Celestia plodded into her chambers, her metal-clad hooves ringing on the stone that was smoothed down with centuries of her sure and unsure steps both. She stepped past the hanging tapestries, sparing only a glance for the beautifully hoof-embroidered fabric; its surfaces depicting a scene of the past event that had long-faded from the rest of Equestria. She kicked her shoes off, sighing contentedly as the golden garments slipped from them. They clattered loudly when they hit the floor, causing the guards to peer around the corner in alarm before turning away embarrassedly as she levitated her other royal burdens to rest on their respective manikins.
She chuckled lightly at their strange aversion to seeing her without garments, a hint of exasperation tainting the cheerful sound. The stallions of the guard watched other mares walk by without clothing of any sort without batting an eyelash, but when she wanted to do the same, it suddenly became noticeable and a problem. She grabbed the door in her magic, the ancient white wood glowing with a golden aura as she pulled it shut with a slight slam.
Walking over to her bed, she grabbed both her romance novel that she was reading and a slice of contraband cake. She was more than irritated at having to hide away cake from her own staff, but a doctor had told her that she was getting a little too…big… around the flanks. Her escort had been on the verge of killing the poor man before she could stop them in their assault. Of course, word spread that the princess was getting fat. That’s the funny thing about castle-life; rumors spread faster than the ponies who talked about them.
Laying her cake down on a table beside her bed and plopping down next to it, she opened the book to the start of the chapter she had reached last evening. Her eyes traced along the beautiful and precise illustration that had marked the start of every chapter in the story thus far. This particular illustration was of a bone that was partially shattered with a noose hanging in the background. Moving past the illustration, she looked at the chapter’s given title.
Death. It was a simple name for a story's chapter. Simple, and yet...it contained something more; something deeper. The idea of nothingness, the vision of an end to all ends, a void of black. In the six letters, there was also something more. The life after death, a world of white and happiness, a life filled with no pains or worries; a perfect world. Hours pass over the world, following her sun's path over the sky. Soon the hours turned into days, which turned into months that blended smoothly into years. Time had no meaning to Death.
Time. Another simple word, though not used for a chapter-title in the book she was reading currently. It was continuously moving, never changing direction or speed. It always picked up ponies and carried them places, though not for any longer than their life-span. It was a shame really, that ponies had to die. She remembered her sister’s comforting words that were often spoken to her after a student’s death. There is no point of a morning if the night does not come, dear sister. We wish that things could occur differently, but they will not. Her sister’s tone had often dropped and become bitter at the next words. Wishing never helped anypony, even those so powerful as us.
She shook her head, bringing her thoughts back to her novel and pulling a spoonful of cake to her mouth. The flavor of chocolate danced over her tongue as her eyes began to continue the adventure down the page with each word bringing the world she imagined closer to life. She could smell the hay of the dark barn that the hero was currently trapped in, feel the pains and aches of his wounds and the rubbing ropes, and most of all she could sense the urgency of his current plight; the hero was to be hanged later that day.
Hanging, what a strange kind of word. With a rush, she was pulled out of her story as her mind mulled over and contemplated its use in the world. Killing a pony slowly, over the course of a few minutes. How cruel and inequine. She shuddered at the thought of killing a pony in such a barbaric way that caused so much pain. She remembered the few cruel ponies that she had put to death, but she granted them a swift end. Even as criminals who had no right to live, they still deserved a painless sleep. She had, for each and every one, simply looked them in the eyes and sent a lance of light through their chests. Her method was swift, equine, and complete in its task.
With a pang, she recalled a certain face that was among those that she had killed. Her old student, Starswirl the Bearded. He had done a multitude of crimes and murders, claiming that his actions were justified by the holy god, whoever that was. The light in his eyes, once filled with wonder and ambition, had become polluted with the dark taint of madness. She remembered looking into those crazed eyes, searching for her old student that she had known. She could still hear the sound that the light made as it stabbed into his chest. She could still see the pain that flashed in his eyes, clearing it of the filth that had once been inside them. She could still feel the stab in her heart that came from his last words.
“Dear Princess Celestia…Thank you. Sincerely, Starswirl…your most…faithful…student.” His pained eyes found hers, tears slowly falling from them, before his rising hoof fell to the ground and the light in his eyes faded away.
Pain filled her as she watched the memory unfold, building up into a wordless scream of agony that caused the guards to burst inside her room, only to back out again as the sobbing goddess flicked her hoof at them. She staggered over to the modest mirror that hung on her wall, merely a circle of silver-backed glass that hung in a case. She looked deeply into her reflection’s eyes, the pain etched onto her face. What have you done, Celestia? You’ve killed ponies, just like they did. What makes you any different? She turned away from the mirror and trotted over to the door that the stallions were likely cowering behind.
