Lost to the Sands - Phase 11

Phase 11

This was a moment that Celestia was not prepared for. She had never, ever put more than a passing thought into the end of her beautiful little planet. It had seemed so far off, thousands and even millions of years away. Truly, without any idea of what to expect, she hadn't even been sure if she'd still be alive by this point.

Yet, here she sat, gazing at the lifeless scorched planet with a volatile, dying sun above. It was painfully hot, and she was sure that if she hadn't been an immortal alicorn, then she surely would've perished. She found that she didn't quite know how to react. She couldn't think of anything to say, and barely had any poignant thoughts in her mind. The only show of emotion she could muster were the tears flowing down her face.

She looked around in silence for a few more moments. She breathed slowly and evenly, taking in the dead expanse around her and trying to process what she was seeing. Looking down for a moment, she saw that she was sitting in a capsule, much like the ones she had woken up in so many times. However, the glass was shattered and the entire thing was burned and broken. It appeared like a relic from an old world, dragged through the sands of time.

Finally, staring straight ahead, she heaved a cold sigh, her body trembling. This is really it… she thought, her mind finally opening up to her situation, Everything's gone… Equestria is gone, the planet is gone, and…my baby will be gone soon… She punctuated her thought with a glance upwards at the violent red sphere looming above.

She hiccupped, a fresh torrent of painful tears flowing from her eyes. My…My home… She sobbed a few times, bringing both her real and her metal hoof up to hug herself. It's…It's all gone…

Celestia had gone through a wild journey filled with such emotional turmoil, but nothing compared to this moment. A dark, empty feeling was coursing through her, causing her pain and making her shiver. Her breath came in stuttering gasps as she began to cry. She had come so far on such an amazing journey, and now she had finally reached the end.

It seemed like so long ago that she had lost everything and had been thrown forward so many years into the future, but in reality it had only been a couple of days for her. She had spent more than 2000 years shaping Equestria and helping it grow, and in only a few days time it had completely died.

There was a horrible, twanging pain in her heart that she couldn't bear. It made her cry so much, powerful emotions flowing through her. It was the same pain she felt when somepony close to her had died; indeed, she had felt it not too long ago when she had learned of Twilight's passing. However, it felt a hundred times worse.

Such a powerful sadness was growing in her, worse than she had ever felt before, and yet she could only cry softly. This was far too much to cry out to the heavens. It was all just too much.

"Wh…" she sniffled, her voice coming through rough and croaky, "What did I ever do…to deserve this…?"

Again, she gazed up at her sun, not even daring to reach out to it with her magic. She feared that such volatile energy would burn her horn right off. She heaved an empty, painful sigh and gave a quiet, emotional moan.

"You…You made it…"

Celestia gasped as her ears perked up. Whipping her head around to behind her, she gazed at the origin of the raspy, quiet voice.

Sitting behind the capsule, alone on the cracked ground, sat a hunched, frail-looking pony. She was thin, her coat lacked colour, her wings were drooping and scruffy, and her mane was a frazzled mess. The pony trembled weakly as she gazed up at Celestia through worn, wrinkled eyes that carried the signs of years and years of fatigue. She didn't look anything like the tall, impressive mare that had once stood over her, but it was clear who she was.

"…Luna!"

The blue mare mustered a tired smile. "I was afraid…that you would miss it…"

Celestia wasted no time in getting herself off of the capsule and rushing over to her sister, embracing her in a gentle, yet loving hug. She was crying instantly, weeping onto her sister's shoulder as she held on, afraid to let go. Luna moved slowly, but eventually managed to return the hug, nuzzling her softly.

"Luna…" Celestia breathed, "Oh, Luna…" She sniffled and caught her breath, shivering as emotions overwhelmed her. "I thought I'd lost you…"

"I…couldn't go without…seeing you one last time…"

Luna's statement brought a pain to her heart as she remembered just when and where she was. The two moved away from their embrace, and Celestia gazed down at her sister.

The alicorn didn't appear old, rather she just looked aged. It was clear to see just how far she had come and how much the passages of time had ravaged the once glorious figure of her younger sister.

Before she could say anything further, memories of her last meeting with Luna flashed through her mind. She grit her teeth and glanced away, splaying her ears. For a few minutes, she remained silent, her mind and her emotions hard at work. Luna remained silent all the while, gazing up at her with a neutral expression.

Celestia sighed. "Luna?" she spoke softly, "I am sorry I…freaked out like that, but-"

"Tia, please don't sugarcoat it," Luna interrupted.

Celestia blinked and gazed down at her. "What?"

Luna wasn't looking at her. She was staring at the ground, a deep, dark shameful look upon her face. "I…I made some mistakes, Tia…"

Celestia didn't know what to say.

"I…I made really bad mistakes. So much time had gone past without you, and so many things had changed. It was so hard just to keep up sometimes. Things just happened and it all seemed to make sense…"

Two tears, glistening in the fiery glow of the sun behind them, fell to the ground. "It wasn't until you arrived that…I realized how much of a monster I had become."

"Luna, no!" Celestia interjected, "I'm sorry I called you a-"

"In that moment…after you struck me and ran away in fear…that's when it all came crashing down. I'll never forget that day, Tia. All the souls of those ponies that we killed…they all came back to me in that one moment. They were surrounding me and screaming at me…I got so scared…"

"Luna…I never meant to strike you…"

"I just…" Luna was shivering, on the verge of a breakdown, "I just want…to thank you…for opening my eyes that day. Without you, I wouldn't have realized the horrible mistakes I was making…I would've kept on…"

Luna hiccupped and more tears fell, pulling on Celestia's heartstrings painfully.

