FIRE… relentless and all consuming… a rage filled passion that burned with tumultuous fury as though it were the heart of the sun itself. Nothing could escape, nothing could survive, and so it all came to end.
Now… now there was only ash.
Where once there had been fields of lush grass, now there was only scorched earth and cracked stone. Where once there had been blue skies, now there were only heavy clouds of soot. Where once there had been bountiful forests, now there were only lingering flames that licked at what little remained to fuel them. Where once there had been great cities, now there was only ruin and rubble. To look across the barren landscape, one would never guess that this had once been a place of happiness and joy, of hopes and dreams.
The land of Equestria was no more. No longer would ponies play in its pastoral fields. No longer would their laughter and songs fill the air. Nothing remained, not one soul had been spared. They were simply gone –all of them– and so now no one was even left to comprehend the sheer scope and magnitude of the tragedy that had happened here. No one that is, save one pony… if she could even be called that any more.
The alicorn that had once been known as Celestia sat and surveyed all that was left of her kingdom, or rather the lack there of. Hers was a heavy burden, for not only could she still remember the Equestria that used to be, it was she who bore the blame for its final destruction. Not because she had failed to protect it from its enemies, as was her duty, but because she herself had instead become its greatest enemy of all.
Where had it all gone so terribly wrong? When had she allowed the madness to take her? What kind of monster had she turned herself into? Who was she now? These were all question that haunted her still, but always foremost in her mind was the question of WHY… why did she still care?
It just wasn't fair!
She'd become the villain, hadn't she?
It all should have been her moment of supreme triumph!
She should have be cackling with mad glee, and monologing some insane rant about building a new world. That was perhaps the problem though, because there was nothing left to build from, nor anyone to build it for. She was alone, now and forevermore.
It had all seemed so clear when it first happened — so simple. The burning rage of her furry had unlocked powers she'd never imagined herself capable of, and had also purged her of any weakness that would have previously restrained her from doing what needed to be done. Yet it had also blinded her. Not to sight, but to the truth of her own atrocities.
No longer able to distinguish between right and wrong, or even friend from foe, all had suffered her wrath alike. None had been able to stand against her might, not the royal army, not her sister Luna, not even the Elements of Harmony. They were all gone now – everything was gone now, and her only cold solace was in the feeble pretense that the all-consuming heat of her infernal conflagrations had ended their suffering quickly.
She'd sacrificed so much, but to what end? There was nothing left, so nothing is all she'd accomplished.
The alicorn continued to sit in mournfully silent contemplation, for how long though she had long since lost all concern. It might have been mere minutes, but could just as easily have been days or years, if not countless eons — how would she ever know the difference? She was both immortal and forever alone, so what meaning could the mere concept of time hold to her. Not even the world around her would ever change again. No life could flourish in these empty wastes, and even the fires burned eternal, sustained by the lingering magic which had brought them forth.
All she knew is that her body still burned and crackled with the raw essence of the powers she'd unleashed, flames so intense that even she had not been entirely spared. Perhaps it would be a simple enough matter to magically heal the charred and blackened burns which marred her alabaster coat. The same could not be said for Equestria, however.
She could never restore the land, never bring back all the countless lives lost. So she left her own scars to linger as well, that they should stand as an eternal testament to her transgressions… her unforgivable sins.
And yet…
For not the first time, she lifted her head, looking out upon the bleak horizon and wondered. Did life still yet flourish beyond the desolate remains of her lost nation? Just how far had her fiery wrath truly reached? Equestria was gone, but what of its neighboring kingdoms, and if not those than perhaps the world even further beyond?
Maybe…?
No — these were but the fleetingly foolish delusions of a broken mind, desperately searching for some last shred of hope to cling to. Even if the sun and moon still roamed the heavens beyond the choking smoke that filled the skies above her, it would make no difference… not for her at least.
Any world that might by some miracle still exist out there could never hold a place for a monster such as herself. There could be no fresh starts or new beginnings. The best thing she could do for any who still survived was to stay as far away from them as possible.
And so she let the weight of that guilt bend her neck down again as she remained fixed in the place she had sat for so long. It all always came back to the same thing. What could possibly be a more fitting punishment for her crimes then this lonely isolation in the hell of her own making?
As she wept her bitter tears, the only reaming trace of moisture in this forsaken realm, the alicorn who no longer deserved her name stared at the crown she held levitated in front of her. Once it had been a symbol of pride, of the trust her ponies placed in her. Now it too was only a reminder of the shame she could never forget.
Again she repeated the words that had and would forevermore seal her fate…
"Long live the queen."