Princess Celestia didn't blame Twilight Sparkle for being angry with her. After all, Celestia had told Twilight to come see her if she ever needed anything, and Twilight had done exactly that. Yet when Twilight came and told her that Starswirl had murdered two of her friends, Celestia just laughed at her and pushed her away. It was a horrible mistake – one that Celestia deeply regretted. That was the sort of mistake that could ruin a relationship forever.
The princess had flippantly told Twilight to come back later. Considering how badly Celestia had acted, she would not have been surprised if Twilight had never returned at all. But the purple alicorn had returned. Even though hours had passed since Celestia threw her out of the castle, Twilight's mood had not improved. She was still filled with the righteous anger of a pony who had been treated unjustly.
Celestia knew there wasn't much that she could say. How could she possibly apologize? Words were completely inadequate. It would look foolish for her to say “Oh, by the way, I'm sorry that my friend and mentor brutally murdered your two friends, and I then laughed at you and threw you out of my home. My bad. Would you like some tea?” How could anypony right such a serious wrong?
The white alicorn was surprised when Twilight wanted to talk to her in private, but she couldn't reject that request. Of course her former pupil was hurt, and of course she wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk out of earshot of the gossiping guards. So Celestia led Twilight to a small private room.
After she let Twilight into the room, Celestia followed behind her. When Celestia turned around to close the door, though, she felt something strike her on the back of the neck. It wasn't painful, but it was jarring – as if someone pushed her over and she lost her balance. Before she had time to respond or even cry out, the room vanished. In fact, everything vanished. Celestia found herself in a strange new place. The sky above was white, and the ground was a featureless gray. There were no objects to be seen of any kind – no trees, no furniture, and no other ponies. She was completely alone.
She instantly recognized where she was, but she could not understand what she was doing here. “Hello?” Celestia called out. “Twilight, what's going on? Why did you bring me here? Is there something you wanted to show me?”
But nopony answered.
Celestia frowned. Why would Twilight take me into a blank comic book? There must be some mistake. I'd better get out of here and go see what she wants. She is so distraught right now that she probably isn't thinking clearly. My poor student needs help.
The Princess of the Sun thought back to her training and tried to remember the spell that transported a pony out of a comic. Once she remembered it she lit up her horn and cast the spell.
The blank world around her disappeared – but to her surprise she did not reappear in Canterlot Castle. Instead she was... somewhere else.
Celestia was standing in a large room. The floor, ceiling, and walls were made of a reflective bluish crystal. The room had no windows and no furniture. The floor was covered in a thick layer of undisturbed dust. The air was utterly still.
“Hello?” Celestia called out. Her voice echoed off the crystal walls.
This looks like a room in Twilight's castle, Celestia thought. But how did I get here? A second ago I was in Canterlot. How could I have been brought to Ponyville so quickly? Even stranger, it looks like nopony has set hoof in this room for years, but that doesn't make sense. Twilight has a maid who keeps her castle clean. She would never allow things to get this dirty.
Celestia walked over to the door, stirring up a cloud of dust behind her. She opened the door and saw that the room led into a long hallway. The hallway was utterly still. There were no objects, no decorations, and no guards. All Celestia could see is an undisturbed layer of dust.
A bad feeling came over Celestia. Something was very, very wrong. The world was too still and the castle was too empty. The princess knew that her initial guess was right: this was indeed Twilight's castle. But why did it look abandoned? This was Twilight's home – and Celestia had only been gone a few seconds. What could possibly have happened?
The princess stood still and listened. She strained to hear a sound, but the only noise she could hear was her own beating heart. There were no voices, no hoofsteps, and not even the moaning of the wind. It was deeply disturbing. Ponyville was a big, bustling city, but today there was no noise to be heard. Nothing.
Celestia walked across the hallway and opened the door to Twilight's bedroom. The door creaked open. Inside Celestia saw a wooden desk with a few small items on it – but there was nothing else. The room contained no bed, no bookshelves, no end table, and not even a rug on the floor. The only thing the princess could see was a layer of dust.
Princess Celestia glanced out the open window – and her heart stopped. She immediately ran out onto Twilight's balcony. “No,” she gasped in horror. “No! It cannot be true!”
But it was true. The bustling city of Ponyville was in ruins. Its streets were broken and overgrown with weeds. The roofs of the houses had collapsed, and many of the city's fine homes were nothing more than piles of rubble. The princess did not see a single home or business that still looked livable.
Everything was overgrown, but even the weeds themselves were brown and dead. In fact, Celestia could see no signs of life anywhere. There was nothing green. The grass was dead, and there were no trees. Even the Everfree Forest was gone. Something had eradicated all life from the world.
Celestia felt her horror giving way to anger. “What have you done?” she shouted. “Who dared to do this to my kingdom? Who removed the life from my world and filled Equestria with death?”
But nopony answered.
The princess scanned the city below but could see no evidence that anyone still lived in the city. From what she could tell, nopony had set hoof in Ponyville for a long time. There were no ponies in sight. The sky above was blue and clear, and there were no pegasi to be seen.
