Chapter 1: The Last Princess
Author's Note
Just a random idea I came up with off the top of my head. It had taken a day just to figure out how to go about this, and I'm still a bit unsure. So i'll let you guys decide. Should I keep this one up? Or not? If you like it, please hit the button and vice versa. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: The Last Princess
The sky was alive with the colors of the ocean as dawn broke over the city of Canterlot. A weak light glared off the clusters of glass that littered the streets.
Mirrored in their broken reflections was the prone form of a tree, its charred and blackened bark falling off little by little, like dead skin off of a human body.
Its brother, standing side by side with it like a sentinel overlooking this grim reality, could only watch in silent horror as the dead form of its partner lay etched into the side of a building, its leaves having long since joined it.
The building, crumbling, broken, and full of debris, served as its final resting place.
In the midst of all this chaos, surrounded by a softly glowing blue light, was a sleeping Alicorn, seemingly unaffected by all the gloom and despair around her.
Soon, the glowing light began to dim, fading in and out of existence as it struggled to maintain its form around the Alicorn.
As it did so, purple eyelids slowly fluttered open, revealing purple irises underneath.
Twilight Sparkle, had awoken.
Its purpose served, the light faded completely, leaving Twilight in full control of her body.
"Ugh...my head. I have the worst headache right now..." she said as she sat up, wiping the sleep from her eyes with her hands.
Within the haze of post rest exhaustion, she looked around, seeing nothing in particular.
She rose to her feet and walked around in circles in an attempt to shake off the last of her tiredness.
When she'd seen to it that the sandmare had gone and was not coming back, she checked her surroundings again, and was surprised to see that several things were wrong.
Several royal tapestries either littered the ground or had been burned to a point where it was nearly impossible to discern the pictures they used to contain.
Several busts of the princesses were smashed to bits on the floor, and underneath them, there were cracks and crevices in the marble that it was composed of.
The last, and final piece to such a horrifying painting, stood right in front of her.
Looming over her like giants, were the thrones of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, littered with cracks and deep gouges. They too, were crumbling away, slowly joining the busts on the ground.
"What...is all this? What...happened to the princesses?" Twilight said as she walked around the room. She walked up to the thrones and gently placed a hand on Celestia's.
Only to nearly fall over when the top of it came crashing down. She looked it over. There it lay, a single piece of the thing that helped symbolize her position as princess to all of Equestria. Now useless, there it remained, as the purple princess backed away from it in horror.
She turned around and sped up her walking, too preoccupied with her racing thoughts to see that she was about to run into a door.
"Ouch!" she exclaimed, grabbing her horn and rubbing it gently. She looked up at the offending door and glared before taking a good look a it.
Unlike the rest of the room, this door was in perfect condition. Not a single scratch adorned it's surface, not a single sign was present of it having begun to crumble away. There wasn't even any dust present on its white surface.
"How is this door so well maintained, when the rest of this place is such a...such a disaster!"
Slowly, carefully, ever so cautiously, she brought her hand up to the door, only to recoil back when she was hit with a terrible headache.
She dropped to her knees and held her head, groaning as she felt the pain growing stronger.
And then, just as quickly as it had come, the pain subsided.
"Mnnn...ugh...what was that? That really hu-"
She was cut off when a sudden recollection hit her.
"Stay here, and don't come out until I tell you!"
Twilight had no idea what was going on. She had been visiting Princess Celestia, and they were in the middle of a stimulating conversation about where to send Starlight should the need arise for her to go away. Sure, they had already had this conversation before, but that was when she was panicked and flustered. When she couldn't think straight out of worry and fear. Now that she was more composed, she thought she would be able to talk about it and prepare.
But then, just as she was about to bring up a possible location for her to start her journey, Celestia's face grew serious.
"So, it's finally time, is it?"
Huh? What was the princess talking about? What's finally time? For what?
"I knew this day would come."
Twilight had to ask. "What day, princess? What's going on, tell me!"
"Twilight Sparkle."
That stopped her cold. Celestia had used her full name. It had been a while since she had done that, and even less so when she became an alicorn. Whatever this was, it was serious.
"Yes, Princess?"
"Come with me."
With that, Celestia ran off, Twilight hot on her heels.
Five minutes later, they both stood in Celestia's throne room, Twilight looking up at her former teacher with worry in her eyes.
"Celestia, what's going on?"
"No time, Twilight. Listen to me very closely."
"Yes!"
