Silicon Lives and Changeling Dreams
Malli was dying.
The high cleric lay in his bed, his breathing shallow while thin streams of moisture dripped down collecting the dirt covering his body as they traveled, leaving a dirty stain on his bed. His life ending in the same shantytown that he was born in, grew up in, and now will die in. Being the voice of Nauu-Shim to his children. For Nauu-Shim means Nauu's surrender and all changelings should surrender.
Everything was prepared for his demise, the lesser clerics were singing the Valah or the chant of mourning. His final words were written into the Yakkah book of Surrender. The Burkesh tree that had been planted when he was accepted into the fold had been chopped down and made into a funeral pyre when he does finally answer the call of the universe. Everything was prepared for his death, everyone was waiting. He was a something prepared to become a nothing and from that nothing he will create more somethings and the circle will continue onwards as it should.
The incense burned while initiates waved it around with palm leaves as older clerics sat in each corner chanting their farewells to the learned one. The words were never important, becoming a mesh of sounds overlapping each other into a glorious yet sad farewell to a changeling that was both teacher and student to its people. Their was so much to learn, their was so much to teach.
Luna entered through a curtain separating the dying changeling from the rest of Ponyville. Neither her nor her sister ever became followers of Nauu-Shim didn't believe in any of it, but she respected it. Bringing the race that was almost on the edge of extinction back into the Equestrian fold.
Along the outskirts of the shanty Luna noticed HiDef billboards spouting an endless stream of advertising combining with small fleets of floaters that moved everywhere showing the latest trends to what a pony should be living with right now. One thing that Luna noticed was that Rarity's fashions were no longer being shown on them.
The wealth that Equestria has to offer contrasted with the poverty the changelings lived their lives in. The smells from the broken sewer line, the children fighting, the screaming, the diseases, along with the grind of living made it all slightly depressing and disrespectful for Luna. To see one who had giving so much pass on with so little to ponies that lived outside of the shantytown. They were the ignored race, the intentionally forgotten.
But the changelings didn't forget each other.
They lined outside waiting, watching, bodies bent to the ground, eyes closed in silent prayers of farewells and acknowledgement to keep the learnings with each and every one of them. They move through the world and the world through they, a circle, a constant, a void and an all. Surrender their holy book says, and the world will give up its secrets to you. For the truth is that their are no secrets, just a different way at looking at everything.
"Master," said Luna slightly bowing to the cleric.
The old changeling opened its eyes slowly at hearing the new voice. Its shell cracked and dull with pieces of it flaking off to float gently onto the Salak or burial blanket that will be wrapped up over him when he finally passes on. "Luna?" the old one gasped between breaths, "with everything that was going on I wondered if you were going to make it."
She paused for a moment questioning if the cleric knew what had happened with her sister. She had made sure the incident was covered up and no one other than immediate staff knew about the passing of Twilight and the others. The remains cremated secretly with their ashes scattered along the castle of Canterlot. It felt it was the right thing to do when all was said and done. Even if she wasn't sure of her feelings, to tell the truth she wasn't sure of a lot of things anymore.
"Of course I would come," she said finally. "We should be here in your final hour."
"And your sister?" he asked.
"Regretfully she wasn't able to attend."
The old cleric Malli shifter position on his bed. He seemed preoccupied, wanting to tell and yet not tell something that might be of great importance, or not depending on how you looked at it. "Luna," said Malli eventually, "Equestria is changing again. Because the destruction of the elements of harmony changed everything. Something is coming, something different."
"How did you know?"
"The universe told me."
****
She existed but didn't live. She was alive but not aware. Princess Celestia sat on her throne in her empty dark room, unmovable and uncaring. Lost to the pain in her heart, not noticing or caring about the thousands of cables and wires attached to her shaved head pulling her upwards. When active she was the god of Equestria, its body and its soul watching, rewarding and punishing. Doing the things that needed to be done in order to keep the country, her country running.
Now they lay silent.
Princess Celestia had isolated from the world she helped create. Not by thought of action, but by pain. She no longer cared about Equestria. No longer cared about herself or her ponies, she no longer cared about anything.
"This isn't right," said the voice that sounded like Twilight Sparkle in her head. "You can't continue to do this."
In the days or weeks or even months since she has been here. She really didn't know having lost track of time for a while. The voices started to come telling her to get over it. To which she always responded the same. "Go away," she said softly.
"Equestria needs you Celestia."
"Equestria needs a lot of things. The one thing it doesn't need anymore is me. Now leave me alone."
The ghost of Twilight wouldn't go away. She hovered their on the edge between the what is and what isn't. "You're killing yourself over me," she said. "That's kinda silly when you think about it."
Celestia said nothing, continuously staring at the ground in front of her. barely feeling the pull of the cables stretching on her shaved head. Their was nothing to say that hasn't already been said before. She was tired of the arguments and points being made of why she was in the wrong. She didn't care anymore . "You're not real," said Celestia. "Get out of my head."
"What you feel will not make any difference whether I am real or not. I will not be here when it comes."
"Who is coming?"
****
"What did the universe tell you?" asked Luna.