The truth was all too clear, and it filled her with rage. Ponyville had not been destroyed in battle; it had been abandoned. The ponies had simply... left. Since no one was there to take care of the city, Ponyville fell into ruin and was overgrown with weeds. Then something killed the plant life.
There wasn't even any wind. The air was still and cold. The sun was high in the sky, but it provided little warmth.
A thought suddenly struck her. If Ponyville lay in ruins, then surely the rest of Equestria did as well. Canterlot must be as dead as the scene that was below her.
Celestia screamed in anger. It was a wild, uncontrolled scream filled with wrath and betrayal. She did not care who heard her. In fact, she wanted the world to hear her. Her scream was a threat. “I will find out who did this!” she shouted. “I will find the monster who destroyed my kingdom, and I will make him pay. This will not go unavenged. Do you hear me?”
Her voice echoed through the empty streets of the desolate city, and then quietly died away. But her rage remained.
The princess felt a wave of despair and hopelessness build up inside her. With all her strength she forced it back down. No. I will not give up. Not yet. There must be some hope, somewhere. There must be a way to fix this. The situation is grim, but this is not the time to be overcome by my emotions. I am the ruler of Equestria and my ponies need me. I will find a way to fix my land and make it whole again. But first I need to learn what happened. What could have caused this calamity?
Celestia tried to think. The last thing I remember is talking to Twilight. When I turned my back to her she put me in a comic, and when I came out I was here. It is obvious that many years have passed – perhaps decades, perhaps more. That can only mean that Twilight imprisoned me in time. Since only a few moments passed in the comic but years passed in Equestria, time must have been flowing at a reduced rate. Clever, Twilight – very clever. But why would you do such a thing? It's not like you to attack me. I know that our relationship has been strained recently but I cannot understand why you would resort to such a thing. What has come over you?
A thought occurred to Celestia. If I was imprisoned in a book, then that book must still exist and it must be located close to the room that I appeared in. That means there must be a hidden area in that room. If I was imprisoned then there is a chance that other ponies – perhaps Luna – suffered a similar fate. I need to find those books and free them.
But first I must learn what happened to my world. What could have caused this? War? Obviously not, for the damage does not look like war. Disease? That is also unlikely, for I see no bodies. When I disappeared, Twilight was going to release her magic into the world. Surely, though, that is not responsible. I need more information.
Celestia walked back into Twilight's bedroom and looked at the items on her desk. There weren't many. The princess saw two books – a green one and a blue one, neatly stacked on top of each other. She saw a silver quill that was lying parallel to the books. There also was a wooden box, lined with velvet. Inside the box were small indentations that were designed to hold something. Most of the placeholders were empty, but a few of them held red crystals. Beside the box was a small crystal tripod.
The princess levitated one of the crystals out of the box and looked at it. Interesting. These look like memory stones. They're not quite the same, though. They have a different internal structure and they are much smaller. I've never seen anything like this before.
She looked back at the desk and studied the crystal tripod. Celestia experimentally levitated the crystal over the tripod and dropped it into place.
The tripod began to glow. The memory shard vibrated for a moment and then shot a beam of light into the air above the desk. A picture of Twilight formed. It was surprisingly clear and vivid.
“Hello, everypony!” the purple alicorn said excitedly. “Isn't this thing neat? Sunshine and the Moondancers made this for me. I can use it to record a journal that ponies can play back later! That way I can record all of my important discoveries and witty observations. Now, I'm not sure that I'll have much in the way of witty observations, but Sunshine says I'm being too modest. She wants me to use this to make a record, so I'm going to give it a shot! I guess all of the things that are going on right now are kind of important. I probably should send a message to future historians about how I changed Equestria forever.”
How you changed Equestria? Celestia thought with rage. Oh, Twilight. You had better not be responsible for the devastation and death that I see outside. Tell me that this world is not your doing.
Twilight grinned. “But I'm rambling, aren't I? Let me see. Three days ago the Moondancers started giving out enchanted comics to ponies all over Equestria. I have to say that the response has been amazing! I am so excited. Ponies love the new magic and have already started using it. Even my friends have created new worlds for themselves! It's been a big hit. In fact, we ran out of comics and are having to make more.”
Twilight paused for a moment to think. “There really hasn't been much in the way of problems. There area few ponies who have some doubts about this new magic – like Frosted Arrow. Sunshine told me that she would go talk to them. I'm sure she'll be able to work out whatever the problem is; after all, she always does! I've never seen her fail at anything. She is super good at changing ponies' minds.
“Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. From where I'm standing the future is looking bright! I can hardly wait to see what happens next.”
The memory faded and disappeared. The crystal stopped glowing.
'Bright' is not the word I would use to describe it, Celestia thought bitterly. Did you actually imprison me so you could destroy my world? Is that what this is – revenge for the way I treated you? Did you truly decide to destroy my entire kingdom because you were angry with me?