And with that, she walked out of the room, stopping just inside the door. She lit her horn, and the door lit up with magic. The light soon faded and Celestia turned away, not looking at her student.
"You are not to leave this room, do you understand?"
"What? Princess, why?"
"It is not safe anywhere else."
"Not safe. Princess, what do you mea-"
"I said we have no time, Twilight! I cannot explain it. Just know that something very bad is coming this way. Something that could spell the end of all equestria."
Twilight's face showed determination. "Princess, if that's the case then-"
"No, Twilight!"
"P-princess?"
"It is already too late. It is on its way here. Stay here and don't come out until I tell you."
"But princess, we can get the Elements and defeat-"
"No! Were you not listening? It is already here. As we speak, people are dying in its wake, you must stay here."
Twilight continued to walk towards Celestia. "Princess. Please, tell me what's going on."
Celestia looked down at her and smiled sadly, lighting her horn once more. "It's the end of the world, my dearest Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight's eyes widened as realization donned on her. But she didn't even have time to comprehend those thoughts, before a warm, comforting feeling swept over her, and she fell to the floor, extremely tired.
"P-princess...why did you...what..."
"Shhh... Hush now my child." Celestia put a finger to her lips. "Whatever happens from this point on, Know that I love you, my most faithful- No, my most wonderful friend."
With that she walked off, leaving Twilight to her slowly fading consciousness.
Or at least she thought so. She heard footsteps behind her, and turned to see Twilight, walking groggily towards her. "P-princess...I-I..."
With that, she hit the ground, not to awaken for a long, long time.
Celestia walked out of the room, turning back to look at her friend. The only mare to ever be so close to her.
"Oh, Twilight. Even in these final moments, you still insist on calling me princess. If only I had been able to tell you how I truly felt before..." she wiped away a tear. "Well, it doesn't matter now."
And with that, a light that Twilight hadn't witnessed, engulfed her, and she was erased from this world.
"Celestia!" Twilight woke up sweating. She was breathing heavily, and her clothes were sticking to her skin.
She sat up. Apparently, at some point during that flash of memory, she had fallen to the ground.
She stood back up on her feet and touched the door again, but the flash of memory did not resurface.
Even so, she remembered every bit of it. The memory was as fresh in her mind as if it had happened yesterday. And it hurt. bad.
She pressed her head against the door. "Oh Celestia..." she now knew what had happened to her. She was gone. Gone from this world along with all the other people she knew. She thought of Luna. Surely she survived?
No. Stop. Why would she fool herself into thinking that when she saw what happened? Or at least she could guess from the memory. She thought back.
'It's the end of the world, my dearest Twilight Sparkle...'
'The end of the world huh? Well, it makes sense that it would take something like that to...to...' She couldn't even bare to think the word. But she knew what it meant. The princess was dead. Her princess. Her teacher. Her friend. Her love.
"And to think she...she loved me. I'm...I'm so sorry, Princess! I'm sorry for-" she cut herself off with a gasp. She had felt something in her hand just now.
She looked up from the door and saw a piece of paper stuck to it. She pulled it off and began reading.
"To my dearest Twilight Sparkle. If you're reading this. That means that I am now long dead, and that a thousand years have passed, just like I planned."
Twilight had to reread that first part a few times to understand it. It had been a thousand years since she was put under the spell? And wait, Celestia planned this?
"Oh dear. Why must it be now of all times that I fail to think of anything to say. Well then, I suppose I should start with this. I love you, Twilight. Ever since you first came with me to my castle, I have loved you. I could sense that you had something special about you. That you were destined for great things. I had no doubt in my mind that you would grow up to be greater than even my sister and I some day. As I watched you grow, I noticed your insatiable love of learning. I sought to nurture that in you. To give you the knowledge that you would one day use to become the best you could be."
at this point, Twilight was in tears.
"As time went on however, I found my love for you growing. Where you were once my subject, you were now my student, and where you were once my student, you were now my daughter, I wanted to hold you. To protect you, to keep you safe and warm. I wanted nothing more than to make sure you were happy. Every time you came to me for help, my heart swelled with the thought of being the one to give you the answers you sought. The thought of being needed by you made me the happiest I could be. Every time you asked me a question, or brought a problem that needed solving, I was filled with pride to know that you came to me and me alone."
Twilight sniffled.
"And then, when you became an Alicorn. Oh, how could I be more proud? We were finally equals, you and I. By then, my love for you had grown past that of teacher and student, or mother and daughter. I now loved you for the mare you were. I loved everything about you. From the face you made when you worried, to the face you made when you found some new book or other thing to research. Simply seeing you smile was enough to make my day."