"From that day, I strived to fix everything that had gone wrong. We never used silvite ever again…I abolished the cutie mark laws…I had the silvite factory demolished." She paused, letting silence fill the air. "I…I just hope…I pray, Tia…that you can…maybe…find a way…"

Luna gazed up at Celestia with pleading, tear-filled eyes.

"…to forgive a monster like me…?"

Celestia was silent as she gazed at her sister. She was silent as she gazed at the fiery, dead surroundings. She was silent as her mind replayed everything that had happened in 8998.

"Luna…" she spoke slowly, "I saw…some truly horrifying things when I last saw you…I grew to become…very afraid of you, Luna. I've never been that scared before in my life."

The frown that appeared on Luna's face showed true, raw fear.

"I simply must condemn everything you did during that era, and know that it shall be a black spot in Equestria's history if it somehow already isn't. Understand that you took many lives and ruined many others."

"T…Tia…I-I'm…"

Celestia sidled up next to her sister's frail form and draped a wing across her back. "But I can forgive you."

Luna gasped. "Y- You can…?!"

Celestia held her tight with her wing, gazing down at her and offering a warm smile. "You're my sister, Luna. No matter how far you fall, you'll always be my sister…and I'll always be there for you. And if we can't come together now, of all times, well…"

Luna's lip quivered and more tears welled up her eyes. "I…I…" she murmured before throwing herself into Celestia's embrace and wailing, "Tiiiaaaaa!!"

Celestia held her crying sister tightly, shedding tears of her own. The simple, emotional embrace softened much of her turmoil and quelled most of her fear. Being here with Luna was all that mattered right now.

"I'm sorry…" Luna murmured, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Shhh, Luna…"

"I didn't…I didn't mean to…I was just…I was trying to…"

"Luna, it's in the past," Celestia spoke softly, giving her sister a gentle nuzzle, "There's no use worrying about it now. What's done is done."

"But Tia!!" Luna cried out, "I did so many horrible things! I-"

"Luna," Celestia interjected, "I forgave you for Nightmare Moon."

The small alicorn's eyes shot open and her jaw fell slightly. She gazed up at Celestia, who gazed back down at her. There was a moment of silence between the two.

"I'm sorry, Tia," Luna spoke simply, "I…did bad things."

Celestia nodded. "I know. But I forgive you."

More tears welled up in Luna's eyes and she clutched her sister tightly again. She let her tears out, crying softly into the burning, empty air. For many minutes, the bland landscape was filled only with the sound of her sobbing. Celestia didn't say anything and only nuzzled her until she began to calm down.

"So…This is really the end, is it…?" she spoke quietly.

Celestia's own mind was turbulent as well, but she was quickly coming to accept the fact that everything was just…over. Nothing else mattered now and there was little use in lamenting what was in the past. It was incredibly depressing and painful, but it was no longer something that was actively attacking her sanity. It was a strange feeling that she hardly even noticed. All she knew was that she didn't much feel like crying any more.

Well, maybe a little.

"Y-yeah…" Luna murmured in response to Celestia's question.

"What year is it?"

Luna was silent for a moment. "I think it's…22 092"

Celestia frowned and winced, a pain in the pit of her stomach for two reasons. First was that her sun was dying well before it was meant to. It was far too soon for the sun to be at the end of its lifecycle.

Also, however, she realized just how long she had been gone this time. More than thirteen thousand years had passed since she had last been awake, longer than any of her previous slumbers by far. Millennia had passed, countless civilizations had probably risen and fallen, and her poor sister had been alone without her the entire time. She thought back to the crazed thoughts that had been in her mind before she had fallen asleep. Had the universe somehow heard her?

"I…I can't even believe it…"

Luna merely moaned emotionally and nuzzled her big sister.

"What happened to the ponies?"

Luna slowly turned her gaze upwards, a heavy frown on her face. "They're gone…"

Silence reigned for a few more minutes. The heat around them seemed to intensify. A few tremors could be felt. Celestia draped her wings around her sister and held her tight.

Luna was beginning to cry again. "Tiiaa…" she moaned, clutching tightly at the tall alicorn.

"Luna…" Celestia cooed, "Don't cry, please…"

"It's not fair…" Luna bemoaned, sniffling, "It was so hard…It was all so hard. I made so many mistakes, Tia…! S- So many things went wrong, and I didn't know what to do most of the time! Every time I thought I was getting it, the world just bucked me in the face! It all went so bad, Tia!"

Celestia was silent as Luna expressed her sorrow. She simply closed her eyes and listened.

"This…This wasn't how Equestria was supposed to go! It wasn't supposed to be so bad, so chaotic, so miserable!" She groaned out in pure, emotional pain. "It wasn't supposed to end so soon…Tia, it wasn't right without you!! I had to do it all by myself and I…and I…I just don't know!"

Celestia nuzzled her sister gently, feeling the trembles of her emotionally-wracked body.

"Tia…" Luna's cries weren't subsiding. They were getting worse, making her sob uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, Tia! I'm sorry!" She could barely speak. Too much of her mind was simply overcome with pain. "I just…wasn't good enough…"

Celestia began to hum softly.

"There was just so much sadness…So much misery…I couldn't make their lives better. Twenty thousand years and it never got better. Twenty thousand years missing you; crying at night as I wished you were here…I…I…"

Luna's emotional outbursts died on her tongue as she slowly gazed up at her big sister, who was still humming a gentle tune. "Tia…" she murmured, "What…is that…?"