Celestia placed the shard back into its position in the box. The next few crystals were missing. Celestia skipped over the gaps and levitated the next one in line. She then inserted it into the tripod.
Twilight appeared. This time she did not look as exuberant as she had before. She had a slightly troubled look on her face. “Um, hello again. Right. So, I realize that my earlier reports were pretty positive, but I've been doing some studies and I'm a little concerned. Not super concerned, mind you, but a little bit worried. There have been some things going on that I didn't expect, but I guess I should start at the beginning.
“As you know, ponies all over Equestria have been taking the comics that I created for them and using them to make exciting new worlds. It's been, oh, about six months since the Moondancers started handing them out. By now just about everypony has abandoned their old life in Equestria and started living in their new worlds – which is exactly what I was hoping for.”
It is? Celestia thought, astonished. Oh, you foolish pony. Why would you ever want such a thing? How could you hate me so much that you would wish death upon my entire kingdom? How could you be so evil?
“There are a few holdouts, but their numbers diminish every day. Anyway, being a student and all, I got curious about what kind of worlds ponies were making. How were things turning out? Were the ponies happy? Well, naturally, I couldn't just go around and talk to millions of ponies. That's not practical. However, Sunshine pointed out that since all the comics were created from one master comic, I could use the master comic to find out what was going on in all the child comics. To be honest, I'm still not quite sure how it works. The Moondancers worked out the magic, and it's kind of beyond me. All I know is that it really does work. They were able to use it to build some really neat reports that update in realtime. They've got all sorts of statistics – how many real ponies are in comics, how healthy they are, what sort of worlds they have made, and so forth.
“But some of the initial reports are kinda disturbing. I thought that ponies would use the magic to do happy things, you know? I mean, that's what I would do. Well, that's what I would do if I wanted to, I mean. It's just that I'm not really interested in moving into a comic book. I guess that makes me one of the holdouts, doesn't it? Personally, I just don't see the point. All I ever wanted was to be happy, and Sunshine makes me very happy. I don't need an artificial world.
“But I'm rambling again. Anyway, the trends that I'm seeing in these reports are kind of bothering me. It's true that some ponies are doing what I want them to, and that's good. But there are other ponies that aren't. Those ponies aren't going into worlds with their families; instead they're breaking apart and creating their own, private worlds. Some husbands and wives are separating and creating worlds with new versions of their spouses. Some children are abandoning their parents and making new realities for themselves. There are also some friends that are, well, separating and replacing their friends. It's really hard to understand.
“I'm also a little concerned about the type of worlds that ponies are making. There are a few ponies who are doing things that are kinda wrong, you know? But Sunshine tells me that I shouldn't worry about it. She says that everything will be fine and ponies are just trying to find their place in this new world. I guess she has a point. I'm sure that they'll get all this weirdness out of their system soon, and will go back to living happy lives of harmony. It's probably nothing to worry about.
“Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes. See you later!”
The memory ended.
Celestia wanted to scream. How dare you! Twilight, how dare you burn down my kingdom to move my subjects into worthless fantasies. You have a lot to answer for. I expected better from you.
The princess was tempted to crush the memory into powder, but resisted the urge. She needed the crystals as evidence for when she put Twilight on trial for treason. Celestia placed the memory crystal back into the case and got out the next one. She then played back the memory.
This time Twilight was happy and full of life. “Guess what? Sunshine was right! It's been a year since my last report, and everything has settled down. Families are back together again, friends are reunited, and ponies are using their worlds responsibly. Everything is going exactly the way that I wanted it to. It looks like ponies really did just need a little time to get settled down.
“I have to admit, the first time I saw these new numbers I asked Sunshine if they were right. They just seemed too good to be true! But she assured me they were correct, and I trust her. It's such a relief to know that things are fine. For a while there I was worried that I had made a horrible mistake, but now I see that I was right all along.
“I'll come back later if I have something else to report, but it looks like the transition to the comic worlds is just about over. I don't anticipate any problems from this point out.”
When the memory ended, Celestia frowned. You are far too trusting, Twilight. It is not wise to blindly believe everything that you are told. Good news given to a monarch should always be treated with suspicion. Few ponies are willing to tell the truth to their rulers, especially if it is a truth they do not wish to hear.
The next memory shard contained another happy Twilight. “It's done! It's finally done. Every last pony in the whole world is now in my enchanted comics. When I started this project I didn't realize that it would take a couple years to make the transition; there were a number of holdouts, especially in other countries. But Sunshine was able to fix everything. I really couldn't have done this without her! She has been amazing and so supportive.
“The whole world is abandoned now. That means it will finally suffer the fate it so richly deserves: it will fall into disrepair and then collapse. Even the animals have been removed, so the ecosystem is going to collapse. Do I feel about about this? Absolutely not. This world is a terrible place that has been filled with centuries of pain and suffering. Just ask anypony! The new magical worlds I have created are much better. It is time for this world to die.”
