Ra
Hello there, little one. My name is Princess-... no, not anymore, I suppose. It’s been a very long time since that was true.
Hi. My name’s Twilight Sparkle. Once, a very long time ago, I was just your average unicorn, living in Canterlot.
Hmm? Oh. Canterlot is… Gosh, where do I even begin? Canterlot was a city. The capital city of my nation - Equestria. That doesn’t mean much to you though, does it? Point is, Canterlot was a very large, very beautiful city, way back when. I lived there, as the personal student of Princess Celestia.
But that’s not the story I want to tell you. The important thing to know is that, thanks to the help of some wonderful friends, I became the Princess of Friendship. Together, Celestia, Luna and I ruled over Equestria and my friends and I kept the country safe from many dangerous threats.
That’s not really the story I want to tell you, either.
I want to tell you about how it all ended.
It started on a day just like any other, when the moon fell from the sky. At first it just seemed to grow a little larger. Nopony except the astronomers and scientists noticed at first. Luna calmed them, assured them it was nothing to be worried about.
That was when she knew there was no hope.
Over the next several nights the moon grew larger and larger in our sky, and it became clear it was falling. If it hit the planet, nothing would have survived. We told the citizens that it was under control, that it was nothing to worry about and to enjoy the beautiful sight while it lasted. Couldn’t have them panicking. We already knew what would have to happen.
You see, we alicorns… we’re not really immortal, despite what most ponies think. Nothing in this world is truly immortal. Everything has its time and everything dies. Even us. We’re a little different, though; we alicorns live for as long as whatever the source of our power does.
For Luna, that was the moon and the stars.
When it was almost time for the moon to collide with the planet, when it filled the entire sky and night became as bright as the day, she did what she had to do. We said our goodbyes, and promised to meet again someday.
There was no more moon or stars after that. The night was cold and dark, and ponies mourned the passing of one of their beloved Princesses.
That’s when Celestia told me what was happening.
I fought against it, at first. Refused to accept the inevitable and poured my every waking hour into researching a way to stop it. Some ancient power, some lost technology or foreign magic. Day after day after week after month turned up nothing.
And then the sun started to grow dim, and Celestia fell ill.
I think that was when I realised how powerless I was against the sands of time. I was scared. Terrified of the end of all things, and I cried for the loss of my beloved mentor and dear friend. Celestia just kept telling me to be strong, that I still had a role to play in all this.
Days passed. The sun grew weaker and so did she, and our citizens began panicking; this, so soon after Luna’s passing? I didn’t know what to tell them. So, I told them the truth; our world was dying, and there was nothing we could do about it. They didn’t believe me, at first. But when it became clear the sun was dying like the moon before it, panic spread through the nation. There were riots, protests. Ponies were scared, and they needed somewhere to direct it. Fear became anger, anger became hatred of those they perceived as being at fault. I was exiled from my own nation, and the nobility once again took over. I accepted my banishment; I took Celestia with me and retreated to the Empire in the north with my friends, who stood with me to the very end.
Cadence - another alicorn, and my sister in law - took us in. Her country had taken the news a bit better. Although, perhaps it was because they believed the power of their Crystal Heart would protect them like it had in the past.
It didn’t, but they welcomed us anyway.
Eventually, Celestia passed, and the sun disappeared from the sky, and our world’s fate was sealed. In the ensuing chaos, Discord grew more powerful, and in his endless arrogance thought he could save us. He thought he could make us a new sun, a new moon.
He snapped his claw.
We never saw him again. Maybe he succeeded. Maybe another sun is burning brightly, somewhere out there, thanks to him. But it was already too late for us.
Then the cold began. At first it was bearable; the crystal ponies are nothing if not resilient to the cold, but this was something else entirely. Endless darkness blanketed the land and soon they realized the Crystal Heart wasn’t going to save them this time. I watched from the palace as the ponies, running low on food and desperate to stay alive, turned on each other. Small groups formed, fighting for dominance and control over the meager amount of remaining food. We were unable to stop it. They didn’t want to listen to us anymore; we had lead them down this path, they thought.
In a way, they were right, but they were so very wrong.
In the dark, crops didn’t grow. The temperature continued to plummet. Ponies turned on each other, and all I had left were my closest friends and my family.
And then Cadence collapsed.
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. The Princess of love. But that dying world choked the love out of us. When it was a fight for the last scrap of food, there was no room for love anymore.
It wasn’t long before she passed away, and the last of the world’s love passed with her. Ponies became colder, more heartless than ever before, in their final days. But we were nothing if not resilient, and for a while we survived even then. But it wouldn’t last. The world was dying, and nothing could stop it.
When there was no food to be had, when the cold had grown such that there was no escaping it, the first of my friends died. She smiled at me as she lay there, frozen to the core and sickly thin, and promised she’d find me in the next world, no matter what came next.
She was only the first. One by one, my friends fell around me. It wasn’t just my friends, either; all the ponies, everywhere. No, not just ponies; everything died.
And then I was alone, in a world devoid of light or life. I was the only one left.
I screamed to the heavens. I raged and cried and blamed whatever I could think of. But I didn’t die. For a long time I wondered why I was still alive; there was nothing left in this world, no friendship to keep me there. To be honest, I still don't know why I’m the one that’s left. Perhaps friendship, like war, leaves scars on those it touches. Etchings on my very soul of the friends I’ve had, and those remnants are enough to keep me alive. My magic is all but gone now, but still I stand.
In the years that followed the end of everything I wandered the darkness, searching for anything out there. I wondered what my role in this was, why I had been spared. I looked for a purpose. There must have been a reason.
Then, one day, I realized. I looked to the sky above and saw a small ball of light there. So small I’d not have seen it were it not for the endless void around it. Over the next few days that ball grew bigger and brighter and before I knew it there was a small sun in the sky again.
That’s when I knew what Celestia had meant, all those years ago. I realized what my role was, and why she knew of Equestria’s fate.
And that brings me to you, little one. Your name is Ra, and you are King of the Sun. You are still young, but there is much potential within you. My duty is to tell you of our past so that you may carry our memories into the future. One day, your world will end much like ours did; nothing lasts forever. But that does not mean it is all meaningless; far from it.
Everything ends, so make the most of it while you can. I tell you this so that you may shape your own civilization. The most powerful magic in this world is friendship, the most important aspect of any country is harmony, and life is not worth living without love.
You’ll have a brother or sister, soon, when the moon returns from its slumber. Teach them well, and look after them. Never forget that you are not immortal, and that you owe it to your citizens to give them the best lives they can live. I wish you luck.
With her job done, Twilight sighed and slumped forward, resting her head on her crossed hooves. She closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep. No matter what would happen next, no matter where ponies go when they die, she knew her friends would all be waiting for her.
Ra stood, watching as the strange being faded in a shimmering light. He looked around the empty world he found himself in, and started off towards the horizon.