Earth Shine and Nightshade sat in silence, for how long neither could tell. No clocks or even stars existed anymore for them to glance at. Instead, they stared out into the Nothingness on the cool table, the last remnant of their extinct world’s existence. Earth looked down at the table’s edges, the Nothingness beginning to wear the marble away.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “About yelling at you.”
Nightshade didn’t answer. She sat huddled with her legs to her chest, rocking in place.
“I wanted to make sure you were with me when it all ended. I couldn’t…” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I couldn’t imagine you staying in that castle, fading away into nothing. You were the only friend I’ve had since…” His brow furrowed. “Honestly, I don’t know now. I can’t remember anything from the past few days, let alone years.”
Nightshade sniffled. “Me neither.”
Earth scooched a little closer to her. “I’m sorry it’s like this. Even if it was this world, you should’ve gotten a chance to grow up in it.”
She turned to face him, her eyes red and little droplets dripping off her chin. “We’re going to die. Right?”
Earth’s eyes wavered for a moment. “Don’t think of it like that. Think of it as a sleep that lasts forever.”
“But I like being awake!” Nightshade screamed. “I like walking around and having fun! Why did the world have to end now?!” She buried herself back into her own chest, the tears falling faster.
Earth Shine stroked her shaking back. “I know,” he whispered. “It’s unfair. We never asked for this, and we don’t deserve it.” He took a deep breath. “But it’s here now. And the only thing we have control over is how we’re going to face it. Do you want to spend your last few moments crying? Or thinking about something else?”
Her sobs paused, then a sniffle. She looked up at Earth, doing her best to wipe the tears from her face.
“L-Like what?”
Earth shrugged. “Whatever you want to think about.”
She sniffed. “All the happy things I liked are gone. I can’t even remember anything good to think about.”
“Oh, right. Well, maybe-“
“Nothing but you.”
Earth stared at her, face frozen. She likewise seemed crippled by what she said. They stared at each other for a long time, the table’s edges eating away ever so slightly.
Then, before Earth could react, he felt her whole body collide into his chest. Her legs flew around him, and the sobs began to stain his coat with tears and snot. He quickly wrapped his legs around her and pulled her tight. He tried to hide the tears in his eyes, but they soon started dripping down atop her head.
“Are you scared?” she whispered.
“Very,” he said. The table was now half its original size, the middle the only part remaining untouched.
Nightshade nuzzled her head deeper into his chest. “At least we can be scared together.”
“Yes,” he said, staring out into the Nothingness now mere inches from their bodies. “Sometimes having somepony to be scared with is the best you can hope for.”