Celestia could not take it any more. “How dare you!” she shouted. “How dare you replace reality with some foolish, meaningless fantasy! Yes, there was pain in my world – but there was also hope, and joy, and friendship, and harmony. How could you teach ponies to abandon a life of meaning and replace it with a permanent daydream? You were supposed to protect this kingdom! How could you destroy it?”
But Twilight could not hear her. She kept rambling on. “Now here's something odd. The world's entire population has been relocated into comics, with one single exception: Celestia. For some reason Celestia is still in Canterlot, moping around in her castle. She won't go into a comic and she won't talk to me. She just mourns the loss of her kingdom. Celestia is entirely alone – and boy does it make me happy to see that! I haven't forgotten the fact that when I needed her, she wasn't there for me. In fact, when Starswirl killed Applejack and Rainbow Dash and I went to her for comfort, Celestia threw me out of her castle! Now she is the one who gets to experience the crushing loneliness that I lived with for so long. If she wants to spend the rest of her life crying in her decaying castle, then I say she deserves it. Sunshine has always been there for me, and Celestia has done nothing but let me down. To this day Celestia has never once tried to visit me and improve our relationship. So, Celestia, if you want to rot then you go right ahead. See if I care.”
When the memory ended, Celestia stared at the crystal in amazement. So Twilight thinks that I am still in my castle in Canterlot? But that pony cannot be me, for I have been trapped in a comic for many years! The pony in Canterlot must be a clone. But if Twilight thinks that she's real then she must not know what happened. That means Twilight is not the pony who imprisoned and replaced me. That, at least, was not Twilight's doing. Twilight may have destroyed my kingdom and ruined the lives of my subjects, but she did not put me in prison.
The only pony who could have done it is Sunshine. She must have decided that I was a threat to Twilight's plans, so she disguised herself and trapped me in a book prison. Very clever. I knew she was an abomination the moment I first saw her. How many other ponies did she replace in order to further Twilight's plans?
A thought occurred to Celestia. Sunshine did not kill me; she put me in a book. There are probably other ponies who are trapped in prisons as well – there could be hundreds or even thousands. That means there may still be hope! Perhaps I can find these ponies and free them, and then we can rebuild Equestria. A great deal has been lost, of course, but if there are still living ponies then we have a fighting chance. I can only pray that my sister is still alive.
The next few memory crystals were missing. Celestia took the next available one and played it.
“So it's finally done,” Twilight said. She was obviously tired. “It took years – more years than I care to count – but Sunshine and the Moondancers have completed their search of the entire world and gathered up every last enchanted comic book in existence. All of the comics have been brought here and stored in the Vault that's in the basement. The Vault now has every single enchanted comic that we've ever made. It also has the master source comic for all the new worlds, it has the comic that defines Sunshine, and it has the definitions for the new Applejack and Rainbow Dash. They're all there. Even my collection of memory stones is there.
“The Vault should last forever. I've got guards down there to protect it – not that there's anypony to protect it against. Nopony has exited their world and returned to reality in months. I think they're all in there for good. There are no threats left in Equestria to worry about. In fact, the world itself is dying. In a few centuries all the cities will return to dust, and in a few thousand years every trace of our existence will be gone. It will be like the pony race never existed at all. I will have won.”
Not if I have anything to say about it, Celestia thought angrily. I will not allow Equestria to die.
Twilight continued rambling. “At first I wasn't sure if we could even find all these books. I knew it was important to protect them, because if the books are destroyed they will kill any ponies that are inside them. But the world is a pretty big place to search, you know? It seemed like an impossible task – until Sunshine came up with a spell that let us locate them. I really never should have doubted her. Sunshine was able to use the spell to find the books, and she used thousands of Moondancer clones to go get them. It was a lot of work, but we're done now.
“But that got me to thinking. Since we can use magic to find comics, it made me wonder if we can also use magic to tell the difference between real ponies and clones. After all, there must be a difference, right? Real ponies exist on their own, but clones depend on a magical link between themselves and the comics. It should be easy, but when I talked to Sunshine about it she said that she's tried and it just isn't possible. I don't know; maybe she's right. Maybe it can't be done. I guess it's something I can look into.
“After all, I have all the time in the world now! My work here is done. All of the fantasy worlds are stable and happy. The ponies in them are doing well and are leading safe, happy, and productive lives. There's nothing left in this world – except for Celestia, who apparently intends on crying herself to death. She's so weird, you know? Now that I've won I almost feel sorry for her – almost. Then I remember how badly she treated me when my friends were murdered, and I don't feel sorry after that.
“I really don't know what I'm going to do next. I think I might stay here and watch this horrible world decay. That sounds like fun. I can protect the comics and continue my studies on enchanted comic book magic. I guess I can also keep records for the next generation.
“Oh – did I mention that? The report that the Moondancers made for me says that real ponies are getting together and having families. That means there really is going to be a next generation! I was a little worried at first that ponykind would die out, but apparently not. I have to say that I'm a pretty lucky pony. Every time I start to worry about something, the numbers get better and things work out. Maybe Sunshine is right: I really do worry too much.”
