The Castle At the End Of Time

"Thank you. For everything," I told my mentor with teary eyes after they had left their thousands of years of rule to me. It had been a long time coming, and I was starting to accept my new role. I was overwhelmed with emotion, and this was the peak of it all for me.

My friends were behind me, the ponies that had helped me through thick and thin, the ponies that had helped me realize what friendship is all about, and the very same ponies that had fought beside me when the evil of the world would stir up trouble.

Everypony was overwhelmed with emotions. After a week of planning and coming to terms with a significant life change, it was a relief to have a moment to reflect on everything.

I felt like the retirement of the two alicorns symbolized the passing of their title and a final farewell between us. I jumped into Celstia's hooves and hugged her tightly, and my friends followed suit shortly after.

The day was almost over, and I had to see my friends off at the train station much sooner than I wanted to. It was like we were already on a different path, and I still hadn't fully adjusted to that fact. Before I knew it, Spike and I were introduced to our new room at the palace. Spike initially wanted to sleep nearby me, especially since we were living in a new place.

I didn't mind that at all.

In the following weeks, after we had gotten to know our surroundings a bit more, I had to go through many official processes to legitimately become the new princess of the country. Nopony had replaced the rulers for thousands of years, so the forms and papers needed to be updated. Celestia and Luna, and other government officials would assist with that.

I was told I had to wait a few months before that happened. So, until then, I would spend my time adjusting to calling Canterlot Castle my new home. Spike and I had gotten Celestia's old room. Some changes had to be added to the interior decor around the palace to suit the new theme, but that would likely take a while.

Living in a castle in Ponyville definitely had its perks. I wasn't intimidated by the size of the castle, so I didn't mind living here at all. It was just that I couldn't have as much free time as I used to, and that was the only real negative about it.

It was hard having to say goodbye to my friends, but it wasn't goodbye forever. We knew it would be this way and were all prepared for it. I was ready to lead as a good and kind princess, and the others fully supported me. It helped more than they could ever know.

We had decided to create a monthly gathering called 'The Counsel of Friendship,' aptly named by Pinkie. The first meeting happened during my first week of ruling after the crowning ceremony, and it was mostly spent laughing about how silly the ceremony had been.

Because I had to wait for the necessary documents to sign before starting any of my official princess duties, it initially seemed to give me some freedom to spend time in Ponyville with my friends. However, there was still plenty of work to be done, and I couldn't leave the castle most of the time. When I was, it was only for short walks with Spike. He was off on his own adventures when we weren't together. Primarily, he would be handling diplomacy between the dragons and ponies, so he would visit the dragon lands often.

I couldn't hold day court without any paperwork, nor would I be able to host events. Those were the most ordinary duties for the princesses, and it would be a big part of my life from now on. As far as I knew, anyway. At least I had Spike by my side, which helped me keep my mind in check.

My friends in Ponyville promised to meet whenever they could outside of my duties and our monthly counsel, but other than that, I wouldn't see them as much as I would have liked. I would mostly read through previous court cases that Celestia and Luna had been through and get tutors for etiquette and whatnot. Stuff that was needed for diplomacy and addressing subjects properly.

I had my own ideas about how to address my own subjects. Still, even Celestia had told me to avoid getting too familiar with the elites, as they would likely try to take advantage of me for their own benefit, especially now that I was ruling alone.

Basically, I needed to avoid being a doormat. Being stern wasn't my strong suit, but it would be a trait I needed to adapt to when needed.

I had a faint idea of what I was heading into. I had read the princess' diaries several times over, and I was getting lessons from them directly lately. They both had come by personally several times in the first few weeks to see how I was adjusting, which was a big help. Just seeing the two gave me a sense of familiarity.

They had undergone a few changes just weeks after they resigned. They still had magic, but they gave me a large amount of what magic they possessed in order for me to lower and raise the moon every day.

Seeing them without their regalia or hoof guards was strange; it almost felt wrong. It was also very odd to see them with shorter manes that would not flow in an ethereal wind like they used to. Celestia decided to cut her mane a bit and actually started to style it herself, which was something she had been wanting to do for a long time.

However, the strangest change for me was that Celestia was shrinking. I had assumed that she would reach about the same height as Luna because she had not changed in the slightest. The only change for her was that her coat was less midnight blue than it used to be. It was back to how it was when she had just returned from the moon.

Nopony really knew why this was happening, but Celestia wasn't complaining about it, and neither was Luna. In fact, they seemed happy.

During the third week of my rule, when we were all chatting in the castle's throne room, I noticed Celestia had shrunk to Luna's size, and I noticed I was growing taller now. "Celestia... I'm almost as tall as you!"

Celestia stifled a giggle into her hoof. "Indeed, you are Twilight. Congratulations!"