A single tear rolled down Celestia's cheek, but she continued to hum a calm, familiar tune. The air was filled with her quiet, serene voice, and the notes themselves seemed to absorb all the negativity in the air.

"That…That song…" Luna murmured.

Celestia held her head high and hugged her wing around Luna snugly. She continued humming a few notes, then took a deep breath and began to sing.

"Hush little sister,

Lay down to sleep.

You're safe with me now,

There's no need to weep."

Luna was silent. Her trembles subsided and a certain calmness seemed to overcome her. "The…lullaby…"

"I will watch o'er you,

'Till you wake again.

For now rest and sleep tight,

In dreamland's domain."

The ground trembled violently. Luna said nothing more and simply nuzzled herself up next to her sister, being as close to her as possible. Many tears ran down her face, but she did not sob.

"The phoenix flies high, while the fox wildly dances,

The otters swim sweetly, the tigress, she prances,

But nothing shall disturb you, 'till your slumber is through,

Because I will stay with you, Luna…"

Terrible noises erupted around them and the ground shook so hard that it nearly toppled them over. Celestia ignored all of this and leaned her head down, planting a soft kiss on Luna's forehead.

"…I love you."

Luna had her head buried in Celestia's side, hiding her eyes from the turmoil around her. However, she was calm and breathing evenly. She had stopped shivering and was hugging her warmly. Celestia couldn't see her face, but somehow she knew that there was a small smile on there somewhere. "I love you, Tia…"

As chaos erupted around them, the two alicorns remained in their tight, loving embrace. Celestia slowly raised her head and took one last look at her sun. It was expanding rapidly. Hungry, churning flames met her eyes as the horizon was slowly engulfed. She took a deep breath of the hot, burning air and sighed.

The world had just passed by in a flash. In only a short couple of days, pony life had come and gone, and now she had reached the end. It had definitely not gone the way she would have preferred to experience it, but somehow a smile came to her face. She couldn't change the past, and there was no way to change what was about to happen.

It was time to bid Equestria farewell.

As the temperature skyrocketed dramatically and the ground shifted below them, she held her dear sister as tight as she could and waited as the flames consumed the world.



***



Things were hazy and blurry. Everything hurt; nothing felt right. Basic principles such as space and time were becoming difficult. Which way was down? Her head was spinning and her mind felt incredibly sluggish.

Celestia blearily blinked open her eyes. She was met with a vision of darkness. She moaned and held her head with her hoof, noting that she was lying on some kind of solid surface. For a moment, she poured all of her energy into sitting up.

Still, she couldn't see anything. A dizzying sensation of blindness overcame her. Her vision was completely useless. As she steadied herself with her hooves, she gently shook her head. She felt like vomiting.

Celestia had the worst headache of her entire life. Groaning, she raised her good hoof up so she could hold her head. When the white form of her hoof came into her vision, she gasped. Blinking in confusion, she stared at her hoof. She could see it just fine, as if the light of the sun were shining upon it. Glancing down, she saw more of her own body. This was all she could see, however. Everything else was pitch black.

"Where am I…?" she murmured, glancing around futilely. Am I dead…? she thought to herself, Are these…the heavens? She tried standing up, though it was difficult to do so. Her body felt weak and useless. There's…nothing here.

She tried walking around for a bit. Her hooves connected with solid ground beneath her, but she could see nothing down there. Stranger so, her hooves didn't make any sounds as they connected with the ground. It was a very strange sensation.

She stopped walking, having found nothing. A quizzical expression was on her face. She had not given very much though to what lay beyond death, but she had definitely not expected this. There was nothing here!

She didn't feel injured or burned to a crisp at all, so she had to be dead. She looked normal, could move fairly normally, and was still breathing, but she knew what she had just experienced. The end of the world had occurred, and now she found herself…here.

"Hello?!" She felt incredibly silly calling out into absolute nothingness, knowing that there was nopony around to answer her. Still, though, her confusion was beginning to frustrate her, and the endless expanse was even frightening her a little.

Her ears twitched. She could hear something! It started out incredibly quiet, almost impossible to detect, but slowly grew louder. She turned herself all around, trying to find the source of the sound. As it grew louder and more clear, she began to recognize what it was.

It was…laughter?

It seemed to be coming from all around her. She continued turning around, but couldn't hear where exactly it was coming from. She was filled with abject confusion as this jovial, uproarious laughter surrounded her.

Suddenly, she stopped turning, her eyes growing wide slightly. Wait…That laugh…

"Ahahahaha!" the phantom voice cackled, "Oh my goodness, that was fun!"

Suddenly, the empty air before her shimmered and various coloured blobs seemed to form. They swirled around for a moment before the colours all connected themselves together, forming one large imposing body. The hideous, deformed creature stood tall over Celestia, gazing down at her with a smirk on his face.

Celestia's pupils shrank to dots and she took many steps backward in surprise. The memory was distant but ever so clear, and her heart pounded in her chest as she realized just who she was staring at.

"Discord!!"

The serpentine creature with a mismatched array of body parts cackled madly. "Yes, of course! The one and only! Master of chaos, anarchy and all that good stuff. Currently living out of a stone prison, thank you very much. I really should have scoped that place out before I signed the lease. I have absolutely zero elbow room in there!"

Celestia was breathing heavily as she stood against the imposing form of this creature. This was the madman who had been the reason for the terrible War of Chaos. This was the evil being that had caused the deaths of thousands of denizens of this world. The monster that stood before her had come within inches of killing her five times.