The memory ended.
No, you fool, you don't worry enough, Celestia thought angrily. Why do you put so much trust in Sunshine? Friendship is not the same thing as stupidity, Twilight. Apparently you still have much to learn.
Celestia looked at the box. All of the following crystals were gone. There were only three left, at the very end.
The princess took the first one and put it in the player.
This time Twilight was very different. Celestia noticed that she had grown. She was no longer a small pony; she was now almost as large as Celestia was – and she was filled with blinding rage. The muscles in her neck were tight, and her eyes were points of fire. She looked like she was about to kill somepony.
“It was all a lie!” she screamed. “A lie! None of it was true. Sunshine has been faking the numbers for twenty years. I've never been so angry in all my life! Everything that I've believed about this project has been wrong. First of all, ponies are not getting back together. Every pony is in their own world. Families, friendships – they're all gone. Second, ponies are not having children. Oh, they're having ponies, all right – fake ones. The real ponies are dying off. The entire older generation is gone, and more ponies are dying every day – and that doesn't include all the ponies who somehow found a way to get themselves killed. I don't know how they're managing to do that in a world where they control everything, but apparently they have found a way. Their stupidity is staggering.
“And I'm not even going to mention the kind of worlds that ponies created for themselves! These ponies are so depraved that they would make even Sombra blush. It's a disaster! The number of ponies that haven't become evil tyrants is really, really small. Apparently what ponykind really wanted was to become supervillains.
“If I had known years ago that this was happening then maybe I could have fixed it. Maybe I could have put some kind of limits on the books, or forced ponies back onto the right path. But you know what? Sunshine lied to me. Now it's too late to do anything! Thanks to Sunshine the entire pony race is lost.
“But wait – there's more! Sunshine has done even more to betray me. It turns out that it really is possible to tell the difference between real ponies and clones. The spell is incredibly easy – and Sunshine knew the spell and hid it from me for years. I actually had to discover it myself. And guess what? All of my friends are clones! Even that stupid Celestia in Canterlot is a clone.”
A voice called out from behind Twilight. The voice was full of pain; Celestia could not hear the words, but she could hear the tears and sorrow. But Twilight was unmoved by the heartfelt plea. The purple alicorn turned her head and screamed. “Shut up! I don't want to hear it. You betrayed me, Sunshine. I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses! I should never have trusted you in the first place. You aren't my friend; you are a monster. Don't you dare try to explain yourself to me!”
Twilight turned around to face Celestia again. “That pony is pure evil. I had been wondering why all of my friends were still so, well, friendly. The answer is obvious now: Sunshine replaced my real friends with clones that were programmed to be loyal and agree with everything I ever said. I haven't had any real friends for years; all I've had were stupid clones who pretended to like me and pretended to love me. My whole world is gone – and Sunshine took it from me.”
Celestia shook her head. How does it feel to be betrayed by somepony you trusted? I trusted you, Twilight, and look what you did to Equestria. You cannot blame all of this on Sunshine. You created her and you allowed this to happen. I blame the fall of Equestria on you.
“Do you hear me?” Twilight screamed. “I don't have any friends! Sunshine killed then all and replaced them with copies. I don't have anything that's real anymore. My world – my happy world – was all a lie. There's nothing left but pain now, and I'm all alone. Sunshine took everything from me.
“Well, what am I supposed to do now, Sunshine? How am I supposed to live with myself? I've lost everything that I ever cared about and everything that I ever wanted. What's next in your evil master plan to ruin my life?”
Celestia could hear Sunshine sobbing in the background. Twilight just kept screaming. “I can't fix this! Nopony can fix this. Equestria is dead and it can't be brought back to life. I don't think ponies even know how to live in reality anymore! I need my friends – but wait: my friends are gone, aren't they? Thanks to you, Sunshine. I hope you're happy with yourself.”
The memory abruptly ended.
The princess placed it back into the box. She suddenly became nervous. Wait a minute. Once Twilight discovered the truth, why did Sunshine not confess what she had done? Why did she let Twilight believe that she had killed her friends, when she obviously didn't? Sunshine did not kill me, and I am sure she did not kill the others either. The logical thing to do would be to tell Twilight that her real friends were trapped in comics. Sunshine could release them and Twilight would have her dear friends back. But yet I was not released. Why was I not released?
With great trepidation, Celestia levitated the next crystal and put it into the player.
This time Twilight was even more upset than she had been in the previous memory. Her mane was a mess, the feathers in her wings were ruffled and out of place, an her face was stained with tears. Twilight just kept sobbing. She could barely talk.
“So, um, this morning I woke up,” she began. “And, you know, Sunshine is always there when I wake up. Every morning she's there standing over me. She's – she's the first pony I see every day. But this morning when I woke up she wasn't there.”
Twilight swallowed. She tried to pull herself together, but she failed. “She wasn't there! I know I was mad at her yesterday and refused to talk to her, but she wasn't there. After our big fight she just left, and I didn't see her again. So I went to her room, and – and – that's where I found her. She was – on the floor.”
