Long Way Forward

by Not That Anon

Have you noticed we’ve been gone?

Luna poured a cup of steaming tea from the teapot. It was her favorite blend—slightly bitter with an herbal aftertaste. The Sun lazily cast her rays through the open window, illuminating the modest kitchen. Luna closed her eyes as she did every morning, thinking back to the time when she drank it first, weeks after returning from the Moon. Her sister grew to enjoy it sometime during her absence, but she initially found the taste bland and uninteresting. Perhaps one comes to appreciate it with time, she mused, stirring the liquid in the teapot with an old silver spoon. It was unnecessary; the tea had long since cooled down.

Stepping out of the house, Luna took a stroll through the garden, watering the plants along the way with small rain clouds. They didn’t need to eat, not really, but without the garden, they’d have to do away with the morning tea that they both took for granted.

It’s not like they could buy it from anypony.

She walked through the remnants of the collapsed fence, or rather, through the place where the fence used to stand a long time ago, and let her hooves carry her along the familiar path, avoiding all manner of vines and thick roots sprawling across the road. Cutting them down was a waste of time. No matter how far they went, the plants would grow back in a few short decades at most.

She entered the park soon enough. The crowds inside made further journey on hoof impossible, so she opened her wings and flew to the center of the park. Though there was no natural wind, she enjoyed gliding through the still air. She always did; it was one of the little things she never grew out of. Landing by the chessboard, she noticed another of those little things—a torn and faded page from a newspaper she left here for her sister. The placement of the pieces on the board hadn’t changed since she last visited the place, either. They always took their time these days, letting matches stretch into months. It was far too early to tell with certainty, but Luna appeared to be in a favorable position.

The gazes of the gathered ponies didn’t follow her as she left. They were too absorbed in doing nothing.

The other houses in the town bore little resemblance to how Luna remembered them. Nature greedily reclaimed the territory, trees and bushes taking an inch after an inch like a relentless army. Vines clung to the derelict walls, and larger plants burst inside through the windows, where they could grow over the collapsed ceilings. There was a chance she and her sister could push them back, and for a time, that’s precisely what they did—back when they foolishly believed that keeping things from changing could somehow bring back the world they lost. Luna shook her head. The shallowness of that idea echoed in her every hoofstep as she walked through the rubble from a hundred ruined buildings.

Wherever she went, she saw scores of ponies hewn from the same stone that was once used to build their shelters. They were in the streets and in their houses, poking their muzzles into shops, watching the passers-by from the rooftops, and sticking their heads out from under the ruins. Their number greatly exceeded the population of Ponyville at its peak, but they didn’t represent just one generation. Amethyst Star could be found in the market, reaching out with a stone hoof for stone fruits from her great-great-great-granddaughter’s stone stall.

Luna hummed her latest ballad. It was a tale of a mare bested at her special talent who then spent the rest of her life striving to improve. The song ended with the mare successfully running for mayor—something the real Amethyst never mustered the courage for but always wished she had. It was the most Luna could do for her now, for any of her subjects. A lone tear hit the pavement.

The sound of a chisel striking stone reached her long before she saw her destination. It was not a pleasant sound, but she welcomed it all the same. Her throat was getting sore, and anything was better than the deafening silence of the once-bustling town. She entered a three-story building that looked like it had been ready to collapse for decades. Nothing could be heard inside, barring the creation of a new sculpture. Celestia worked in silence.

"Good evening, sister," Luna greeted her.

"Evening?" Celestia didn’t interrupt her work. "I suppose I’ve been here longer than I planned."

"We’ve both been here far longer than any of us planned."

"That’s also true." Celestia put away her chisel and sighed. "Is there something on your mind, Luna?"

"Yes, you are. You’ve been slipping up." Luna walked to the unfinished statue. "Who is this supposed to be?"

"Don’t you recognize Bon Bon?" Celestia raised a brow.

"Well, don’t I?" asked Luna. "She prepared the sweets for my first Nightmare Night. But—" She tapped a stone protrusion on the unmoving mare’s head "—I don’t recall her having a horn."

"She’s not—Oh." Celestia hung her head.

Luna wrapped a hoof around her sister’s neck. "She was dear to me, too. Perhaps more than anypony else, given how much I—no, we—how much we owed her and her friends."

"We’ve raised them dozens of statues and composed hundreds of songs, but ultimately…"

"Vanity of vanities," said the princess.

Celestia raised her head, looking into the distance. "Have you ever wondered why—"

"I have."

"And?"

"Because that’s all we can do." Luna turned away and continued in a shaky voice. "Because when you raise the Sun, there’s nopony left to see it. Because when I enter the dreams, the corridors are all empty. Because… it’s only the two of us now, Tia."

The sisters stood there wordlessly, in the silent company of a thousand statues looking at them with a mixture of longing and surprise. The two alicorns weren’t all that different from them.