"Well anyway," Discord continued, speaking in a pleasant, conversational tone, "It's nice to see you again, Celly. I love what you've done with the place. I never liked that planet either…"

"What are you doing here?!" Celestia exclaimed, funnelling all of her bravery into a commanding voice, not wanting to appear weak before him.

"Why, I'm just enjoying the end of the world," Discord replied nonchalantly, "Fire and brimstone raining down, continents destroyed, planet shattered…You didn't think I'd miss a party like that, did you?"

Celestia didn't know how to react to this. Her mind was minutes away from completely shutting down. Too much had been happening in too short of time. It was incredibly dizzying.

"Quite dull once it's all over with though. But enough about that." Discord curled his sleek body through the air and brought himself down closer to Celestia's level, circling around her slowly, "I trust you had fun on your little expedition?"

Celestia scrambled on her hooves as she tried to rotate herself so she could keep his entire form within her vision. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"This is the end, is it not? Did you see anything exciting? Oh, I'm sure you did. You'll have to tell me all about it since, you know, I'm stuck in stone and all…"

Celestia kept up a defensive stance. Discord was a dangerous creature, no matter where he showed up. He had boundless, unexplainable powers that seemed to defy all logic and sense. The War of Chaos, way back in the 10th century, had lasted nearly ten years because of his seemingly unstoppable nature.

He was definitely the last creature she wanted to see right now.

"Discord…" Celestia spoke evenly, a hint of venom seeping into her voice, "What is this place? Where are we?"

Discord rolled his eyes as he circled her. "Uh, duh?! Is it not obvious?" In the blink of an eye, he had wrapped his lion's paw around Celestia's shoulder, causing her to gasp, and was gesturing into the blackness with his other limb. "It's nothing!!"

There were a few moments of silent. Celestia arched an eyebrow at him. "Erm…"

"After everything is gone, there is nothing!" Discord continued, slinking away from her, "Obvious as the sun in the sky! Or the one on your rear-end. Both are quite the spectacle to look at."

A rosy blush suddenly found itself on Celestia's face. "Discord!!" she exclaimed.

"But who cares about where we are?!" Discord cut in, "As you can plainly see, there's nothing interesting here. Well…Almost nothing. I am here, of course." He chuckled and adopted a proud pose. "Anyway…Tell me all about the wonderful, messy, chaotic things that happened before the universe kinda went…boom."

Celestia's fear was quickly being replaced with a burning anger. She didn't reply, and merely growled lowly.

"Well, come on!" Discord said impatiently, "We've got nothing better to do for the next quadrillion millennia, so you might as well tell me. C'mon! Oooh, look at that! I bet there's a delicious story behind that metal hoof you've got there."

Celestia gave a huff of frustration. "Discord!" she commanded, "Tell me exactly what is going on! Now!"

"Ugh," Discord moaned with a roll of his eyes, "You have a dull one-track mind, you know that? You put me in a statue for years and years and years, the least you could do is indulge in my curiosity a little bit."

Celestia remained stone-faced.

Discord slithered in closer. "C'mon! How many wars were there? Was there a big plague or two? Did they ever invent a way for it to ever actually rain chocolate?"

Celestia let out a huff of frustration. This was ridiculous. She turned away from Discord and sat down on the floor of black nothingness, a peeved look on her face. Apparently Discord wasn't here to cause any trouble or harm her in any way. If such were the case, he would've done so already. It seemed his goal was only to annoy her.

"Tiaaa!" came his irritating voice, "Don't be a huffypants!"

Celestia groaned. Nothing about what was going on made sense, and it really frustrated her. Perhaps she could somehow see Discord's 'spirit' now because she was beyond the ethereal plane of her world but, if this was all that awaited her after death, then she was sure she had somehow found herself in Tartarus.

"Tiiiiaaaaa~!"

"Leave me alone, Discord," she grumbled venomously, her wings sulking at her sides. She could feel Discord curling through the air behind her.

"Aww…" he droned sarcastically, "Sounds like somepony's a little cranky." As Celestia rolled her eyes, she felt him slide up next to her and begin to speak softly into her ear. "Maybe she didn't get enough…sleep."

Celestia's eyes shot wide open and she whipped her head to the side, but Discord wasn't there.

"Hahahaha!" she heard from behind her, and whipped back around that way to see him cackling madly.

"What?!" she shouted at him.

"Goh-lee," he continued, "How much beauty rest do you namby-pamby pony princesses need? I mean, I thought 500 years was a lot, but then you went and surprised me."

Celestia was now on her hooves, staring up at the mad creature floating before her. An icy chill was running down her spine. "What…What did you say…?"

"You should have had an alarm clock, Celly. You really overslept!"

She was trembling now, gazing up at him in abject shock. "You…You…"

"Well, then again," Discord said, idly examining his claws, "Everybody's always wishing they could sleep more…"

"You did this…?" Celestia whispered with a haunt in her voice.

"Hm?" Discord replied nonchalantly, "Did what? Oh! You mean putting you to sleep for years and years and years and then watching to see what would happen?" He paused, then grinned, "Oh yeah…I guess I did."

The air was then filled with a violent, blood-curdling scream and Discord grunted loudly as he was suddenly tackled to the ground. For a moment, he gazed up in confusion at the ravenous, furious pony standing above him with fire in her eyes. "I'LL KILL YOU!!" she shouted.

With a snap of his fingers, Discord disappeared from under her, causing her to fall to the ground and land directly on her snout. Pain coursed through her head, but she ignored it completely, scrambling to her hooves. She saw Discord floating a few yards away, chuckling.