“Shining Armor, I shall require a good length of rope.” Her voice was steady as she spoke, showing no signs of her internal emotions. It was as cold as ice.
The guard shuddered violently and gulped before responding. “R-rope? What would your highness need a rope for? Do yo-.” He cut off as her hoof slashed through the air in front of him.
“A rope, Captain. A good length of strong rope. Now.” She stomped into the stone so hard that cracks spider-webbed along across the granite and under Shining Armor. The fear in his eyes was not unlike the crazed fear that had filled her old student’s eyes. The sounds of his heavy hooves soon faded, only slightly echoing back to her place in the hall. Nodding to herself, Celestia turned and walked back into her room, a block of ice filling the space where her heart had been. Tears slowly streamed from her eyes, overflowing the hasty blocks that she had placed on them and darkening the floor wherever they fell.
The same question kept repeating itself in her head, even though she knew the answer. Will it hurt to die?
Luna was hovering on a bed of dark thundercloud, her eyes shut and her body relaxed. Her breath was slow and steady, a slight snore coming from her throat as she rested. The sun slowly fell in the sky, coming closer to the horizon every second that passed. The sleeping princess sighed contentedly in her dreams, her hooves twitching slightly every few moments. She was the very image of peace, the night embodied by a single pony.
At least she was, until a certain guard burst into her room. “Princess!”
The strong voice dragged her from the embrace of sleep. “Hmm?” She rubbed her eyes and looked up at who had dared to burst into her chambers without so much as a knock. “Stalwart Hide,” Her voice filled with anger and her eyes sparked with fury. “There must be a very important reason for such an intrusion into our chambers, otherwise you might be meeting with some dire consequences.” The pony’s next words made her shoot up from her bed of cumulous puffs.
“We must make haste, come.” Without any further words, the Princess of the Night galloped through the still-open door, her wings flared behind her as her hooves dug into the stones. Oh Tia, please do nothing rash until we arrive. Tia, please don’t. The thought sounded tiny inside her head, drowned out by the howls of the wind that flowed around her body. She lowered her head and flapped her large wings, the edges of her vision blurring as her speed sent her flying through the deserted halls and casting aside the occasional pony with a magical wall. She spared no time in checking after the servants that were thrown against the walls, her mind focused on only her sister.
“Hold on Tia! We are coming!” Her voice was hoarse, the words barely extending past her mouth as the wind pushed them back. The door of ancient wood came into view, its surface inlaid with multiple precious metals and gems. “Hold on!” A bolt of magic shot from her horn, barely keeping ahead of her. The wind rushed around her ears, tearing away all sound. “Hold on Tia!” Tears fell from her eyes as she flew. The door exploded into thousands of splinters with the impact of both the spell and her hooves as she collided with the its pitted surface. “Tia? Tia are you there?!” She coughed as the dust slowly cleared, her sister’s form silhouetted against the floating particles. She closed her eyes and summoned a gentle wind to blow the dust away. She opened her eyes, slowly raising her head to look at where her sister was waiting.
The body of Princess Celestia hung in front of her sister’s disbelieving eyes. From a rope hung the most beautiful pony who wore a coat of pure white, as white as the clouds themselves. She swung slightly side to side, her mane hanging limp and her eyes glassy. Occasionally her leg twitched, kicking an object and making her spin sickeningly.
Luna’s wordless scream of agony and disbelief could be heard from every part of the castle, echoing through every hallway and into every room. The whole of Canterlot looked up towards the castle with worry, as if they too could hear the wordless shrieks that came from the lunar goddess. “NO TIA! NO! NO! NO! She screamed again, her head tossed up to the ceiling. “WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?” The distraught goddess fired a lance of the blackest light, cutting through the rope and sending the body to the floor with a dull thud.
“WHY TIA WHY!?” She slammed a hoof into the corpse, tears falling freely down her face. “WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE US ALONE? TIA HOW COULD YOU? The somber guardsponies walked into the room slowly, standing off to the side with a large black cloth. She ignored them, punching her hooves into her sister’s body again and again, screaming wordlessly before descending into sobs. “Why would you do this, Tia? Please tell us why.” She nuzzled under her sister’s unmoving hoof, her head seeking warmth in Celestia’s embrace.
There was nothing. The setting sun cast its last rays into the room before crossing over the horizon and throwing the world into darkness.