The old changeling turned his head towards the ceiling staring a, but also looking elsewhere, wrapped in whatever it was that was talking to him. "When Nauu went across the desert in exile he expected to die in the heat. Instead he found an oasis, and in that he found the everything. He realized that everything is apart of everything else. When you change one thing it creates something new. Sometimes it will be something bad, sometimes it will be good. Your sister never realized that their is no such thing of a constant," he gasped finding the strength to continue on. "Simply a door that leads to more doors which can never be locked. The elements were destroyed because of your sister's desire to no longer listen to the universe. So the universe made her listen," the old changeling said as he shifted position. "And she still refuses to listen, so once again the universe will force her to listen, whether she likes it or not."
Malli gnawed on his lower lip while pondering a heavy thought, "It might and will kill her, it might and will kill us all."
"What!" said Luna in alarm, "What are you saying?"
"The truth is coming Princess Luna beware the truth."
"What is this truth you speak of?" asked Luna.
"You will know it when you see it," replied the old Nauu-Shim master closing his eyes. "I wish I could be here to see it, to learn and interact from it. But...," he smiled. "Their will always be buts in everything we do."
His body convulsed, his breathing stopped. Their was a shudder, a slight gasp as the last of his air escaped his lips. Then nothing, Malli the changeling, the cleric, the student, the teacher died.
The world around Luna stopped for a moment to grieve the loss and rejoice in the gain of the change. The young initiates surrounded the bed, each one grasping a part of the Salak. They wrapped the old cleric in the blanket, hoisted him onto their shoulders and carried him out with Luna behind the procession. The changelings still supplicating themselves on the ground began chanting farewell in the Valah. Remembering all that he was, all that he will be. In this single moment of living the world stopped to remember his passing, this was his moment, his loss and gain.
The body was carried behind the crowd onto the waiting pyre. Laid to rest on the monument of wood, wrapped in his Salak, while oil from pots were splashed onto him to help with the burning.
"From everything creates everything," said the Elder cleric pouring the oil.
In the darkness the body lit up the night sky brilliantly cascading the surroundings in colors of orange and yellow as the flames ate everything consuming the all into ash to be collected and placed with the other dead clerics in the shrine.
"From everything creates everything," the crowd repeated.
"From everything creates everything," repeated Luna.
****
"Remember when I was your student oh so long ago?" asked Twilight Sparkle. "Remember how I so looked up to you?"
"You didn't answer my question," said Celestia. "Who is coming?"
"I looked up to you so much. I wanted to be with you forever. Little did I know then just what forever actually means."
"Do you expect me to apologize? Do you want me to say I'm sorry?" said Celestia. "Again I'll ask what is coming?"
"Something different." said Twilight Sparkle before disappearing.
Celestia snorted angrily over this. Frustrated as to what her imagination was telling her and why it was telling this to her at all. She just wanted to be left alone. Let her live in the past, be alive when it meant to be alive. Equestria doesn't need her anymore and she doesn't need it. Nothing was her concern anymore.
Princess Celestia closed her eyes again attempting to lose herself back into the memories of the past but a change in temperature prevented it. She felt waves of warmth and cold rushing past her in intervals, enveloping her body before moving on. Pulsing she started to hear it, crackling and ripping sounds of something tearing up something else to get through. Finally her curiosity getting the better of her she opened her eyes.
It was a tear, a tear in her world pulsing outwards. Slowly beating like a heart while purple light emanated from it. The rip began to open wider letting out a light so bright that Celestia found it to be painful. Squinting her eyes she watched a thing pour forth from the tear onto the floor in front of her like a purple puddle of energy.
Shapeless, formless the glop rolled towards the princess growing and taking shape. Bigger and bigger Celestia saw Legs form along with a body starting to now walk. Hooves, tail, finally a head emerged from itself until another pony stood beside Celestia.
The new pony reminded Celestia of a watery purple cosmos. In the new pony stars and galaxies floated around inside her body. Planets revolved around suns, comets shot around her body while whole worlds teeming with life moved within this celestial pony standing before Celestia, staring at her with eyes like twin blue suns without expression or emotion.
"What are you?" asked Celestia.
The new pony stared at her for a moment, trying out sounds in her newly created mouth. Rolling words around with a tongue she was unfamiliar with using. "I am," she finally said.
"You are what?"
"I am. That is all that needs to be said for right now."
Celestia found herself taking a step back in fear as this strange pony approached her. She tried to run, to get away from the creature, but the cables held her tightly in place. Celestia fought and cried in her prison of tomorrow. But it held her fast, keeping her tightly in check. She could feel thin trickles of blood run down her cheek from the ripping of the infinite wires attached to her head but paid them no mind, all she wanted was to get away, all she wanted was to flee.
"Hush now," said the strange purple pony with the cosmos for a body. Face inches away from Celestia, "Don't be afraid."
"What are you?" asked Celestia backing up as far as the cables and wires attached to her would allow.
"My name Is Starlight Glimmer and I want to learn," she said as she stretched over and kissed Celestia on the lips.
It felt like she was drinking in an ocean of light. Downing her, killing her, and at the same time creating her. She drank as much as she could handle but the liquid wouldn't stop. It kept rushing into her in such force that she couldn't stop it. Their was a part of her that didn't want it to stop
"Is this what the universe taste like?" she wondered.
And her world filled with white.