A single pony walked the streets amongst corpses, but she was closer to a cadaver herself. All around her was the silent screaming of death and she was practicing for a part in the chorus. Her coat was clean, if a little ratty, and she bore no wounds. Rather, her scars were on the inside. The infection ravaged her body, holding no quarter as it dug through the organs that kept her alive. She would be dead within the hour, but that had nothing on her twisted, rotting soul. Everywhere she looked, corpses. Everywhere she walked, ash. Unicorns next to earth ponies, the rich next to the poor. All of it undeniably equal, all of it undeniably dead.

She stumbled as her hoof hit against a ribcage, but managed to keep her step when the body turned to ash on the wind, as if it had only been a pile of the loose material to begin with. Her eyes followed the dust into the air and was awarded with the horrible sight of the gray world around her. The ash-choked air had tainted the colors that had shouted so loudly to the mare months prior, turning them blank and dead just as it had everything else.

She was ready to stop fighting it. She was ready to let it end. All her magic had told her she was the only thing alive. The other immortals had given up a long time ago, but her incessant stubbornness had drove her onward. She had insisted there was something, anything, that would make it worth continuing to live. It hadn’t swayed them in the end. Eventually, they had stopped their lives; they had left her alone.

It was in this loneliness that she had come here. To this town. She was tired of being by herself, alone and fearful as she dwelt up in Canterlot, and wanted to know the truth with her own eyes, to face the consequences of that discovery. Even after that decision, she had put off coming. But it had pulled at her mind incessantly until she gave in. This was to be the end of her painfully long life; she had known that for a long time now.

She had entered her own graveyard when she had arrived here.

The sight of the destroyed town tugged at the alicorn’s heartstrings. She had known these ponies and their ancestors. She had come to love all the different families in her kingdom, and now she was privy to their deaths. Her heart was so heavy she had to drag herself to the destination she intended to visit, her very body quaking in grief with every step. There was to be no solace for her here.

The last nail in the coffin had been the corpse of a unicorn in a library, a macabre but common sight in Canterlot. To the being, however, it was so much more. The last of her hope lay lifeless on that floor, the last of her stubbornness finding it held no traction. So large and important in life, the deceased had taken on another appearance when the pulsing energy of life had left her. Now she only looked small, helpless, and dead.

The long-lived being had let in the infection at that moment, allowing it to ravage her body with its cruelty, to do to her what it had done to everyone else. She was to die here, and she didn’t regret the decision. Luna was gone. Discord was gone. Twilight.... Even poor innocent Twilight was gone. And, in a few moments, Celestia would be gone as well.

Tears began to roll from her cheeks as she took one final look at the world around her. Untold lifetimes of work and care had ended in mere days. The high and mighty Princess Celestia, reduced to nothingness with her kingdom, unable to stop it, unable to even delay it. All her little ponies were dead, and she couldn’t do anything about it. Not even her most powerful numbing spell could dispel the despair welling up inside her. So, she had decided on this. She was tired of it, of all the pain, and she knew that regardless of what came after, death would numb her more than any degree of magic ever could. With this thought in mind and one last determined breath, she closed her eyes knowing full well she would never open them again.

Celestia’s eyes blinked slowly open, everything past her eyelids obscured by the horrible unexpected assault of pure and violent light. She raised her hoof on instinct to block it out, but stopped as it was blocked for her. She could see a tall silhouette standing over her, a strange cape whipping in the winds behind two black pillars that held the body up. It didn’t speak to her, merely looking down at her from beneath its hood. As strange as the mute thing was though, the absence of sound wasn’t what caught her attention.

Just the opposite, in fact. She whirled around to face a cacophony of noises as familiar as a half-forgotten dream. It only took a moment before she realized what it was: birds. She could hear birds chirping.

She stumbled to her hooves and the creature backed away respectfully to allow her the room she needed to stand. A quick glance around the area told Celestia her location immediately; she was in the middle of Ponyville. A colorful Ponyville, not dead or gray, but alive. It struck home with Celestia’s memory, the countless times she had seen Ponyville in her life. It was beating, like a heart, and seemed bright beyond comparison, even without the ponies hurrying through the streets. She heard the sound of steps and was shaken from her awe at the Ponyville of her memory. She turned to face the being again, where the sound was coming from, and watched as he began to walk away.

“Wait,” she called to the retreating form, a commanding tone wrapping itself around the word. The creature paused and Celestia suddenly found herself unable to communicate what she wanted to say. She had no idea how to ask what she wanted to ask. About dreams, or perhaps nightmares. Maybe time magic, or perhaps an illusion. But none of these felt right.

What had happened before she had died, she knew was real. But this, this lively Ponyville around her, was also real. She could feel it in the air and the colors. The creature seemed impatient as it stood with its back to her, like it wanted to be elsewhere and was only lingering to be polite. She wanted to ask everything at once, but her mouth wouldn’t allow it. So, she stood there silent as her mind fought over the words that ran through her head.

As she did this, the creature walked away, and Celestia let it leave. She couldn’t express what she wanted to say, so it was for the best to just let it leave.

Around her she could hear the sounds of ponies stumbling out of their houses, but she didn’t move her gaze. She watched the thing shuffle away until it disappeared among the shadows of the Everfree forest. Cheers erupted from around her, shocking Celestia from her senses and forcing her to examine her surroundings. Ponies shouted loudly, all cheering for the princess who stood in the middle of the town.