Twilight wanted to look away. To cry and put the paper away, but that would have been disrespectful. To not hear Celestia's last wishes would be a grave offense to her.
"I love you, Twilight Sparkle. I always have, and I always will. I know that this letter will find you in dire straits, and I know that the memory spell on the door will have confused you or possibly even brought you to grief, but allow me to say one thing. Live, Twilight. Live. Live so that Equestria may know a new age. live so that you can rebuild what has been lost. Live for those around you who survived, if any did. Live for me, whose spirit would surely weep if you were to come to despair because of this. But most of all, live for yourself, so that you may find happiness in a world that has lost its way."
"Love, Celestia."
Twilight stood there, dried up tears on her face from all the crying she had been doing. She had no words. Here was Celestia's last will to her. Her true feelings. Her dreams and hopes, her aspirations. And who could she tell it too? There were no other people here anymore. Celestia's words about survivors seemed less than impossible now. And worse yet...
'What do you mean live? How could I live without you here to guide me, to teach me. To show me the way. I may be a princess, but I couldn't have achieved it without you. I...I need you...Celestia...'
Fresh tears ran down her face, and she sobbed some more.
"No! I have to do this. This is no time to be wallowing in grief. Celestia wants me to live? To lead equestria into a new age? She wants me to surpass her and find happiness? I'll do it! For her, for equestria, and for myself!"
She threw the paper away from her and stood at her full height in front of the door, hands on her hips and a smile on her face.
"Look out world, Twilight Sparkle is back!"
Chapter 3: The Broken World
Twilight stared on in horror at the sight before her. Whatever Luna had told her to be ready for, she had been sure that this wasn't it.
This wasn't something one could simply prepare for. At all.
The streets of Canterlot were awash with the rubble and debris from various buildings, what few trees lined its sides were either uprooted, or blackened and leafless, lifeless husks of themselves, and the grass around them had long since died.
She took a breath to try and steady herself. 'This...this is horrible!' she thought as she made her way away from the palace and further out into the surrounding gloom.
The city grew worse as she made her way further in. Buildings were no longer simply crumbling away in front of her, but now, they were collapsed altogether. She passed several broken shop windows, which she dared not look in for fear of what she might find inside.
There were craters in the ground so deep that Twilight feared that once she fell in, she wouldn't be coming back up.
Several chariots littered the path around her, many of them broken and empty, their wheels and other extremities entangled with the vines and moss that seemed to be growing around them.
"They've been reclaimed by nature it seems..." she whispered to herself as she stared on in awe at the destruction before her.
She continued onward in her journey, looking around at all the things she passed. There were pieces of glass littering the street, the odd occurrence of a dead bird every now and then, and another sighting of the occasional downed tree or flipped chariot.
She looked up into the sky, staring directly at the moon. 'Nightmare Moon...caused all this?'
That was when she realized...
'Wait. Was it always this dark?'
Twilight scanned her surroundings again, this time with more purpose than before. She was finally noticing it.
'All this time...it's been dark.' She turned her sights toward the sky once more. 'And the only light present...has been the moon. But it should still be daytime even though...'
Then it hit her. She thought back to Luna's message.
'When she saw that my sister had the power to move the moon as she did, she set her plan in motion, planting within the sun a magic so horrid, that no one would be able to stop it once it had begun.'
'So then....the sun really is gone now.' She felt her eyes tearing up but whisked the thought away and tore her eyes away from the sight before her.
She wiped her eyes and continued forward...only to stop as she stepped in something.
She looked down...and screamed.
Before her was a puddle of blood, and as she lifted her hoof, a deep crimson stain greeted her.
'This is...blood?' Twilight had immediately pulled herself away from the puddle and now simply stared at the stain on her fur.
The sight of it made her stomach churn uncomfortably, after which she started hyperventilating, which soon turned into her throwing up her lunch multiple times in quick succession all over the ground in front of her.
When she finally finished emptying her stomach of all its contents, she slowly, shakily stood up, balancing herself on wobbly legs as she made her way back to Canterlot castle. She had to get away, leave all this behind her and go someplace else, someplace more...more...
'It's the end of the world, my dearest Twilight Sparkle.'
'I can't go anywhere. The whole world's like this now. There's nowhere that Nightmare Moon's bomb hasn't touched.'
As she came upon the door to the castle, she took a moment to look up at it. Then, she noticed something different about it.
