The Mare at the End of the World
Celestial Era... eighty four thousand, two hundred and six, by my best calculations. Though it’s not like there’s anypony around to correct me. It’s not like there’s anyone around to correct me.
The unicorn frowned as she walked across the barren, dusty plain, the occasional shrub the only proof that this world was still somewhat capable of housing life. The rest was simply dust; not even the vibrant, beautifully tan sands of a beach or a desert, but ruddy, brown-gray dust on a ruddy, brown-gray ground. Aside from such hardy plants, nothing could survive here. Anything that requires but the basest nutrition would quickly starve. She continued, walking as straight a path as she could discern, though the complete lack of landmarks made this difficult. If she was indeed following a road or a trail, she'd never know it.
Equestria- no, not just Equestria, this entire world... is dead. Well, judging by the flora, as sparse as it is, “dead” might not be the most accurate term. However, it is safe to say that this world... is done.
The unicorn looked up into the hazy, blue-violet sky, scanning it, as though she was looking for something, not that there was anything to be found. Not a star. Not a cloud. It was as though somepony took a roller and painted over the entire atmosphere. To their credit, they at least used a pleasant color.
Celestia is dead. Luna is dead. The sun and moon no longer rise and set; and thus the world remains as it is, in a sort of eternal dusk. Or, I suppose, an eternal twilight. Cosmic irony, then, that I’m the one that gets to see it.
She looked back down, gazing at what appeared in the distance through the haze. Whatever it was, it was something, peculiar enough in itself. Could it be a building? A ruin? Or... an actual structure? Could someone be living here? That was impossible, certainly. Right? There didn't seem to be anypony around after her previous jump, but she decided to go forward one more time, a few more millennia, just to make sure. Could this have been a mistake?
As far as I can tell from the surrounding geological formations, this area used to be Ponyville. It also used to be Talonrest, then Ursopolis... you get the idea. When Luna returned after her banishment, she was astonished at how much had changed, enough that even in the present day- or, should I say, my present day- she still hasn’t fully acclimated herself to our culture. That was one millennium. This is eighty-three... with a bit more to spare.
Come to think of it, I wonder if this is similar to what her banishment was like: an empty expanse, seemingly stretching forever in all directions, little but dust and dull rocks as far as the eye can see. If that was the case, I certainly don’t envy having to spend a millennium there.
She moved toward the structure, trotting faster as she realized it wasn’t made by anyone; it was grown. The bark may have been a charcoal-like gray and the leaves a sickly yellow, but those same leaves were quite indicative that there still housed life.
Amazing. It’s a tree. The only one for miles, as far as I can tell. In fact, it’s the only thing for miles, aside from the occasional tuft of weed. It’s strange, you know. For as long as I’ve lived in Ponyville, the one constant above anything else, even my friends, has been a tree. It’s my house, it’s my library, it’s my observatory... it’s home, above all else. And now, so far in the future... this tree is all that’s left of where Ponyville once stood, all else having long since crumbled into the dust. Not the same tree, of course, though I wonder if, somehow, this tree is some distant descendant of my home, the acorn of an acorn of an acorn, and so forth. It would only be fitting.
I have to admit, this journey isn’t what I expected it to be. Far from it. Now more than ever I understand why the time-travel scrolls are locked away in the Archives, held and monitored under such scrutiny. Chronomancy is not a toy; I see that now. I was only allowed unfettered access to these spells due to my status as Celestia’s personal student and the Element of Magic, and perhaps even I shouldn’t have been allowed to use them, especially given what I’ve done. If anypony ever discovers why I made this journey, well... I’ll be no better than those hypothetical first-year mages, never understanding why spell complication has to be built up and taught. I’ve made chronomancy into a toy- at least, that’s what I’ll be accused of. However, would they make the same decision, having seen the opportunity? Perhaps, perhaps not. My punishment will be the same.