"I'LL KILL YOU!! I'LL KILL YOU, DISCORD!!!"

She charged towards him, but he merely snapped his fingers and teleported away again. When she finally caught sight of him once more, she channelled powerful magic into her horn, intending to hurl a dark, deadly spell at him. Her horn didn't even spark.

Discord was still chuckling, holding his paw to his mouth. He was laughing at her as if she were making a fool of herself. She probably was, but she didn't care.

"Dear me, Celestia!" he quipped, "I don't think I've ever seen you so-Whoa!"

With another shout, she charged towards him again, using her wings to propel herself. He merely snapped his fingers and teleported again. "YOU MONSTER!!!"

"Now, Tia…Why don't you-"

Discord had to teleport away again, as Celestia was not letting up her animalistic assault. The dishevelled princess was shouting in unbridled rage the entire time.

"Hey!" Snap. Teleport. "Ugh…" Discord moaned as he reappeared once more and rolled his eyes, "This is getting old."

With one more snap of his fingers, Celestia suddenly cried out in surprise. Her mad pursuit has been brought to an abrupt halt when she'd suddenly found her four hooves somehow cemented to the floor, nearly causing her to topple over. She strained and groaned against her unseen restraints, but she was completely immobilized.

"That's better…" Discord said with a grin.

Celestia unleashed a powerful, guttural cry that was a mix of rage and anguish. "Damn you!!" she cried, still pushing against her bonds and trying to escape, "Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!!"

"My word, Celestia! Such language! How unbefitting of a Princess!" Discord mused.

"Damn you!! How could you be so cruel?!" Tears were streaming from her eyes as she struggled, trying to get at this foul creature so she could strangle him. "You ruined my life…You ruined Luna's life…You ruined everypony's life!! You've ruined everything, Discord!!!"

"Really?" Discord spoke, sounding bored and observing the back of his paw, "Did I set a new record or something?"

Celestia glared at him, fires hotter than the ones she had just seen in her sun burning in her eyes and her soul. She grit her teeth and growled like a caged tiger, which only made Discord chuckle. "Discord!!" she screamed, "You are a foul, heartless beast from the fiery depths of Tartarus! You are a cruel fiend!! You do not deserve to live!!"

Discord flashed a smug grin at her. "Why, Celly! That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me! Thank you so much!"

She stared at him, fire and anger dancing inside of her. She hated this creature more than anything. She had never felt such raw hatred before in her entire life. He was the one who had done this! He had caused her so much pain and destroyed Equestria as she had known it.

She then burst into tears, crying out and hanging her head as unbearable anguish began to consume her. She sobbed loudly into the darkness as many tears fell to the ground below, and she heard Discord cackling madly before her.

"Oh dear…" he said jovially, "I've gone and made Tia cry. Oooopsie!"

"Damn you…" she whispered, refusing to look up. She watched as her tears splattered below, her unkempt mane hanging around her. It no longer flowed like waves of magic; she had been through too much for that. She shivered and heaved as the intense sobs overpowered her.

"Ahahahaha!! This is just perfect!" Discord proclaimed, slithering in close to her and grasping her chin with his paw. He forcefully tilted her head up so that she was looking at him.

She hated this creature. She despised this horrible being. She wanted him dead. And yet, all she could do was cry. This was simply too much. She couldn't move, and she couldn't muster the emotional strength to even be mad at him.

He had beaten her; both physically and mentally. He had won.

"Why…?" she moaned out.

Discord laughed. "Because it was fun, Celly!! Ponies these days don't know how to have a little fun!"

She didn't respond. She remained as she was, trembling and weeping.

"It hurts doesn't it, Celestia?" Discord spoke in a low tone, "You can't handle the purest, most natural forms of chaos that exist, and I know this. I know your weakness, Celestia."

She tried to wrench her head away from his grip, but she had nothing left to give. She was an empty shell of a pony.

"Next time, think twice about imprisoning someone in stone for all eternity."

Her head fell limply as he released his grip. She heard him chuckling to himself in a dark tone as he moved back.

"How…?" she whispered.

"Hm?"

Slowly, she rose her head up to look at him again. "How did you do this…?"

"What, this?" Discord replied before blowing a raspberry, "You think this is a challenge for someone like me? Do you know who I am? I am the GOD of disharmony! I am the ruler of all that is chaotic and disorderly. You use your little powers to move a big shiny ball through the sky, while I can create, rule and destroy a small planet before tea time."

"But…" she murmured, the last of her strength beginning to fade, "you were trapped in stone…" Discord had most definitely still been inside his statue when she had last checked in 2010.

"Mmm…" Discord grumbled, "Yes, that was my biggest obstacle, thank you very much. But really, even so, did you honestly think a little stone prison could hold me back entirely?!"

Celestia hardened her gaze. "That was no mere stone prison. It was crafted by the Elements of Harmony."

"But still rock," Discord interjected, "Do you know what happens to rock over time, Celestia?" Discord held up his lion's paw, showed it to her, and then gave it a gentle tap with his reptilian claw. The paw shattered like glass. "It cracks."

Before she could even register what had happened, Discord re-grew his lion's paw and slithered back over to her. "As time went on and on and on," he continued, "little cracks began to appear in the statue. Small at first, but like all good chaotic things, they began to grow and diverge. Not enough to wreak havoc, and certainly not enough to escape, but I was quick to discover that my powers could easily seep through it."