Twilight tried to wipe away the tears from her face. It didn't help. She could not stop crying. “I, um, I – I know it's my fault. I should have seen this coming. One of the things about clones is that you have to be careful when you define their core nature. If you embed a command that they cannot achieve, they will self-destruct. It's like creating a contradiction in terms. The clone will realize they cannot accomplish what they were created to do, and the magic that sustains them will tear itself apart. A real pony could accept it and move on, but clones are more fragile. They're just not good at failure. The only way to prevent it is to rewrite their core definition.
“I... never did that with Sunshine. It never crossed my mind because she always seemed so happy. At least, I thought she was happy. But she wasn't, was she? She must have been miserable since the day I created her. She spent her whole life lying to me, just to keep me happy. She actually went around killing ponies and replacing them to make me happy! That's how frantic she was. She even killed Celestia. She was so desperate to keep me happy that she assassinated the ruler of Equestria.”
Twilight could not stop crying. “I am such a horrible pony! Look at what I did. I was so lonely that I destroyed the whole world. But it wasn't my fault, you know? When Applejack died, nopony was there for me. I was all alone. Only Rainbow Dash came, and she was just there to push me into resurrecting Applejack. She wasn't there because she cared about me. No, nopony actually cared about me. Celestia promised to be there, but when I really needed her she threw me out of her house. So I created a friend for myself so I would actually have somepony. But I am such a monster that the only way Sunshine could keep me happy was by replacing my actual friends with clones. I am that bad.
“And now Sunshine is dead. What am I supposed to do now? I literally have nopony left. All I ever wanted was somepony to care about me, but there isn't anyone left. Oh sure, I could create a fake pony, and I could give that fake pony some fake feelings for me. I could have that fake friend tell me what I want to hear, but that's stupid. I want a real friend. But I'll never have that again.”
The memory ended.
Celestia was torn. On the one hoof, she genuinely cared about Twilight. But then there was the fact that she had destroyed Equestria and turned the entire world into a decaying ruin. At least now you understand what you have done, Celestia thought at last. I am just sorry that things went this far before you learned the truth. I wish I could have talked to you long ago and guided you down a different path. I could have spared you all that pain. But you brought this upon yourself. You claim that you have no friends, but that is not true. I tried to visit you the week that Applejack died, but you would not see me. All of your friends came, and all of your friends were turned away. You were the one who chose to replace them with Sunshine. They did not abandon you, Twilight. You abandoned them.
There was one more memory shard left. Celestia placed it in the crystal tripod.
This Twilight was even older and larger than the last one. She was now equal in stature with Celestia. The purple alicorn had a look of pain and sorrow about her. She looked like she had not been happy in a long time.
“This is the last entry I'm going to make in this stupid journal,” she said. “There's really no point anymore. It's been eighty years since I started all of this, and it's pretty much over. Equestria is completely dead. Even the plants have died. I thought that the cities would have decayed faster, but I guess the absence of weather, animals, and active plant life have caused what's left of them to be preserved. There's just nothing actively tearing them apart. The ruins may continue standing for eons – a testament to my foolishness.
“Nearly all the real ponies are dead now. The only ones left are ponies that were young fillies when I started all of this. They probably don't even remember the real world anymore! They'll die in the next few years, and then that will be that. I will be the last pony in the world.”
Twilight sighed. “The last pony. You know, I thought that Cadence and Luna would live for a long time, but that didn't happen. Boy, that was sure a disaster, wasn't it? But I don't suppose I can blame them. A pony gets used to living in enchanted comics, and eventually forgets that when they come back into the real world they have limitations. That's why ponies almost always get killed when they come back to Equestria.”
Killed? Celestia thought with horror. My sister is dead? Cadence is dead? Everypony in existence is dead except for Twilight? No – I refuse to believe that. My sister is not dead. Surely Sunshine imprisoned Luna and cloned her, and only the clone died. But Twilight can tell the difference, can't she? But – no. My sister can't be dead. I just got her back; I can't have lost her again so soon. Twilight, if you took Luna from me I will tear you apart. Nopony hurts my sister!
Twilight was still talking. “I suppose I'm lucky, in a way, because I've never been able to forget that the fake worlds are fake. That's all they are, isn't it? Fake. I finally created my own world – I had to. You can't live in Equestria anymore; for one thing there's no food or water. But it's all so fake. All it has are fake ponies with fake feelings, who say whatever fake things you want them to say. I hate it. I just ignore them and live alone, with my books and my studies of magic. What else is there?
“I wish I had never done any of this. I wish I had never created these stupid books. But it's too late to go back now.”
When the memory ended, Celestia replaced it in the velvet case. Well, at least I know what I need to do now. One of the earlier memories said that all of the comics were stored in a vault down in the basement. I need to find Twilight and talk to her – if I can do that without killing her for what she did to my sister. Then, if she survives, we can find the prison books that Sunshine created and free the ponies that are trapped there. Once they are free I can work on rebuilding this world. I do hope that Sunshine trapped some stallions. If she didn't then we really are doomed.
