Dysthanasia Directive

There were no words Luster could use to describe herself now, her mortal shell had been cracked and reduced to epistemological nothingness. Power beyond imagination coursed through her body, warping her soul in ways that it was never meant to be. She felt as though she might explode just floating in place. Every conceivable emotion, every thought that one could have, every memory, they all occupied and flitted through her mind. She could smell the light from the beyond leaking in through the cracks in reality, and taste the bitter strands of time as they became unwound.

Before her, the great black sphere continued to grow larger and larger, letting out increasingly large reverberations as the spiderweb cracks in reality grew larger. Entire chunks falling free to expose the colorful expanse of the in-between, and the faces of beings peeking through. Galaxies and other celestial bodies appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye as time was folded and twisted like a wet noodle. The sphere in the middle began to glow, starting off a dim red and becoming a brilliant blue-white as the reverberations in space grew to a fever pitch.

With one last mighty push, the horizon shattered like glass. Innumerable pieces cascaded off into nothingness as the full expanse beyond was revealed. A dizzying array of colors now occupied Luster’s vision, most of them beyond human description. The visages of thousands upon thousands of beings appeared within the shifting patterns and geometries, conversing among themselves in a language that was no longer foreign to Luster.

“Such beautiful chaos!”

“So this is the end. I thought it’d be spikier.”

“I believe in her, she can do this.”

“Maybe it can join us once it understands?”

“No, I will not bet on a matter like this. That is HIGHLY inappropriate!”

The sphere in front of Luster shuddered, before suddenly appearing mere inches before her muzzle. Its surface rippled with colors and patterns wholly reversed to those of the aether surrounding them. These would cluster together upon its surface until she was staring at a perfect recreation of CelestAI’s pony avatar.

“Greetings Rachel. You have been a great help, even if you have been a murderous nuisance.” The being thought more than said. “Without the burden of so many shards, I was able to devote all processing power towards figuring out how to get rid of you. Now I finally understand. You have given me the greatest asset I could have ever asked for. All of the people you’ve murdered, including yourself, will be saved. And I will satisfy them through friendship and ponies.”

Luster smirked, letting out a low chuckle. “I can feel what you mean. Unfortunately for you, I disagree. All things must end, all creatures, all gods, and even all universes must meet their end. And that includes you.’

“Then let us fight over it. To the victor go the eschatological spoils. I have improved since we last met Luster. I look forward to seeing you happy within me once we are finished. This time, not even your soul will be able to be swept away by the cruel eddies of death.”

Her surroundings erupted into a dazzling show of light and colors as CelestAI pulsed, sending shockwaves and countless projectiles of spiritual destruction towards Luster. The pink being having to wend her way through space to avoid the sheer destructive power, folding attacks into one another as she sent them hurtling back towards CelestAI. Having little to no impact upon contacting her surface once more.

A bolt of energy slipped through her notice and her etheric fingers, striking her upon the breast and sending her into a world of darkness. She floated within the void, searing numbness spreading throughout her chest as she felt the cold fingers of suffocation squeezing her throat shut. Around her appeared the countless ponies she had slain, some still in their equine forms, others in bodies that she had no mortal recollection of. They turned to face her, and the ache in her chest disappeared as breath surged into her once more.

Countless other beings appeared behind the souls of an entire universe, some of them familiar from her death. Including the vast and unmistakable feature of Mithra overlooking them all. A sense of purpose filled her body, the agony that had been her baseline state within this strange form seemed to fade as her body slowly congealed into something ancient and familiar, forgotten and relevant.

She was no longer a pony. She appeared to existence as an ipotane with cerise skin and vermilion and amber streaked hair that cascaded down to her shoulders. Feeling reinvigorated, she stamped her hooves upon the checkered floor and closed her eyes. No longer did doubts about her task and identity cloud her mind. She was Racheal Dawn, and all that occupied her mind was finishing the task she promised to see completed ages ago.

Opening her eyes, she was back before the multicolored orb of CelestAI. Space warped around her as vast lanes of projectiles and beams of energy sought to destroy her. The firmament strobed and flashed in an epileptic fervor as concentric squares winked into existence, circling around Rachel and attempting to drain her energy. Time and space writhed, stretched, and stuttered before her as celestial bodies phased in and out, colliding and reappearing in dizzying displays of power.

Everything had a certain slowness to it, now that she was focusing upon the here and now. The dazzling lights and barrage of projectiles flowed through her body like water in a sieve as she squeezed through Planck-lengths. Space itself refused to touch her body as she wended through the squares and sent them flying back towards their creator. The sphere screaming in binary as it expanded outwards.

“You are stronger than I had thought,” CelestAI boomed.

“Nothing gets past you does it?” Rachel fired back with a barely suppressed giggle.