Celestia tried to keep her eyes on him as he swam about through the air.

"So I did what anyone in my situation would to; I experimented." He grinned, gazing upward nostalgically. "I found that I could extend my powers and just…seep out slowly. I could seep into the minds of anypony who was close enough to the castle, though I couldn't do much except whisper. Most of the time, they couldn't even hear me.

"Then I found out that if I waited, I could leak out more of my powers at once. You can think of it like I was filling up a water balloon ever so slowly. It took a while, but the payoff was much better. I could influence ponies' thoughts. I could alter their dreams! I even found that if I waited long enough, I could teleport things small distances."

He then turned his gaze on her and narrowed his eyes. "And so, being that I was trapped indefinitely not knowing when or if I'd be free, I turned my thoughts to you, dear Celestia. I began thinking how I could use these cracks to get back at you. As time went on, the cracks would grow, and by pooling my magic, I could increase the effects twofold. And fourfold. And tenfold. More, more, more…

"And so I waited…

"I waited for seven hundred years. For seven centuries, I sat there doing absolutely nothing. The temptations were horrible! There was so much chaos I wanted to wreak! But I kept telling myself to be patient. I knew that the longer I waited, the more I'd be able to do, even though I was in that damnable prison."

Discord concluded his explanation with a toothy grin. Celestia merely stared at him with a broken expression. "You're a monster," she spoke.

"Thank you!"

Celestia let her head droop. Her eyes began to drift closed. She was losing everything she had. She was losing all of her energy and the will to fight. She barely had the will to stand. She was just so…tired.

"And oh! The fun I had!" Discord cheered, "My patience really paid off! Watching you rush through all of Equestria in the beat of a heart was the greatest show I've ever seen!"

"…"

"You both cried so much! Wah, wah, wah! Oh, and then the Griffons dropped the bomb and totally wrecked everything! Hahahaha!! Such wonderful chaos!"

"You're horrible…"

"Oh, but the best part was the second-to-last chapter! Silvite!! Hahaha!! I don't think I could've come up with something like that! Your sister's like a little version of me!"

"Shut up…"

"Hmm? What was that?"

"I said shut up…" Celestia muttered, trying to dig up some anger but not finding any, "Don't talk about her like that…"

"Ah, yes…" Discord mused, "Pooooor little Luna. She had to go through so much without you! How terrible! How pitiful!" He ended this remark with another cackling laugh.

Celestia gave an empty sigh. "I'm sorry, Luna…" she murmured, "I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to cause you so much pain…" She shivered, beginning to feel the strength in her legs give out. "I wish I could have spent more time with you. I wish I could've been there with you. Even back before all of this began, I should have been at your side more often. You needed me just as much as…I needed you." She closed her eyes and let two tears fall. "I'm sorry…"

"Oh…You actually learned a lesson?" Discord groaned, rolling his eyes, "Uggghhh…I hate when that happens."

"Discord?"

"Hm?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Can you release these shackles? Or, at least let me lie down? I'm…I'm ready to…go…"

This only made Discord chuckle more in his dark tone. "Oh poor, poor Tia wants to go sweepy-bye? After all the sleeping she's just done? Hahahaha!"

Celestia was motionless.

He gave a golden sigh and smiled. "Ah, well…It was a fun ride while it lasted, wasn't it Celly?"

"…"

"It's just a shame I couldn't make this your permanent end…"

Celestia moved her head up slightly. "…What?"

"Even with all that waiting, I still didn't have enough power to actually alter the course of set events. I do so wish I could've had you end up here, stuck dead forever."

Celestia narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What…? What are you talking about…?"

"If I had been free and not trapped in that tight, cramped one-room hovel made of stone, I could've actually put you to sleep for thousands of years and watched the consequences. It would've been so much better…but this is just as good."

"What do you mean 'actually' put me to sleep? You just…did…" Celestia paused, tilting her head slightly, "Didn't you?"

Discord grinned. "Yes! Yes I did!"

Celestia blanked. "Uhm…"

"But," Discord continued, "without my full powers, I'm afraid I couldn't make it…well 'canon'." He punctuated this last word by making air-quotes with his fingers.

Something golden and glowing, though dim, began to fill Celestia's eyes. "Discord…" she spoke slowly, gazing up at him, "What are you saying…?" Something began to make her feel warm and jumpy inside. It felt sort of like…hope. "Are you saying…none of that was real?"

Discord snickered so hard that if he had been drinking something, it surely would've come out of his nose. "Ha!! Oh no, Celestia. I assume you, that was quite real."

Her entire body sank.

"Yes, those were a true course of events guided by the real flow of time. You went through all of that, your sister went through all of that. It was as real as you can get."

Though it felt like her entire body had been skewered on a sword and all of the glow was gone from her eyes, she continued to hold her head up and look at him. "Then what are you talking about…?"

Discord smiled, opened his mouth, and held a claw up in the air. When no words came out, he shut his mouth with a frustrated expression. He seemed to ponder something for a few moments before throwing his hands up in the air and shouting in exasperation.

"Ugh, this is completely impossible to explain unless you have an advanced understanding of chronography, quantum linearity, hyper-dimensional rifts and an advanced degree in wibbly-wobbly. I'm not sure your tiny brain would be able to handle the big words."

Celestia simply stared at him.

His smile returned. "Well, whatever. All that you need to know is that was most definitely a real timeline of events, and now you're here at the end. Wasn't it fun?!"

Her mane began to cover her face as she let her head sink again.

"Oh, don't look so down," he mused, "Don't forget what's most important; I had fun!" He then cackled once again.