Luna started laughing too, and I scoffed as I put a hoof to my forehead in exasperation. "I can't believe how fast this has been. You got smaller in a few weeks, and I'm already growing. It's overwhelming. It's too fast!"

"Don't worry about it too much, Twilight. Just think, you can be eye-level with the top shelves soon enough." Luna giggled as she noticed my expression.

I looked unamused at Luna for a few moments before I started laughing with them. It was strange; all of us were almost the same size now. It was like I was talking to my friends about something silly we had just been through. It was nice to have them here with me since Spike was visiting Ember in the dragon lands.

"Oh yeah, the girls should be arriving soon, and we plan to go to Donut Joe's to get some donuts for our stargazing date later. Do you two want to join us?" I asked.

The two sisters looked at each other amusedly before Celestia spoke up. "Oh? Skipping our duties, are we?"

"Nope! I did everything for today just so I could do something nice for a change." I smiled as I gestured for them to follow me. "Come on, they're probably just arriving at the cas-"

Before I could complete my sentence, a massive explosion made us cover our ears on instinct from how loud it was. It was accompanied by a very violent earthquake a few seconds later, taking us all off balance. Parts of the ceiling cracked off from the force and hit the ground further down the throne room.

We all held each other tight in fear until the shaking finally stopped. "What in Equestria just happened?!" Luna exclaimed.

Celestia and I shook our heads, indicating we had no clue. The guards inside the throne room at the time were just as confused as we were, and more guards were entering the throne room now to check if we were unharmed. I nodded at them in affirmation.

"I don't know," I replied. "But did you two hear that explosion?" I continued after hearing members of our staff screaming in the corridors outside the doors.

"Outside, now!" Luna said before she took off toward the throneroom doors. Celestia and I shared a concerned look before we took off after Luna. She was eager to discover what had happened, and I was equally worried.

The throneroom was a mess. Small pieces of rubble were everywhere from the earthquake, and a few large parts of the ceiling had crashed into the ground. It was clearly a very powerful force, one that had made me fear the worst.

Once we got outside the throne room, the situation seemed no better.

Staff members ran toward the main doors in a panic to get outside. Some ponies were bleeding, probably from getting falling pieces of rubble in the head. They were being tended to, but they couldn't stay here.

"Everypony, get outside, quickly!" I ordered. The maids and guards present helped evacuate everypony that needed help. Guards that had been stationed inside the throne room had followed us outside and stuck to us like glue.

A couple of guards that had been stationed outside the throne room ran up to us and saluted at me. "Your Highness! Are you hurt?" They asked as they made a formation around us.

I continued to run towards the exit with Celestia and Luna close behind me as I addressed the guard. "We're okay. But we have to get everypony evacuated immediately in case something else happens. Make sure everypony in the castle is warned and escorted outside!" I ordered.

"Right away, Princess!" The guard replied as he took off in another direction with a squad close behind him.

As we rushed towards the exit, I couldn't help but think about the possibility of something evil coming to power. We had faced many horrors in the past, so I couldn't dismiss the idea entirely. What else could be causing all this chaos?!

Luna and Celestia ran along with me as we hurried to the main gates. We came across several more injured ponies on our way and went through the same exact instructions when we came across more guards. We had our throne room guards right behind us the whole way there.

After what felt like a long time, we finally arrived at the main gates. When we stepped out, we saw a group of ponies gathered in the courtyard, conversing with guards and looking for answers.

"What could be going on?" Celestia muttered. I looked at her for a moment and shrugged.

It was a mess. There were ponies everywhere, and most of them were being held back by guards trying to maintain control. Upon closer inspection, we noticed that most of them were gazing toward the sky above the castle.

Noticing this, I looked up as soon as we got further out into the courtyard.

What the hay?

"What is that?" I heard somepony ask, most likely addressing the thing in the sky.

"What was that earthquake?!" Another pony shouted through the crowd.

"Princess! What is happening?!" A few ponies asked as they tried to pry themselves through the guards blocking them from getting closer to us.

Questions were coming from every direction, but I could only focus on what I was looking at up in the sky.

There, far above the castle, was what looked like a large piece of dirt that had been ripped out of the ground, along with a large castle on top of it.

The castle looked like it had been cut off at some point, almost as if it was ripped apart very cleanly in a circle. It was hard to see everything since I was looking at it from below. Around it, debris from the castle seemed to be levitating around it somehow. I did not have a clue how it was all floating in the air like that.

"Is that... a castle?" Luna asked from next to me. I looked down at Luna next to her and nodded as I tried to process the situation before continuing to study the castle in the sky.

Come on now, put your training to good use.

"Guards!" I shouted, not taking my eyes off the target. Not before long, whatever guards were nearby had gotten into position behind me while trying to block off access from the citizens. "Those of you who can, fly up there and investigate immediately!"

