THREE WEEKS POST-ASCENSION
"What do you think happens when we die?"
The light titterings of conversation died off, leaving the table outside the Haute Cuisine eerily quiet. Her three friends looked at Twilight queerly, which caused her still new wings to fluff out a bit under the attention.
Finally, Rarity cleared her throat to break the awkward atmosphere. "Twilight, are you alright?"
“Aw, don’t mind her,” Spike said, not even looking up from his Power Ponies comic. “She’s been sulking all week.”
“Now, Spike, that ain’t very nice,” Applejack said.
“What? It’s true!”
Rarity kept her eyes on Twilight. “Is everything alright?”
"Why do you ask?" Twilight asked.
"Well, it's just that you've been sitting there silent as your little retinue there," she gestured to the pair of stone-faced guards flanking the princess, "then you suddenly bring up such a... er, morbid topic."
Twilight shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just... curious if you girls ever think about it."
"No way!" Rainbow said through a mouthful of hay fries. She gulped loudly, wiping her hoof across her lips. "Who has time to think about that stuff? I'm too busy being awesome in this life to worry about whatever's next."
"How philosophical,” Applejack sighed.
"So, you never even thought about it?" Twilight asked.
"Nope!" Rainbow tapped her chin. "Well, there's that old pegasus thing."
Twilight perked up. "What?"
"Well, I remember in history class they once told us about Cloudhalla. The old pegasi warriors believed if you died in battle, you'd go to this, like, eternal battlefield or something. Fight demons for all time. We pegasi were pretty hardcore back then, ya know? Heh, some of us still are." She puffed out her chest.
"An eternity of fighting?" Rarity shuddered. "How uncouth, though I suppose it fits with how brutish pegasus ponies used to be." She let out a sigh as Rainbow smirked even wider. "Anyway, it's a nice idea. Sadly, not all nice ideas are true."
"Now, wait just a darn minute," Applejack said, leaning in on the table. "What're you gettin' on about?"
"I am simply saying that we have this one life in Equestria—the here and now, if you will," Rarity said. "And I can't help but feel as though it is somewhat spoiled by dreams of a life beyond what we already have. What use is there in weaving tales of something that doesn't exist?"
She shrugged. "I realize that it brings many pony ponies comfort—after all, nopony wishes to see their loved ones gone forever—but it's a terrible fact of life that adults like us must come to realize that we simply cannot just reframe reality to suit our whims. It's natural, of course, to yearn for something more: some further meaning or purpose in life."
Her eyes drifted closed, and she took a quiet sip from her tea before placing it neatly back down on the tablecloth. When she spoke again, her voice was gentle, subdued. "At some point, though, it becomes necessary to put away childish things, and to meet real life on equal hoofing."
As Rarity was talking, Twilight’s ears had slowly drooped. She nodded thoughtfully. “Well, that makes sense, scientifically, at least. There is no evidence of any kind of afterlife.”
"Ah, bull-honky,” Applejack huffed. “Science can't explain everything 'bout life."
"Applejack, I can open a book and tell you exactly what you are, down to the atom."
"So? That don't mean squat. Look, Twi, you could take every element that makes up my body 'n put it in a big pot, an' you wouldn't have nothing. You could hit it wit' lightnin', light it on fire, and it ain't gonna come alive. Ponies have been tryin' for years, yeah?"
"Well, yes."
"But when I was a little filly, I saw my momma take a little bit of her an' a little bit of my daddy, and eleven months later, eleven months, out popped a brand new bouncin' baby filly. That right there was a bona fide miracle if I ever seen one."
Rarity sighed. "No, Applejack, that is life."
"Exactly," she replied with a small grin. "It's like I said, you may know exactly what in the brain does what, what chemical or neuro-whatsit makes me decide that I like this here fancy tea”—she held up her cup—”but for all that knowledge, after Celestia knows how many years of tryin', the brightest minds in the world still can't do in the fanciest of labs what two simple farmponies can do in one night—create a life."
A distant smile fell upon her face as she leaned back in her chair. "Look, Twi, I'll be the first to admit I ain't the smartest of ponies when it comes to science and the like, but even I can see that us ponies are so much more than this ol' bag of meat we walk around in. There's some... spark somewhere, some kinda essence or somethin', more powerful than anything, even yer fancy alicorn magic. I can't rightly believe that all that energy can jus' up and vanish when we die. There's gotta be somethin' else."
By this point, Twilight was leaning forward towards them. "Like what?"
“I don’t know, sugar cube, could be anything. Why, my grandaddy used to spin tales ‘bout the Elysian Fields, a never-endin’ plain of the freshest grass and the juiciest fruit trees, where you and all your loved ones can gallop and graze and play for all time.”
“Whoa,” Spike said, finally looking up from his comic. “That sounds awesome! But, do you think they have a quarry? I wouldn’t want to spend forever without some rubies.”
A light round of chuckles spread across the table. “I don’t rightly know, Spike, but it's fun to think about, and I'd be lying if I said part of me weren't lookin’ forward to findin’ out.”
Rarity nearly dropped her teacup, just barely managed to set it back on the table. “So... you want to die?!”
“Oh, good gravy, no! It’s just... well, Granny Smith has a little sayin’: 'live as long as possible, but when your time’s up, it’s up. Don’t fear the Pale Pony'.” Her brow furrowed. She turned back to Twilight, taking her hoof in hers. "Now, how's about you level with us, sugarcube. Why you asking about all this?"
Twilight blinked.
There's just no way to tell right now, Twilight. You and Cadance are the first two ponies who have ascended. Luna and I were created as we are. Your mortal nature may remain, but you must remember you are now intrinsically linked to Magic itself, a force as permanent and lasting as the sun and moon. I wish I had answers but right now I'm... I'm just not sure.
Twilight smiled. "Like I said, just curious."