The sheets were covered in cold sweat. Another dreamless night. I’ve been getting more and more of those lately. The only dream I’ve had in the past nine days was of my mother screaming incessantly in a dark room. It was so terrifying it woke me up, releasing the contents of my stomach on the floor. Yet, I'd still choose it over dreamlessness.
I stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, then made the effort to get out of bed. Even with three lamps burning, the room seemed grey. My coat and mane were in no better shape, and I could only guess what my eyes looked like. The temptation to go lie back down was unbearable. Sadly, I had an appearance to uphold.
Shaking off as much sweat as I could, I went to the window. Another dark morning—not sunless, not somber, but completely dark—no sun, no moon, no stars. Auntie was slipping again. She had been slipping for months: first a few seconds, then minutes; soon we would be nearing hours. Everypony knew it, yet all they did was set their clocks and watches back.
“Let’s go through the motions,” I whispered and moved away. Time for my grooming. At this point I was one of five beings who bothered to maintain an appearance. That fact itself filled two pages of every newspaper in Equestria. Sad, considering how many important things could be in print instead.
I left my room. The guards in the corridor barely noticed my presence. Guards. I snorted in contempt. More like statues. I’d laugh if the situation wasn’t so bleak. The entire palace had become a tomb—cold, dim, and completely cheerless. I walked on. To Tartarus with the guards! They were tired, but so was I, more than most ponies could imagine.
The walk to the bathroom was tedious. A few maids bowed as I passed. I acknowledged their presence with a nod. A while back, I would have flirted, maybe even given them a compliment or two.
As I approached the door, a stallion appeared round the corridor. White coat, blue mane, lots of sparkling body gear… Shining Armor? I paused. Seeing him was a surprise. Since he had become Captain-Prince of the Crystal Empire, he rarely appeared in Canterlot. There was no official visit planned, nor had I heard of a reason for him to be invited. So what was he doing here?
“Shining.” I tried to make up for my ghastly appearance by straightening my posture. His mane was messy, his eyes practically cracks on his face.
“Oh, hi Blue.” He smiled at me, one of those tired smiles that screamed ‘to Tartarus with everything.’ “How’ve you been?”
“Couldn’t be better,” I lied. Either my hubris or the sight of his wretched state wouldn't let me complain. “Yourself? How’s Cadance?” I almost felt weird asking.
“Not well,” he sighed. Instantly I knew something was wrong. “Flurry is sick. Cadance, Sunburst, and every other royal mage is trying to find the cause, but…” The ominous silence said it all. He had already prepared himself for the worst. “I’ve come to ask Princess Celestia for help. She hasn’t been returning Cadance’s letters.”
She hasn't been returning anypony's, I thought. Even Twilight Sparkle had been hounding the palace twice a week in hopes of getting an audience.
"Did she give you the runaround?" I chose to cushion the blow.
"I'm off to see her now," he said with a yawn. That was surprising. I never thought she'd agree to such a thing. Then again, if there was anyone who'd she talk to, it would be him. As much as Auntie liked Twilight, she no longer considered the “Princess of Friendship” her apprentice. Flurry Heart, however, would become that in time.
"Well, let me not waste your time." I forced a smile, but knew it was weak. "Let me know how it goes."
Shining nodded, then disappeared down the corridor. It seemed even the Captain-Prince wasn't immune to troubles. I never would have thought.
The bathroom was chilly, despite it being summer. The maids must have forgotten to heat it again. I used a touch of magic to heat up the shower cloud, then started washing.
"What am I going to do today?" I asked. I felt beyond pathetic. I could cycle the dance clubs again. Lately they seemed to be the only sparks of joy in the greatness that was Canterlot. Maybe I could take up Spitfire on her offer and visit the Wonderbolt academy? At least that would be a change.
Less than five minutes in I heard a knock at the door. I promptly ignored it. The staff should know better than to disturb me during my shower. The knock persisted. Somepony had no intention of leaving me alone.
"Yess?" I hissed. Decades of being useless and there's always somepony who still comes to me for advice.
"The Princess has asked for you." The voice was Raven’s. Other than myself, she was the only pony in the palace that remained unchanged. Now, though, I could hear worry in her words.
"I'll be there as soon as I finish—"
"Now," she said, cutting me short. "She wants to talk to you now."
"And I'll be there," I growled. Not even Auntie could be so demanding as to have me rush out of the shower. "As soon as I freshen up and get groomed!" However, I still set the cloud to drizzle. It was unusual for Auntie to ask for me.
"No, Blueblood." The door opened. "You're going now."
So arrogant. If anypony else dared speak to me this way they would have Tartarus to pay. I wasn't in the mood, especially now. One look at her face was enough to silence my thoughts. The crush of my youth was now reduced to a sack of bones covered in skin. Her brownish mane, once elegant and sparkling, was now a grey mess barely held together in a bun.
"Raven..." I took a step towards her. Instantly she turned away, afraid as if my touch would cause her to crumble to dust.
"Don't," she whispered. "Please. Just go to her."
"Alright." The grooming would have to wait. "Throne room?"
"Tower," Raven replied, moving away. "Shining’s visit has concluded early; I'll see him off. Tell me when you know what needs to be done."