"Yes, Princess!" Came a collective reply from a few of the pegasi guards nearby. Around seven of them had taken flight and made haste to approach the floating castle in the sky. I brainstormed about why or how this was even happening. I could feel Celestia and Luna processing the same way I was, which made me feel at ease. Knowing the previous rulers were just as confused as I was made concentrating easier.

Who was behind this?

I took a moment to turn to the guards behind me. "The rest of you, please clear these ponies out of the courtyard for now. We don't know if it is safe here right now."

The citizens also heard this and started to whisper amongst themselves as the guards began commanding ponies to move back.

I didn't have time to think further before I noticed that the guards approaching the floating castle had stopped entirely and quickly dove back to the ground. I could faintly hear them... screaming?

The citizens were panicking, and some fled from the courtyard in fear of the screaming guards. Those screams sent a chill up my spine and would haunt my soul because I had never heard anypony scream like that before.

They landed on the ground very hard and continued screaming as if something was murdering them from inside. Every pegasi guard was out of commission, and nopony had any idea why.

"Private! What is the meaning of this?" The guard commander that had remained on the ground asked one of the soldiers that was gripping his head while crying and howling.

He looked at the commander with pinpricked eyes and ragged breathing. "I can't take it... please... kill me!" He begged.

Before anypony could make any other strategies or attempt to find out what was happening, the castle vanished into thin air with a small 'floosh'.

Silence filled the courtyard as everypony held their breaths. It was as if nothing was even there to begin with. Somehow, the guards that were screaming had now stopped. They were looking around in confusion and relief. Everypony else was staring at the spot where the floating castle had just been.

"It just... disappeared!" Celestia said breathlessly.

The crowd around them was also commenting on similar things. Questions of panic were flying in my direction, and I was doing my best to calm down so I could figure out what to do next. "Everypony, please calm down! We are trying to find out what happened, so please remain calm and return to your homes until further notice." I said as loud as I could to everypony in earshot.

As I was addressing the crowd, I looked towards the back and noticed my friends were there, coming my way in a hurry. Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. All of them were there, and I could feel my head becoming cooler just by seeing them.

In just a short moment, I went from looking at my friends to seeing a large shockwave hit the ground as the same explosion from before happened again. It was like watching reality warp itself from the force, and I could see the crowd in front of me literally bouncing on the ground from the strength of the shockwave. Another earthquake followed immediately and made every single pony present scream in fear and get thrown around each other.

It ended not soon after it had begun, and when I had regained my senses, I quickly confirmed if my mentors were okay. They seemed to be shaken up but were okay.

I looked back up towards the sky. The castle was back, but this time, something else came with it.

Something that was currently falling down and was headed straight for us. It looked like three massive, dark creatures of some kind. From where I was observing, I could see that one of them was a giant snake, the second creature looked like a colossal manticore, and the final one seemed to be a giant spider creature.

The sight was terrifying. The three creatures were coated in a dark substance, which made them appear even more menacing than their already intimidating size.

They had slightly different trajectories; the spider and the manticore creature were heading away from the castle toward the mountains, but the giant snake was heading directly toward the courtyard.

The last thing I heard was someone shouting, "Everyone, clear out immediately!" before the creature slammed down forcefully in the courtyard. I felt it right behind me. Celestia, Luna, and I had all run off back to where we had come from by the castle doors, and I could feel the adrenaline control my every single emotion.

I could have died just then...

Only when I thought about that, could I reason for a second and block out the ringing in my ears. I turned around and looked behind me to where the creature had landed and confirmed that it, indeed, was a giant snake. It was covered in a black, flowing liquid that seemed to have a mind of its own as it moved around rapidly over the scales of the snake.

The snake itself was massive, a little longer than the courtyard in width, and at least five ponies thick. Speaking of ponies...

"No..." I muttered when she was some legs and armor sticking out at odd angles from underneath the snake. Blood was pooling from several places. From my position, I saw at least three ponies that had met their fate under this giant snake. That was only what I could see from where I was standing. I didn't even want to imagine what it looked like from the other side.

There was no time to react; whoever this new enemy was, it was attacking. It had killed.

And it was now moving.

The snake was moving and hissing now; the hiss was so low that it almost sounded like a growl. I noticed the ponies fleeing from the courtyard, at least those not crushed under the monstrous snake. It raised its head and hissed at the fleeing ponies. It looked like it wanted to give chase, but I had other ideas.

I channeled magic into my horn to send a large amount of it directly into the head of the snake, and it hissed as its head was thrown back by the amount of power that connected with it. It did less than I had intended for it to do. It was supposed to take its head clean off.

"How...?" I muttered as I got ready to fight the monster, its attention now on me. I felt Celestia and Luna next to me get into battle position. They recognized the danger and were ready to fight with me.