Comments

[Zaid ValRoa]

Melancholic, yet still somewhat positive. I wonder what led Equestria to be the way it is now, but I suppose time marches on in spite of everything.
Interesting and engaging. Well done.

[Unimpressive Chaos Lord]

A rather melancholic and understated piece that I've started to associate with your writing style. I rather liked it, this is a fine addition to the contest. As much as I enjoy gimmicks and experimentation, I also have a soft spot for more traditional works such as this one. The premise alone is pretty interesting, the ambiguity of the situation lends itself quite well to both the sadness and mystery of what came before. I'm not really that interested in how we got here as much as the moment both mares are currently living in. The motif with the statues works really well to sell the main theme, as it leans into the pains the immortals undertake to give extra meaning to those whose lives are lost. I really like how you continue to bring back Celestia and Luna's deep love for their subjects in how they remember their names and how tragic it is that they forgot about some of their traits.
There are other symbols related to time I quite enjoyed, such as the tea going cold, the idea that trimming down the gardens is pointless because "in a few decades" the weeds will grow back, the chess match going on forever... All these images of permanence and realization that the best times are long behind us now. It is a strong conveyance, very appropriate for the limited word-count. Having written one entry for the contest myself I feel capable of recognizing the effort that goes into that, so I can safely assure that there is nothing to scoff at here; your effort paid off. Good job, I really liked this one.

[Forcalor]

Oh, very nice. Hits the spot. Thanks for this work

[Reviewfilly]

Easy upvote as with all your stories, Anon. As the others said the way you subtly mention great spans of time passing between the actions they take is excellent. The fic also ends at just the right moment, so many open questions, melancholy, and yet at the end of the day the sisters aren't giving up. They might call themselves vain and all, but they regardless push on to preserve at least a little of what remains of the world.

[duckmagee]

and it can only get worse eventually the sun will die and if their unlucky they remain surviving in a empty void last living thing in a dead universe, perhaps they end it bring about their own destruction to usher in a new big bang and start a new universe

[Not That Anon]

11628033
What you said is certainly one way things could go, but not the only one, I hope. They're doing the best they can considering the circumstances, and if there's any resource they have in abundance, it's time.

11627922
And thank you for reading. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

11627895
Thanks! I wanted to write something very focused for the contest, so it's good to see that, despite the limited word count, the final result conveys the themes I wished to include. I'm glad you liked those characterizations of Celestia and Luna, too. I'll try to keep my fics more varied in the future, but I doubt I'll be straying too far from how I've portrayed these two thus far.

and how tragic it is that they forgot about some of their traits.

That's definitely a valid interpretation of what was going on in their conversation, but something I hoped to hint at was that they're just not talking about Bon Bon there. My intention was to imply that Celestia's thoughts wandered off to think about Twilight (and the rest of the Mane 6), which is why Luna calls her out on sculpting a different pony. Judging by her reaction, perhaps this was not the first time it happened.
It gets only the briefest mention in the story and some italics for emphasis, which in hindsight was probably a bit too subtle on my part.

[overdue]

there are a lot of things I could talk about but I'll settle for: I hope this wins

[Bicyclette]

They didn’t need to eat, not really, but without the garden, they’d have to do away with the morning tea that they both took for granted.

aww, the things they must hold on to!

Amethyst Star could be found in the market, reaching out with a stone hoof for stone fruits from her great-great-great-granddaughter’s stone stall.

aww glad Amethyst Star is in this!

Luna hummed her latest ballad. It was a tale of a mare bested at her special talent who then spent the rest of her life striving to improve. The song ended with the mare successfully running for mayor—something the real Amethyst never mustered the courage for but always wished she had. It was the most Luna could do for her now, for any of her subjects. A lone tear hit the pavement.

augh what a beautiful tribute to Amethyst Star

"Well, don’t I?" asked Luna. "She prepared the sweets for my first Nightmare Night. But—" She tapped a stone protrusion on the unmoving mare’s head "—I don’t recall her having a horn."

aww, love that Luna remembers Bon Bon this way

The sisters stood there wordlessly, in the silent company of a thousand statues looking at them with a mixture of longing and surprise. The two alicorns weren’t all that different from them.

ooh great line to end it on. there’s something so much more poignant about the immortals filling their eternal days with memorializing the mortal ponies that they left behind so very long ago. and so very touching how much meaning wethey give to the Princesses. great work with this one, thank you for writing!

[FanOfMostEverything]

A haunting little portrait of desolation. Many questions hang in the air, but the sisters aren’t going to answer them. They know all too well. Great work throughout, especially Celestia’s Freudian slip of the chisel. Thank you for it, and congrats on the judge prize.

[Loganberry]

Hello! I read all the stories from this contest that won recognition, so have a review. More question than answers and perhaps occasionally too subtle, but it did hang in the memory. That means an upvote!

[starship55]

SAD...MELACHOLIC....NOSTALGIC.....WELL-DONE !!!!!!!