I’m not worried about that, however, for the worst punishment may have already been meted out. I purposely skipped the first few millennia, as I’ve already learned firsthand that knowing too much about your own future can be a very dangerous thing. However, I underestimated the lifespans of those I care about. Celestia, Luna, even Spike were all still alive and quite well after my first jump, at least I assume. I resisted the urge to seek out my number one assistant, though I honestly wonder if a very old, very large, and hopefully very content dragon would have remembered or even recognized the pony that hatched him. I have my doubts.
With everything I’ve seen, there’s so much history I want to know, but I know it’s best if I never see it. Not that it would matter even if I did abscond with a few books on whatever equated to modern times, as the Equestrian language I know has long since been abandoned. I know that the Princesses died before their time (that is, if they even had a time), but not how. It’s probably better than way. I know that Equestria falls into the same trap as many civilizations before it, and even more after it; the rise, the flourishing, the complacency, and finally, the collapse. There’s a reason this ground has also held Talonrest, Ursopolis, and a few other towns whose names I’ll never know, and it has little to do with war.
It’s unfortunate, really, knowing that Equestria will evenutally falter, knowing that what I can only imagine as one fatal political mistake will undo thousands of years of work. Inevitable, but still unfortunate. But I can’t warn Celestia, even if she’d live long enough to take advantage of the advice. After all, if I did warn her, the first thing she’d do was ask how I came across this information. Naturally, I’d have to be honest with her, and even more naturally she’d never let me live it down.
I’ve seen so much, not just sociologically, but geologically and even biologically. I’ve seen the Everfree ebb and flow, encroach and be driven back on several occasions. I’ve witnessed waterfalls crumble into streams, and streams carve themselves into canyons. Even the mountain ranges are only recognizable because I’ve made mental notes on how they’ve changed. And ponies themselves... in the fifty-sixth millennium I came across a flock of pegasi- at least, that is, I think they were pegasi. Their wings had changed; they’d evolved into something not unlike that of a butterfly. It was... strange. Unnerving, to say the least. Another reason nopony can know, in fact. I know Rainbow Dash would certainly balk at the truth.
There’s so much I’ve seen that begs me to seek out more information. Why does life die out now? Why not forty thousand years before? Why not forty thousand years later? I’ll never know, because I’ll have to restrain myself to never knowing. If I know, I’ll be obligated to fix it, and I can’t even be sure if it can be fixed.
But... well, right now that’s not important. This barren landscape, as bleak and depressing as it may appear, is what I came for. It took me over a dozen jumps and over eighty-three thousand years, but I made it. I’m here. This is it, it because this is all there will ever be. I may very well be the only sentient being left on the entire planet.
Perfect.
The unicorn unhooked her saddlebags next to the tree, producing a small record player from one bag, its speaker from the other.
Nopony to listen and intrude out of curiosity. Nopony to barge in unannounced, without as much as a knock. Nopony to dispel my illusions and force fields. Nopony to breach my pocket dimension. (I'm still not sure how Pinkie managed to get in there.) Quite literally, nopony at all. No one at all.
With a glow of her horn, she set the needle down onto the record, the dust fields that were once Ponyville bearing witness to the first unnatural sound in thousands of years. Slowly, her back hoof began to tap in time to the upbeat tones that emerged, her eyes slowly closing, sensory deprivation helping the music to be felt, and not just heard.
I’ll never be able to tell anypony of my journey, but that’s okay; I knew that coming in. The entire point of all of this was so that nopony would ever, ever, find out.
The unicorn smiled as she began to flail about, her legs moving in patterns only she could discern, if that, as the motions seemed wholly random. Occasionally she opened her eyes, mostly to ensure the tree didn’t become an obstacle, but she generally kept them shut, letting herself feel the music and letting it flow into her motions, even if they resembled spasms more than anything resembling rhythm. Not that any of this managed to dissuade her, and why should it? She had finally warded herself against all possible embarassment. Nopony would ever see her, and nopony would ever know.
My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am, as of this moment, the greatest dancer in the entire world.