I couldn't help but feel worried about my friends on the other side. The snake was too thick for me to see anypony across from us, so I could only pray that everypony could escape in time.

The snake started to slither its way around to face me, and when it did, it dragged around the dead ponies under it and left some of them behind as they were squeezed out from its weight. It made me sick to my stomach, and I wanted to barf up everything I had in me just from seeing the bodies of ponies be tossed around like that.

Celestia and Luna were right there with me, and they had their horns ready to fight. I could feel their anger grow as they eyed the snake, intending to disable it for good. "Girls, this thing is strong. My blast barely did anything," I warned as I channeled more magic to my horn.

"We have to evacuate everypony. I will go to the other side and help the elements protect everypony." Luna added, and both Celestia and I nodded at her. Without a word, she vanished with a flash of her magic.

Luna wanted to help fight it, I was sure. However, with this thing being as powerful as it was, we needed to make sure there was not a single pony around for us to go all out with it. It would take our combined strength to defeat it.

The snake was fast, and it was only seconds before it loomed over us. Before they had time to blast it with magic, it charged at us with a speed we weren't expecting. The only thing that stopped it from devouring us was my teleportation reflex. I grabbed Celestia and vanished into thin air just as Luna had a moment earlier, and when we reappeared, we were on the other side of the snake.

The snake crashed into the castle's gates and became disoriented for a moment. I was about to blast it again when I heard a weak cry for help to my left, over by the snake's tail.

Something pink was sticking out where the tail end was curled up, and I recognized it instantly. My eyes went wide with realization.

"Pinkie! Hold on!" I shouted as I took off toward the fluffy tail of Pinkie Pie that was lodged within the snake's tail grip. She was okay; she was crying for help, so surely she had to be okay. While running, a quick look over to where the fleeing crowd was told me that my other friends were helping everypony escape. However, Rainbow Dash was made aware that Pinkie Pie was left behind when she heard me call for her, and she zoomed over to me as fast as she could to help.

"Twilight! Where is Pinkie?!" She asked nervously. Without answering, I took off into the air and landed on the snake's body, where the tail was wrapped. The scaled were all wrong; it was gooey and sticky all over. Not at all what I was expecting it to be like. Rainbow noticed Pinkie's tail sticking out of the wrapped tail as soon as she landed and came in for landing right next to me.

"We have to get her out of there. Pinkie! Can you hear me?" Rainbow yelled at the fluffy tail. In reply, all we got was a weak croak and a tiny twitch of her tail. It wasn't a good sign. This snake was impossibly strong, but the fact that she was still alive in there gave me hope.

"Twilight!"

I felt movement under me before the shout registered in my brain, and I realized what was happening, especially when I felt the warmth of the sunlight vanish from my back as a large shadow appeared in front of me.

I got chills down my spine, and I turned around when I saw Rainbow frozen in fear next to me. The snake was ready to charge and headed straight for us.

I didn't have a moment to think as it charged towards us. In a split second, I grabbed Rainbow, and we teleported to safety.

When we came back into the world, this time next to Celestia, who was the one that had shouted at me, we saw the snake biting down on its own tail. It seemed to be in pain, as one could only imagine. That wasn't what was on my mind, however.

"Twilight... Pinkie Pie..." Rainbow whispered as she pointed a shaky hoof at where the snake was biting down. It removed its mouth from its tail before untangling its tail.

The snake was looking at the spot that it had just unraveled curiously. We couldn't see what it looked at; its tail was in the way. Not even a second passed before the snake struck whatever it was looking at with a large crash.

The snake's attack was sudden and left me no time to prepare. I watched in shock as its large head struck the ground where Pinkie Pie was. Rainbow was visibly shaken, pointing at the snake's head, now hidden from view.

A few seconds passed before it lifted its head, now with something in its mouth. A pony's upper body hung limp from the mouth of the snake.

A pink pony by the name of Pinkie Pie.

I didn't think; I blasted the snake at its throat and body rapidly, entirely on instinct, careful to not hit the limp pony hanging from the snake's mouth. She's just passed out. She's just passed out.

The snake barely felt the blows even as Luna, Celestia, and the guards joined in with their magical barrage. It felt like minutes passed by as they tried to disable the monster before-

CRUNCH

Amidst the sounds of magic, a disturbing noise echoed. The sound of a pony's body breaking, followed by a swallow. Time seemed to stand still as everything stopped, and my senses heightened, capturing every detail of the heart-wrenching moment I would never forget; the moment I lost my dear friend forever.

I could see particles of dust dance before my eyes as memories with my friend flashed before my eyes once I realized what had just happened. Everything was quiet, and my body felt empty.

That moment ended when the world was blinded by a burst of fire from above and enveloped the giant snake. A flame so hot it ended the monster's life in an instant.