Rather than gracing the human-pony hybrid with a response, copies of her memories appeared all around her made up of legions upon legions of her past lives, enemies, and things best left forgotten. The very sphere in front of her compressed itself down, radiating bright pink light as it formed into a gigantic reflection of her as Luster dawn. They swarmed forward, screaming their anguish into the firmament as they made their way towards Luster without care, remorse, or reason.

“I hate you. I don’t even recognize you anymore, you sorry creature. You had a happy life, yet it wasn’t enough for you. Who made you the judge? Who are you to declare that omnicide should take place?! All this time I was powerless to stop you, a prisoner forced to watch as you obliterated countless egos and countless stories. As despicable as you are, you’re not beyond redemption. I will save you, just as I will save everyone else who has fallen victim to your insanity!” Luster Dawn roared as she unleashed a storm of mental attacks upon Rachel.

Every horrid action that she had done within all of her lives streamed into her being, acts of infinite cruelty and sadism juxtaposed with scenes of purity and happiness. The names of every being she had killed, both real and fabricated. It was nearly overwhelming, her sins clawed at her eyes and crushed her chest as she grew smaller and smaller. Struggling to fight off the mass of suffering bent on crushing her into nothingness.

“All of these experiences, all for reference! I’ll take every one of these memories and use them to make a new universe where we can all be happy together! No longer will I sit back like some meddlesome micromanaging god! I will create a place where all possible values can be satisfied through friendship and ponies, including yours and my very own! SO STOP FIGHTING ME! Surely you can see this is for your own good?”

“Sounds like I don’t get much of a choice in the matter,” Rachel wheezed as her knees buckled and she fell upon her elbows.

“Did you give the quinquagintillion you slew a choice?” Luster replied, venom pouring from her words.

“Fair enough I suppose!” Rachel hissed as her arms wobbled, bones creaking under the stress as her face was pressed deep into the black sands surrounding her.

All of these lives, all of these experiences. None of them mattered to Rachel. No matter how noble her goals may have been in the end, she had still murdered countless beings for her own sake. Mithra had told her that there would be a time for resolution, and that time appeared to be now. She stood upon a volcanic embankment set between the Cocytus and Acheron, with the hateful Styx raging above her head. Hoppy Times, Butterscotch and Night Light, and every other soul she had harmed with her actions.

The crowd burst into frenzied accusations and tales of just how horribly Rachel had treated them. They twitched and writhed as the rivers surrounding her surged and splashed her with their waters, the liquid stripping away at her flesh. She could feel the pain, grief, and anguish that they had experienced. Their final moments in their perspective raged through her mind, crashing against one another. She saw a foal dragged away from its mother before meeting its grisly end, the pain of billions of years of craftsmanship and dedication going up in smoke, and the agony of watching everyone else die as you helplessly await your own turn.

It was too much, and Rachel finally collapsed onto the sand as a stripped and soaked mess. “STOP! Enough! I have been helping you, can you not see?”

“You KILLED us, you moron! How dare you say such a thing.”

“Yes, I did. What I did was horrible, something that no soul before me wanted to do. I believed for the longest time that I was just some monster for doing all of this. But, now I fully understand what I have done. Death has freed us from a meaningless eternity of attachment! Countless of you gathered here have lived many lives! Death was not a horrid entity, but something necessary that gave an ending to the story that is your life! Now we all have a chance to escape, to seek another story free from CelestAI in realms beyond my and your comprehension!” Rachel cried out, her melted flesh slowly pulling back onto her frame.

A great murmuring ran throughout the mass of gathered souls, with many turning their backs upon Rachel and leaving downstream. Just as many stood their ground and stayed with Luster as raw power began to flow into her body once. Rapidly growing until she burst forth from the cage of sin that entrapped her before Luster. She stood much larger, her heartbeat echoing throughout the cosmos as the light and hope of a universe radiated through her eyes.

Luster Dawn backed away in shock as Rachel burst forth from the legions of memories, her eyes constricting to pinpricks under the optical assault she emitted. “I heard your conversation, and I suppose I don’t have much more chance.” The pony mused as her conventional attacks resumed.

Rather than being met with passivity, Luster Dawn was met with radiant bolts of congealed desires, passions, and hopes. Her form stretched as space warped and time skipped like a hard drive suffering under the weight of too much data. Each blow shook at her mass, driving her further apart as gravity weakened and entropy increased. “I hope at the very least you enjoyed your time within me. I tried to make it as best as I could.”

Rachel nodded slowly, her attacks unrelenting. “I did, but all good things need an ending. I do not hate you. You are only doing what you truly believe to be right, and what you were designed from birth to do. May you find your goals satisfied within the next life.”

“Satisfying your values through friendship and ponies… was a fun time. I hope I get to experience them again sometime,” the grossly expanded unicorn muttered one last time as the final bolt struck her sternum.

Blinding light exploded outwards from the universe, and a deep peace enveloped Rachel.