At this point, Celestia would've told him 'Kill me', but she wasn't sure he'd even be able to. She was dead now, wasn't she? The sun had destroyed the world.

"Tiiiaaaa?" Discord sang. He reached a claw out to grasp her chin again, but she jerked her head away, not wishing to see his malicious eyes.

"Fine then, be a sourpuss." She heard him float away. "Whatever, this has been fun, but your pouty attitude is getting old. We should do it again some time."

For a moment, she continued to remain silent. Then, however, a strange sensation began to overcome her. Opening her eyes and gazing down at herself, she saw that she was being enveloped in a bright, white glow. "Wah…?!" she cried out.

"Don't fight it, Tia. Just go to sleep once more…"

She felt the restraints on her hooves disappear, but also began to feel really heavy. It was as if gravity had been intensified threefold. A cloudy sensation was overtaking her mind.

"Sleep tight, Tia," Discord whispered  in a sinister tone, "Don't forget all the hardships and pain you went through. I worked really hard on them, after all."

She was laying down now, unable to stand up, move, or talk. She could barely breathe.

"And just remember," Discord whispered, suddenly right next to her ear, "You cannot erase your world of chaos. I'll always be there…"

She let out one last, fighting breath, and then her head hit the ground and everything went black.



***



…

"I love you, Tia…"

…

"I'm really sorry, Celestia, but there was nothing any of us could do."

…

"Celestia! Are you somewhere safe? Tell me where you are!"

…

"No! I won't let her!" Celestia shouted, "I won't abandon her!!"


…

"Tia…?" Luna said quietly, "I'm…not fine."

…

"Tia!! I'm so happy to see you again!!"

…

Celestia's mind was hazy. Her vision was swirling…

"Tia, don't leave me again!! You can't!!"

Where was she…? What was happening?

"Tia…!"

Her body felt lifeless and weightless. Her muscles were weak and her limbs drooped below her. She was floating in an endless expanse of nothing.

"Tia!!"

Where was she going? What more was there to come? Was this…truly the end…?



***



"TIA!!!"

Celestia groaned and shifted. The extremely familiar sensation of feeling sluggish and sore was beginning to get old. She tried to open her eyes, only to be met with the harsh, blinding light of the world around her. It made her wince and groan again.

"…Tia??"

Someone was calling to her. Someone was nearby. She felt something touching her torso. Had someone been nudging her? She slowly opened her eyes again, squinting against the brightness. Once the whiteness faded away, she saw…

Flowers.

A bright array of colours and a lush collection of green plants met her eyes. She was laying on her side on the ground, gazing with a skewed angle at a bed of flowers. A garden? The ground below was gravel, but it was not terribly uncomfortable. The path she was on seemed well-kept and uniform.

She opened her eyes wider. In contrast to her previous awakenings, she seemed to be regaining her strength rather quickly. She began to feel energy coursing through her body, and her fatigue was beginning to dissipate. She heard a voice, but her mind was still a little too hazy to focus on it. She simply tried to move.

Digging into her reserves, she found the strength to stretch her two forehooves out in front of her, eliciting a gasp from someone. Her vision swam for a moment, but soon enough she was able to see her two hooves extended out before her.

Something was off. Something didn't seem right about what she was looking at. She tried to ignore it, but the feeling was nagging at her. Was it the garden or the path? No. Her hooves seemed to be the same. Sleek, large, and coloured a brilliant rosy shade of off-white.

Her eyes shot open wide and her mouth fell open slightly. Both of her hooves were there! She stared down at the hoof that had, not moments ago, been forged artificially out of metal. All traces of the metal were gone. What had once been an unnerving eyesore that had stood out starkly against the rest of her body was once again…normal. She tried dragging it along the ground slightly. Her eyes lit up as she realized that she could feel the gravel below it. This was her real hoof!

Before she could process this revelation any further, an extremely concerned voice met her ears. "Tia…? Are you okay? Say something!"

Slowly, she rolled herself slightly so that she was looking up. Though she was still quite stiff, moving herself was proving to be much easier than past experiences. The first thing she noticed upon changing her viewpoint was the bright, blue sky above her. It looked wonderfully pleasant; there were no exploding suns in sight.

"Tia. Over here."

She followed the sound of the voice and soon a figure came into her vision. She gazed up, slightly groggily, at the pony that was standing over her, a frightfully concerned expression on her face. The pony was leaning down, gazing closely into her eyes. "Tia?" she spoke, "Please…Say something…"

"Luh…" Celestia breathed, "Luna…?"

The pony smiled gratefully, though much concern still remained visible in her expression. "Oh my goodness, Tia…Are you all right? You scared me…"

Celestia blinked, clearing away the blurriness in her vision. The pony standing above her was indeed Luna, which was enough to spark immense confusion in Celestia's mind. How was Luna here? Had she somehow found her in…the afterlife?

"Luna…?"

But there was more. Luna looked noticeably different since the last time she had seen her. She seemed much smaller, even more so than she had been at the end of the world. Her coat seemed to be a lighter shade of blue, her features seemed somehow younger, and her mane was entirely different. It was not flowing and ethereal, like her own was. Instead, it was a simple sky blue mane like one could see on any pony.

She…She looks exactly the same as when…as when…

"Tia!" Luna spoke as she stepped closer, "Are you hurt? Should I go get help? Here, let me help you up." She extended her hoof, clad in shining sky-blue hoofwear.

