"So...this is it."
Twilight stared longingly at the sky as its shade of baby blue was slowly replaced with a deep orange. She turned her gaze to her former mentor and last remaining friend, watching as tears stained her alabaster fur.
"Celestia? What's wrong?"
Celestia snapped out of her trance and quickly wiped her eyes. She just couldn't believe the end was so close, after going thousands of years without having to worry about it. She stared over the large, shimmering ocean and sunk to the surface of the deck. This oceanside was the only part of Equestria that wasn't practically destroyed. Environmental issues and countless wars in the past several years had left the rest in ruins.
"I'm sorry, Twilight. I just can't bring myself to believe that my home is gone, and as soon as the moon rises, we won't be here any longer."
With the world ending, a gate to the afterlife would open at nightfall. Without Luna, it was up to Celestia to decide when their lives would end. Deciding that she wasn't quite ready to raise the moon, she began to think back to a happier time.
"Twilight, do you ever think about when Equestria wasn't...like this?"
Twilight looked puzzled. "Uh...yeah, sometimes. Why do you ask?"
"I've been thinking about it a lot lately. Ever since my sister, you know..." Her voice trailed off and she had to compose herself before continuing. "I've just been contemplating how different things were, and how different they are now."
A few fresh tears trickled down her cheeks, and she felt a large violet wing spread across her back. Bowing her head, she listened to Twilight's reassuring voice as she tried to blink back the tears she had left.
"Celestia, I know how hard this is. We're witnessing Equestria's last waking moments, and we've dealt with countless losses along the way. But, as soon as you decide to raise the moon, we're bound for a much better life."
Clearly stalling, Celestia went off-topic and asked, "Out of all the moments you've had here, which do you cherish most?"
Twilight thought for a moment before responding. "The day you gave me my wings."
She paused for a moment, and the pair smiled at each other. At this point, Twilight was just happy to have finally gotten a mere grin out of Celestia. Returning her attention to the ocean, she continued speaking.
"When I became an alicorn, I knew I would outlive most of Equestria. However, I didn't know we'd be the last two survivors. After all the mortals in this world lived their lives, Discord gave up his immortality for Fluttershy, and Cadance gave hers up for my brother. And when Tirek showed up, Luna gave hers up for...for you. But even then, after all that heartbreak, I knew I'd be alright."
Celestia was confused for a moment, and asked why she thought such a thing. Being okay after so much suffering seemed impossible to her.
"I knew I'd be alright...because I knew you'd still be there."
Celestia let out a quiet gasp, feeling a catch in her throat.
"You've always been like my second mother," Twilight continued. "You practically raised me until you sent me to Ponyville, and you taught me more than any book ever could. The one advantage of my immortality was the fact that you would still be alive. And now, here we are, about to witness our very last sunset."
The tears coming from Celestia this time were tears of joy, rather than tears of pain. She didn't know what to say, for all she could do was cry. Twilight pulled her into a bone-crushing embrace, and she gently returned it with her wings. Once she'd pulled herself together, she broke away and was finally able to respond.
"The feeling is mutual, Twilight. Without you, I never would've reunited with my sister, nor would I have learned the true meaning of friendship. You've taught me just as much as I've taught you. I think it's safe to say that I consider you the daughter I never had."
Following these words, it was Twilight's turn to cry. However, she made no noise; instead, she silently looked down at the deck, tears dripping onto the wooden surface. However, she quickly snapped her head back upwards when Celestia started talking again.
"After the passing of my sister, I was lost. Most of the mortals in this world were gone, and I barely knew the ones who were still alive. And when Discord and Cadance gave up, well...you were all I had left. You were my shoulder to cry on when I raised the moon every night, my joy and comfort when I raised the sun every morning. Had we never crossed paths, I would've had to cope with this on my own, and I'm so glad that's not how things turned out."
Twilight decided she couldn't take anymore, and wept openly onto the deck beneath her hooves. Celestia smiled sadly and pulled her close to her chest, her own tears returning and dripping onto Twilight's fur. Soon after, she let go, letting out a content sigh.
"Alright," she said. "I think I'm ready now."
Twilight nodded and watched as the sun disappeared below the horizon, one last time. Finally, the moon took its place in the deep blue sky, and a flash of white blinded them both.
This was it. This was the gate to the afterlife.
"It's been a wonderful life," Twilight whispered. "But, all good things must come to an end." Celestia nodded in response, drying her eyes for the final time.
"Indeed they must," she replied, focusing on the gate. "Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Very well, then."
They embraced each other one last time as the stars shone brightly alongside the even brighter moon. Looking ahead, they knew there was no turning back, but it didn't bother them. They knew this day would come, they just didn't expect time to go by so quickly. However, on the bright side, they knew they'd be reunited with those they lost along the way.
Twilight was the first to go in, hesitantly stepping toward the light until she disappeared from existence. Celestia looked up at the sky and spoke her final words:
"As I depart from my home...know that I never meant for it to end this way. Goodbye."
And with that, she walked towards her second life, and the gate closed, leaving nopony left in what was once the beautiful land of Equestria.
The land was blanketed in darkness, as the demolished cities sat in ruins, with nopony left to fix, restore, or inhabit any of them.
What was once the universe's most magical terrain, was now a ghost town.
And as the sawdust fell from the rubble, all was quiet, except for the birds chirping among what was left in the land of the lost.
The End
Author's Note
This doesn't follow the plot of Fading Moonlight as much as I wanted it to, but I needed to kind of trail off-topic in order to follow this plot.
Hope you enjoyed.
~Marisa