A shiver passed through me at her remark. Before I could ask what she meant, Raven was gone. Knowing her, she wouldn't tell me even if she had stayed. I cast a quick drying spell over myself. Canterlot might be going to Tartarus, but I wasn't going to be caught looking like a common scarecrow.
My hoofsteps echoed through the empty halls as I made my way to Auntie's quarters. Not too long ago I was complaining about the constant noise and laughter that filled the palace. Now I couldn't be sure if that had ever been real. Was it possible that all the colours I remembered seeing as a child had been but a foal’s imagination?
The closer I got to Auntie's door the less guards there were, as if some force had pushed them away. Maybe it's the problems of the west, I thought. There were rumours of troubles near the sea. A whole regiment of guards had been gone there a month ago. A total information blackout had soon followed. Fancy Pants had let it let slip once that the troubles were more than a rumour, but had stopped short of outright confirming anything.
"I’m here, Auntie," I said, reaching Celestia's bedchamber. No answer. The door stood before me, cold and imposing. "Auntie?" I knocked. Still nothing. Did Raven lie to me?
I knocked once more, harder this time. To my surprise, the door slid open.
"Finally,” I whispered under my breath, but at the same time a sense of dread swept over me. My forelegs froze in place, refusing to let me continue onward. My hind legs, however, managed to give enough of a push for me to enter.
"Good morning, Auntie." I said, trying to make my posture as cocky as possible. "You're late with this morning’s sunrise again."
If there was an answer I didn’t catch it. My mind was too busy adapting to what my eyes were seeing. This wasn't the bedchamber of the Sun Princess! This was an abandoned room, dimly lit by a single flickering candle, so cold that I could see my own breath. Trays of untouched food lined both sides of the once-majestic bed, and between them, shivering, curled up like wet cat, was the ruler of Equestria herself.
"Auntie?" I barely resisted the urge to flee.
The creature I once called ‘aunt’ budged. Her ears flicked twice, then her eyes opened and turned in my direction. As fast as a sloth in winter she raised her head, then sat up in a clumsy attempt to appear regal. It was pitiful.
"What happened to you?" I gazed over her weak body. Her legs and wings were trembling.
"I'm dying, Blueblood," she said softly, her words hitting me like a thunderbolt.
"What? But you can't—" I stopped. Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard the voice of reason laughing at me. The embodiment of the sun itself had just told me she was dying, and I had to respond with the greatest of all clichés?
"And I'm not the only one." The shock of the statement returned me to a state of normality.
"Luna?" That would explain my dreamless nights, as well as everypony's worsening condition. Remove one's dreams and they have far less to live for. Psychologists and philosophers had always taken that theory for granted. I wondered how they would feel seeing they were right.
"All alicorns," she clarified.
Flurry Heart! I thought. "How?"
"Fate?" Auntie shrugged. "Sickness? Magic?" A smile appeared on her face. Even on her deathbed, she hadn't lost her horrible sense of humour.
“You don't know?” Anger burned inside me. “You've been in this state for stars know how long and you never once—” My vision blurred for a moment. I needed more air.
“I tried,” she said. I could taste the sadness in her words. “It's no longer important. In a decade I expect there'll only be one alicorn left in Equestria."
"Who?" My mouth felt dry. A single alicorn, a single ruler over all. How would everypony react? I barely knew how I would! I caught myself staring at her mouth. Auntie must have noticed as well, because she coughed a laugh.
"You," she pointed at me.
I didn't speak. What was there to say? That I was horrified? That much was obvious. Hearing my ruler, the physical embodiment of the sun, announce my ascension from her deathbed made me wish I was having a nightmare.
"You're speechless?” She tried to laugh. “You used to beg me for a pair of wings when you were younger; now you get—"
"Auntie, stop!" I spat the words with rage. I didn't want her gone. Not her, not Luna, not Cadence and her daughter, not even Twilight. "I—"
"There's no one left, Nephew." She tried to take a step towards me, but her shaking foreleg stopped mid way. "If Equestria is to survive, you have to accept my wings and my burden." She started coughing again—the deep watery cough that makes ponies turn away. "You will be my hope: the first, last, and only male alicorn Equestria will ever know."
"But I'm an idiot." My voice was trembling. I turned away, avoiding her glance. “A fop, a snob, a playcolt—” A tear rolled down my cheek. It was surprisingly warm, unlike everything else in this sun forsaken room.
"Please," Celestia pleaded. "Please, take the sun and moon and guide my ponies for me. Please let them have a future."
Easy for her to say. By her own words she'd be gone in a few years. The troubles of Equestria would no longer matter to her. I was going to see what follows, I was going to live it, carrying the burden of an entire world on my back… and I didn't think I would endure.
“Will you do that for me, my bright eyes Blueblood?”
I looked up. For a moment I saw Celestia as I remembered her—strong, kind, almighty, the caring deity that had raised me after my mother's death. I reached towards her, in an attempt to share my fears, as I used to when I was a colt. Before I could utter a single word the moment was gone. A weak shadow of a goddess was looking back at me, asking for my strength.
The single light in the room flickered out, plunging everything in darkness, and in that darkness I whispered, "Yes."