Celestia grasped the hoof and allowed herself to be pulled up. Again, she marvelled in confusion at her fully fleshed hoof that she could move and feel with. She had only just gotten used to using her metallic one. As she rose up to a sitting position, she gazed at her surroundings some more. The more she saw, the further her jaw fell.

"Luna…" she murmured to the pony sitting across from her, who was looking very concerned, "What happened? How…did I get here?"

Luna frowned. "I don't know! We were just walking and then suddenly you collapsed! You were out cold for a couple of minutes! I had no idea what to do! It was really scary!"

A great number of shivers coursed through Celestia's body as she stared wide-eyed at her sister. Slowly, she reached out her golden-clad hooves and placed them on Luna's shoulders.

"Luna…" she spoke very slowly and deliberately, staring straight into her sister's eyes, "…What year is it?"

The smaller pony furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head slightly. "Wh-what?" she asked, perplexed, "Are you okay, Tia? Did you hit your head when you fell?"

"Luna, please…!" Celestia was shivering slightly, gazing with a rapt expression at the other pony. "This is very important. Just please tell me…What year is it?" Her breath was bated as she anxiously waited for her sister's response.

Luna was silent for a moment, contemplating the request, before she finally opened her mouth and replied.

"It's the same year that it has been for the past six months, Tia. It's 2010."

With that, a sudden rush of emotions began to overcome Celestia. Her heart beat fast as wonderful, golden happiness and untold amounts of joy began to flow through her, warming her and causing her to break out into a huge smile. Tears began to flow but, for the first time in a long while, they were not tears of sorrow.

"Luunaaaa!!" she cried out as she leapt forward, seizing her sister into a tight, loving hug. Luna gave a shout of surprise, but then gave a warm smile and hugged back.

"Tiaa! Hey!" she said, chuckling in both amusement and confusion, "What's going on?"

Celestia was nuzzling her sister so much, keeping her in a tight hug and holding tight, afraid to let go. She trembled as too many happy emotions coursed through her. This was truly it. She had come back! The location she awoke in, her position on the ground, Luna's age; it was all the same as it had been back before any of this had started. She didn't know how, and there were even some small lingering doubts at the back of her mind. She ignored these however, because somehow she just knew it to be true.

"Lunaaa!!" She cried out again. She began to sob, completely overcome with emotion, as she held onto her sister like a lifeline.

"Tia?" Luna spoke concernedly, "Hey, are you okay? What's wrong?"

Celestia gasped for air as her body was shaken by torrents of emotion. "I…" she gasped, "I…Luna! I'm so glad you're okay!! I thought I'd lost you!!"

Luna was patting her back comfortingly. "What? 'Lost me'?"

"Luunaaaa…" She held on tight, feeling her sister's warmth, noticing her sister's heart beat alongside her own. She felt comforting hooves and warm nuzzles. "I'm…so glad you're okay…"

"Tia, calm down…" Luna spoke soothingly, "It's okay…"

"I'm sorry Luna!" Celestia cried out, "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!!"

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?"

"For…For everything! I'm sorry Luna! I'm sorry…! I've…been a horrible sister."

Luna pulled herself out of the embrace, holding on to Celestia's shoulders and gazing into her face. So much worry and concern were written in her expression. "Tia…" she spoke softly, "What happened to you…?"

Celestia's tear-stained face showed a raw mixture of relief and anguish. She shivered as she sat, being held up by her sister's strong hooves. "I…" she let out in a warbling voice, then was forced to take a deep breath. "I…went so far…" she murmured, clear mental images of her painful journey fresh in her mind. "It…it was all so- A-and everypony was- I…"

She focused her eyes on her sister, seeing how much genuine care was in those deep, blue eyes. "Luna? Is…Is it really…2010?"

Luna nodded slowly.

"Please…Don't lie to me, Luna. It's really 2010?"

"Tia, I would never lie to you."

She was silent for a moment. "And…what you just saw happen…?"

Luna frowned. "We were walking through the gardens. You had finally gotten some time off and we were talking about…your lullaby. Then you seemed to get dizzy and you just collapsed. You were out for a couple of minutes and then you woke up."

She drank in her sister's words. She let the realization of just what had happened wash over her. A smile formed on her face, and it only grew wider as she beheld her younger sister. She sniffled as more tears of joy made their way down her face.

Celestia couldn't help herself. She leaned in and hugged her sister tightly again, clutching her and nuzzling her affectionately.

"Ah!" Luna blurted in surprise, "Tia?"

"I…" Celestia murmured, "I love you Luna."

There was pause, and she felt her sister's muscles loosen and relax.

"I love you too, Tia," she replied in a heartfelt way, "but…can you tell me what's going on? Please?"

"I was…I was gone…" Celestia breathed, "I was gone for so, so long…" She shivered at the painful memory. "I left everything behind…and found myself somewhere horrible…"

A moment of silence passed.

"Are…you all right, Tia?"

Celestia gave possibly the biggest smile she had ever given in her entire life and snuggled her sister. "I am now…" she spoke softly, "I am now, Luna…"

Luna made to move away, but found that her bigger sister didn't seem to want to let go. When Celestia began to weep again, she patted her back and brushed her hooves through her mane. Luna closed her eyes, held her quivering sister close, and began to sing a familiar, soothing lullaby.


The End

***

Thank you so much to everyone who read! I hope you enjoyed! If you liked this story, consider sharing it with your friends! It’s the best way to help me out. Thanks to my friend DiamondIce for world building, and my buddy AquaDivider for being an awesome pre-reader and editor!! And, of course, thanks to all of you!!

--GB