herself that one day she would speak to her mother once again. She left the cabin swiftly, not wanting her moral to be broken anymore than it already was.
Once again she was at that god forsaken road. Rather than mope and sob about the horrors that the road would bring Celestia became furious. She blasted the road with every ounce of power she had. She stomped on it with her powerful earth pony legs expecting to see the earth shatter a her whim. As if the road itself was mocking her nothing happened.
"Human concrete, strong stuff."
Celestia turned her neck around silently to get a look at her commentator. To her non-existent surprise, Death was sitting right behind her without a care in the world.
"I've seen you cry a river, wail like a banshee and mope like a teenager, but never in my time so far have I seen you try and destroy the road."
"Don't talk to me like you know me!" screamed Celestia. "You don't know a thing about me. You think your so mighty in this vile hellhole of yours, but guess what? Your not! You don't know anything about me!"
"Perhaps your right," replied Death. "But I do know someone who knows everything about you"
"And who would that be?" Snarled Celestia.
"The road"
Author's Note
Please feel free to point out any errors. I really need to stop writing late at night. Pretty short this chapter but it was just based around a single memory. Next chapter will bye longer.