Celestia exited Twilight's bedroom and made her way down into the castle basement. The last time she had entered the basement it was filled with magical equipment. This time it was completely deserted.
In the far wall was a massive iron door. To Celestia's surprise, there were no guards by it. The princess walked up to the door and tried to open it. The door opened freely; it was not locked.
I suppose that it would be pointless to continue to guard it, Celestia thought. After all, Twilight is the only pony left. There aren't even any animals who might threaten these books.
When Celestia opened the vault, she saw that the area inside was pitch black. Celestia lit up her horn to provide light – and gasped. The room was enormous. Celestia was standing at the top level, on a walkway. The room itself stretched on for miles; its far wall was out of sight. When she peered over the railing she saw that the room extended down for hundreds of feet.
There must be millions of comics in here, she thought with amazement. Twilight was not kidding. Apparently she truly did gather every book in the world.
Celestia jumped over the railing and flew down to the ground level. Before she reached the floor, she noticed that there was a pattern of hoofprints in the dust. Somepony had been down there recently, walking around. But who was this pony, and where did she go?
Without disturbing the dust, Celestia gently flew down over the ground and followed the prints. The trail led her to a glass case that was along one of the walls. Inside the case were two books. The first book was a large, beautifully bound volume that was neatly entitled MASTER WORLD. The second book was a thin, rather flimsy comic. Someone had scribbled TWILIGHT'S WORLD on its cover.
Celestia looked at them. Hmmm. The first book must be the master comic that Twilight used to make all the others. Since there are no real ponies left in the enchanted worlds, that book is not going to help me. The second book is almost certainly the world that Twilight created for herself. That is where I will find her.
Celestia opened the glass case – and then heard a voice call out behind her. “And just what do you think you're doing?”
Celestia turned around and saw that Twilight was standing right behind her. It was jarring to see how large she had grown. “Twilight!” Celestia exclaimed, startled. “I'm sorry – I didn't see you there. Where did you come from?”
Twilight frowned. “The guards told me somepony was in the library. Don't you know this area is off-limits?”
“Guards? I didn't see any guards.”
“That's the whole idea. Now tell me: who are you? Clones aren't supposed to be able to leave their comics, you know. The last clone left in the world was that stupid clone of Celestia that used to live in Canterlot, but she died years ago. So who are you and how did you get here?”
“I'm the real Celestia,” the princess quietly. “I know you have a spell that can tell the difference. Go on – test me. I am not a clone.”
“Oh, sure,” Twilight said sarcastically. “I'm totally positive that you're the real Celestia, who just happened to appear out of nowhere after, like, a hundred years. But I'm bored out of my mind, so why not. I need a good laugh.”
Twilight's horn lit up, and she stared at Celestia for a few seconds. Her eyes widened in shock. “I can't believe it. It isn't possible! It really is you. You're not a clone! But – how? Where have you been all these years?”
Before Celestia could say anything, Twilight became enraged. “Hold on just a second. Let's talk about that, shall we? Do you realize it's been ninety-two years? Ninety-two years, Celestia! Where have you been? All this time I've needed a friend and mentor, and you have been absent. And you show up now? What is your problem?”
“I was in prison,” Celestia said, clearly irritated. “On the day that Starswirl killed Applejack and Rainbow Dash, you came to visit me. I said that I did not have time to talk to you right then, and told you to come and visit me later. That night you returned. I tried to apologize to you but you refused to listen. You asked to speak to me privately so I led you into a small room. The minute we were alone you cast a spell on me and trapped me in a book. I just now got free.”
“That's a lie!” Twilight shouted. “I didn't go back and visit you that evening. I was too angry with you. Sunshine is the one who–”
Twilight froze.
Celestia nodded. “Yes. Exactly. I believe she disguised herself to look like you and then came to see me. She put me in a prison book and must have replaced me with a clone. Twilight, I was only in that book for a few seconds, but while I was there decades passed in Equestria.”
“So that's what she did,” Twilight said. “Sunshine never killed anypony – instead she put them in a time stasis. But she must have somehow messed up the formula and allowed time to pass.”
Celestia nodded. “That is my thought as well. But Twilight, that means there is still hope. If she put me in a time prison then she surely did the same thing to many others. Your friends may still be alive! If we can find their prison books we can set them free and start undoing the damage that you have done to my world.”
“Your world?” Twilight echoed. “What do you mean, your world?”
“What part do you not understand?” Celestia said angrily. “I am the Princess of the Sun, the ruler of Equestria. Over the past ninety years you managed to destroy this world and kill nearly everyone – including my sister, who I will never see again because of you. My world is reality. Your world is those foolish fantasies of yours.”
“How dare you!” Twilight shrieked. “You think this is all my fault?”
Celestia immediately realized she had made a mistake. No one had rebuked Twilight in a lifetime. She was damaged, upset, and emotionally brittle, and would not respond well to that approach. As angry as Celestia was with Twilight, she needed her help. She had to resist the urge to fight with her.