Several hours have passed…
The Princess of the Night stood alone in the room, gazing out of the only window and into the starry sky. A cool air blew in from the open pane, blowing over her already-icy body. Her horn glowed as she levitated a small note sealed with a splash of wax hurriedly pressed with her sister’s crest. In circles the note spun as she watched her night quickly approach its close.
Tearing her gaze away from the stars, her eyes scanned the dark room behind her. The black cloth lay on the floor, a small portion of hair sticking out from under it. The colored mane barely moved now, only stirred by the gusts of the wind that teased at the locks. Tears began to push at her eyes, but she merely rubbed her hooves against them to shove them back down.
She looked away from her sister to gaze back into the night, her eyes following the constellations that she herself had put up only a few hours ago. “Truly such beauty cannot last in a night such as this.” She held up the note to her eyes, reading the small and precise writing of her sister’s, the only thing she had left of her now besides memories. She turned to look at the rope that now lay on the floor, still spun in the loop that had taken the sun goddess’s life. “Tia…” She pulled away the seal on the paper using a knife. The metal glinted in the moonlight as she worked to ply the wax away. The note landed in her hooves, which were slightly trembling as she opened it.
Her sister’s voice seemed to fill the room as Luna read the letter.
”Dearest Sister,
“I know by now that you will have despaired my passing, and have questions as to why I would do such a horrid thing. Hopefully this note will tell you a little of why I do this, and I pray that you will understand.”
A slight rustling made Luna turn and look over the room, her gaze searching for anything that could have made the noise. When nothing else moved, she directed her attentions back to the letter.
”I am the ruler of Equestria during the daylight hours. The ponies see me as infallible and perfect, as if I can do no wrong. I am supposedly everything they are not. Criminals do wrong, and I am sought to end their wrongs. I pay for damages, express condolences for families that lose a member at the hooves of a murderer, and I take them from the world when they become too,” The parchment had small dots of ink, as if her sister had been tapping the quill onto the paper as she searched for a word. ”Destructive.”
Another rustle came from behind her, followed by a small breathy sound. She paid no attention to the workings of her imagination and her eyes further followed the words on the page before her. Her sister’s voice seemed to swell with emotion, becoming louder and clearer with each letter that her voice wrapped itself around.
”I know nothing of the pain of death. I know nothing of how ponies feel as they die. But I do feel their pain in a different way. Each pony that I had killed gave me the same look as they passed; a look that was mixed with both anger and gratefulness. Each time, I had felt like my heart had been stabbed harder and harder. You remember the last student of mine yes? Starswirl the Bearded was his name.” With a rush, the pony in question surfaced from her memory, slightly blurred from age. He had been a lime-green unicorn with immense potential. Ambitious too, though completely clumsy in normal everyday actions.
The solar goddess’s voice seemed to take a breath to steady herself before continuing. ”A few years after you were banished to the moon, he went insane. Days passed before he had stepped from his room, and even then he stuck to shadows like a timberwolf. Soon I saw and heard nothing of him. At least, before the reports of a unicorn murderer came to me. Shortly after that, I had found him, deranged and alone, and I took him back to the castle. Only a day later, I had sentenced him to death. ‘It was the only way’ I had told myself then, ‘He’s become too crazed to help.’ His last words come to me even now, and I hear his small voice call to me from beyond life.” The note ended abruptly, small scratches littering the bottom of it as if Celestia had wanted to say more.
Tears fell readily from her eyes, landing onto the crumpled parchment and smearing pieces of the ink. She didn’t care; nothing mattered to her anymore except the fact that her sister was gone. A deep unsteady breath came from behind her, and small drops of something fell onto Luna’s back. Celestia’s voice continued to speak, filling the room with its power.
“I’m sorry Luna. I know now that I must bear the pain.” A hoof was lain on the unmoving goddess’s midnight-blue shoulder. “Because immortals cannot pass from this world.” The tone became bitter, the words tainted with a slight distasteful ring. “The pain is what keeps us alive, we live in it and breathe it every day. And even however much it hurts...” A sob sounded from the white alicorn, her tears falling freely. “However much it kills you inside, there will be other ponies there to share the pain. I’m so sorry little sister, can you ever forgi-.” The sun goddess’s voice was cut off as the younger grasped her in a strong hug. A golden light filled the room as the sun shined over the horizon once more.
“Thank you, Luna.”
A little of an Author's note here... This isn't my best of works, but rather something that I HAD to write. I got a little of an idea during the night and I just...well...HAD to do it. I know a few of you will know that kind of feeling.