Unlike inside its walls, the outside of the castle was as pristine as ever, not a single speck of dust touched its surface.
Twilight smiled. It was like a jewel. A diamond in the middle of all this chaos. A watchtower, where the souls of the dearly departed princesses watched over them from the stars. A lighthouse, to guide the way for all those lost, and a beacon of hope for all who feel their resolve wavering.
She sighed. Looking at the castle in this state made her feel so much better. She opened the doors and stepped inside, making her way towards Celestia's balcony, where she would leave Canterlot behind and move on.
Once there, at the doors, she took another steadying, calming breath, and turned the doorknob.
She stepped out onto the balcony, looked up into the sunless sky, and said, "I'll make you both proud, I swear it." before taking off into the sky and heading for the only other place she could think of. Ponyville.
Twilight touched down in the center of town, turning her head to and fro and to get a good look at her surroundings.
She was indeed in the center of town. Sugar Cube Corner was just a few feet away and Rarity's boutique was down the street from her.
She decided on Pinkie's place first.
She looked it up and down, examining the outside. It was terrible. The windows were broken, the sign was hanging off its hinges, its lights having long since fizzled out, and the cupcake that advertised the shop had fallen to the ground and was now split in half.
She almost didn't want to look inside, but something told her she had to, and so she took a deep breath, steeled her resolve, and stepped inside,
What she saw, horrified her.
The sweets counter was completely destroyed, and cakes and candies were strewn across the floor in all directions.
Twilight checked behind the counter. The cabinets were in much the same shape. Their doors were off their hinges, instead, taking their new place on the floor, the wood of said doors nearly gone save for a few pieces who shared the fate of the confections all around her. She checked the kitchen.
The floor was wet and the lower contents of the sink were on full display. Well, what was left of them anyway. The entire structure had been torn clean off, and the only visible thing was the water pipe, long dry after a thousand years with no access to its source.
Twilight had the sudden thought of pinkie, sticking her head deep into the cabinet to stare at the sink and try to figure out how to fix it. It brought a smile to her face and made her giggle a little.
She left the kitchen and went up to Pinkie's room, where she found it in no better shape than the downstairs had been.
Her bed was torn to shreds, if there was any bed left of it considering it was also nearly gone, the only trace of it being the several puffs of cotton that covered the floor.
Twilight briefly imagined Pinkie jumping on the bed while blowing a trumpet or playing some other random instrument, giggling all the while. I brought a tear to her eye as she smiled once more.
The trail of cotton led to her dresser, which was wrecked so badly, that all her clothes had been strewn across her room in much the same way as the cakes and other sweets downstairs.
They had long since been burned through, along with the wood of the dresser, which was also strewn all over, holes burned through them, and some of them being stuck in the walls.
There was on last place Twilight knew she had to check, and that was...Pinkie's party cave.
She immediately went in search of the false candy that served as a lever to the door of the cave. When she found it, she pulled it, and, surprised it still worked, went inside and looked around.
The place was mostly okay, surprisingly. It wasn't like the immaculate nature of Celestia and Luna's protection spells, but it was good enough.
The walls had cracks in them, the cabinets were broken and spread across the area, and there were several small holes in the ground around her. Not to mention, when she had tried the slide, it collapsed in on itself.
She looked around at all the destruction surrounding her, and spotted a few pictures hung up on the walls of the cave, depicting several photos featuring Pinkie and her friends, along with some of her sister, Maud as well. She took a closer look at one of the photos.
It was a particular one where they were all together at once, standing before Celestia as she took their picture. She thought back to that day, when they had all first met, and felt a tear roll down her cheek. She looked at the other pictures.
Maud saving Pinkie, Fluttershy reforming Discord, Fluttershy and the dragon, Rarity and the Manehattan boutique, Rainbow Dash and her first sonic Rainboom, Rarity and her wings from the Flight competition, Apple Jack and her pirate outfit, and last but not least, dead center, was Twilight as an Alicorn, complete with crown, Spike by her side.
All of this was surrounded by each of their cutie marks embedded into the wall.
Surrounded by all these memories, all these things that reminded her of better days, of her friends, Twilight finally couldn't take it anymore, and she wept.
She wept for Celestia. She wept for Luna. She wept for Equestria and the fate it had to suffer. She wept for all the ponies who died at Nightmare Moon's hands. But most of all, she wept for her friends, whom she would never be able to see again. This moment. This, single, quiet moment, was hers, and hers alone. No plans, no false hope, no higher purpose to attend to. It was just her, her memories, and her tears.