Celestia tried again. “Twilight, listen, we can fix this. We can free the trapped ponies and use them to start a new pony race. I know the world is dead, but we can bring it back to life again. A lot has been lost but we are not without hope.”
“This all is Sunshine's doing!” Twilight said bitterly. “This is all her fault. If I had known how badly things were going then I would have made corrections right there at the beginning. If I had known how my friends really felt then I would have done things differently. I never asked her to replace my friends with fakes, you know! I never told her to lie to me.”
Celestia knew she was going to regret this, but she spoke her mind anyway. “Twilight, listen to me. I believe we can fix this world and bring life to it once more. Before we can do that, though, we need to establish the fact that these enchanted books are evil. They destroyed Equestria and corrupted ponykind. We need to get rid of them entirely. Even if Sunshine had never existed at all, this was still the wrong course to take. It was always wrong to replace reality with a fantasy. That mistake was yours and yours alone.”
“It was not a mistake!” Twilight shouted. “Don't you see? Reality is terrible! Reality is full of pain and disappointment. Ponies like you just let their friends down. Trying to bring back the real world is a dumb idea.”
Celestia's irritation turned into anger. It took all of her self-control to hold her temper. “You don't understand. I saw your memories, Twilight. You long for something that is real. You want love that isn't forced. You want friends who choose to be your friend. Yes, Twilight, I know that life can be painful. That's what friends are for, remember? You always said that you could overcome any challenge with the help of your friends, and that has proven true time and time again. When you and your friends work together, you not only overcome challenges; you learn and grow. You become a better pony. Tell me, Twilight. What have you learned about friendship during these past ninety years? You are the Princess of Friendship – or, at least, you were once. What is your report? Can you honestly tell me that the path you have chosen has led to harmony and lasting relationships?”
Twilight glared at her. “You want to blame this all on me, don't you? You want me to accept complete responsibility for the death of ponykind. You want to hear me say that I killed them all. That I'm a monster. Is that it?”
“That's not what I was saying at all,” Celestia protested. “I know you didn't do this intentionally. I know you weren't trying to destroy the world, and that it was all a mistake. But before we can fix this we have to agree that it was a mistake. We have to put an end to the fantasies – forever. We have to choose reality. That is my point.”
“No. I won't do it. This is Sunshine's fault – she lied to me. This is the fault of all those stupid ponies who took the wonderful gift I gave them and used it to become monsters. This could have turned out well. There is nothing wrong with this magic. I'm not the one who chose to misuse it.”
“But you did allow it to be misused,” Celestia pointed out firmly. “Twilight, you are royalty. It is the job of monarchs to watch over their subjects and keep them safe. Sometimes that means we have to protect them from those who wish to do them harm, and sometimes that means we have to protect them from themselves. That is why laws exist.
“In some ways subjects are like children. When a filly is young, its parents nurture it and teach it how to grow and become a responsible citizen. They refuse to give the filly sharp objects because the child could hurt itself. The parents limit the child's options until the child grows and becomes more responsible. They do this for their good.
“You, Twilight, failed to do that. You gave your subjects powers that they never should have had, and when they began to misuse them you did not step in and protect them. You are their ruler, Twilight. It was your job to be the parent, and you failed to do that. Even after you found out that Sunshine was lying to you, you still did not step in and correct the situation.”
“It was too late!” Twilight protested.
Celestia shook her head. “It was not too late. Only twenty years have passed and there were still many ponies alive. You could have brought them all out of the comics and forced them to behave. You could have made them go back into reality and resume their old lives. It would have been a painful adjustment, but you wielded far more power than they did. I know it hurts to discipline an unruly child, but there are times when the child needs it. The fact is you did nothing, Twilight. You failed them.”
“No!” Twilight shrieked. “It's not true. I didn't fail them! I won't let you call me a monster. That's what you want, isn't it? You want to get rid of all these books and restart reality again. Then when ponies in the future ask 'What happened?', you will tell them how you saved them from the evil overlord Twilight, who destroyed all of Equestria. I'll go down in history as the worst pony who ever lived.”
“Twilight, stop it. That's not what I want at all, and you know it. I'm telling you that you made an honest mistake, but there's still time to fix it. We can repair the world – if you agree that what you did was wrong. You must help me destroy these books and repair Equestria.”
“No!” Twilight screamed. “These books are all I have left. I'm not going to let you take them from me.”
“This is not optional,” Celestia said angrily. “I am going to destroy these books.”
“You can't. If you destroy a book while a pony is in it, the pony dies.”
“There are no living ponies left in these books. You know that as well as I do. Only the prison books contain life, and I will free those ponies before I destroy their prisons. Twilight, one way or another I will put an end to what you have done and burn these enchanted worlds. I would prefer to do it with your help, but if I must I will do it alone.”
“You'll do it over my dead body,” Twilight shouted. She energized her horn and lunged at Celestia.