The lost eyes of the alicorn looked at the ponies around her, struggling to find some clue that would explain the sudden reverie. Celestia was about to vocalize her question when she heard a shout of her name come from behind. She turned to face Mayor Mare, running with a speed that none had ever seen from her. As the older pony approached, several ponies moved to allow her through.

“Oh Princess Celestia!” the mayor shouted exuberantly, a tone in her voice that is usually in the company of tears of joy. “You saved us!” The shout answered the niggling question that dwelt in Celestia’s mind, confirming their misplaced honor.

“Well, ac—” She was unheard over the screams of ecstasy. Her gaze moved through the crowd, spotting each and every pony who she had seen dead not mere moments before until at last her gaze came to rest on Twilight Sparkle, whom had tears of happiness pouring down her face. She let the cheering continue, making no move to stop it, letting it continue even as the mayor struggled to make the crowd fall silent. The princess merely stared at Twilight with relief and joy in her heart. She wanted this time to last forever, the moment to stretch on eternally with this feeling in her heart filling every moment.

“I’m sorry, Princess. What were you trying to say?” Celestia snapped from her moment, looking around at those who had gathered around her, now quiet, and eventually letting her gaze rest on the pony who had spoken. Mayor Mare beamed up towards her princess, a smile of unparalleled enthusiasm on her face. The crowd, with similar looks on their faces, listened with rapt attention. Celestia's gaze moved to a mare who cradled her baby in front of her, looking at her princess with shining eyes.

“I’m just glad you’re all okay,” she said when she realized the question had lasted far too long. Her gaze flicked subconsciously back to Twilight for a moment before Celestia realized how nervous she looked and redirected her gaze once again. There was a certain degree of joy in her heart, a joy she couldn’t quite explain. She wasn’t in love; she had felt that before and this wasn’t it. This was something else. The two feelings were next door neighbors, but worlds apart at the same time.

“Such an event as this deserves celebration!” Mayor Mare exclaimed suddenly and much to the agreement of the group. “I’ll begin to get something together. I’m sure Pinkie Pie is already planning a party; that’ll work nicely. Oh, and I can get—” Celestia tuned her out. It was a horrible thing to do, and Celestia already felt guilty for it, but there were other things on her mind.

First was the matter of Luna and Discord. Had they come alive as well? Was this amazing reconstitution of everything right and good limited to Ponyville, or did it cover everything? Who was that being who had spoken with her? Had he caused this? She had several questions and her mind was already rationalizing answers on what little she knew. A horrible habit, yes, but one she could never quite get rid of.

“I’m sorry, Miss Mayor,” Celestia said, cutting off the kind pony in the middle of her plans, “but I was hoping I might have a word or two with Twilight Sparkle before we celebrate? There are issues that need to be discussed.” And, though she wouldn’t be announcing it to all the ponies, she wanted some time with her student. She wanted to talk, like they had so long ago. She wanted everything to seem normal and peaceful like it had been before.

“Oh, of course. Just tell me when you’re done and I'm sure we can throw something together. In the meantime, I’ll be at the town hall making sure everything is in order for any occurrence.” Celestia nodded in response, returning a smile. The mayor began to leave and Celestia paused her actions for a moment to look at the world around her.

It was exactly how she remembered it, down to the smallest detail. With a purposed stride, Celestia stepped slowly through the crowd, giving them time to part as she moved. As she left the circle, Twilight began to follow dutifully by her side and the other ponies began to disperse to their different jobs, all of them with springs in their steps.

The short walk to the library was silent. Celestia was unsure why Twilight wasn’t speaking. She seemed troubled, but though Celestia wanted to know the cause of it, she also didn’t want to discuss the mare’s fears in the open, out of respect. So, both maintained the quiet atmosphere with careful attention, both putting off the moment of reveal until they would enter the library.

The library began to loom in the distance, its large stature and tree-like form casting a large shadow, even near noon. Twilight approached the door first and enveloped it in the purple of her magic. With a preoccupied pulse of energy, the door opened quickly to its full length before letting out a painful cracking noise.

Twilight was shocked somewhat from her thoughts by this and took a brief glance at the door before she smiled apologetically to the princess, whom merely nodded it off. She was looking forward to hearing Twilight’s thoughts; she didn’t care to waste any time lingering on such a small thing as this. Understanding the simple action and the motive behind it, Twilight entered the library, preparing to speak her mind to the Princess.

She was, instead, interrupted by what she saw and her words were replaced with a gasp. Celestia followed into the library right behind her student after pausing to stoop in through the doorway. A familiar black silhouette stood at the bookshelves, an open tome in its hands.

Though it had heard both of the ponies enter, it didn’t move its gaze from the book, tracing a line with its finger slowly and its skin sliding softly over the parchment as its eyes traced the words above it. When he reached the end of the page, he closed the book slowly with an odd degree of respect, then deftly and carefully reshelved it.

The creature turned to face Twilight and Celestia, revealing that the definition of ‘silhouette’ was incredibly accurate, as all its clothes were colored a deep black. It paused for a minute, letting its loose clothing sway in the soft breeze that moved through the room, then proceeded into a low bow in the direction of the larger of the two.

“I understand you’re a princess,” it said in a light, masculine tone like a gentlecolt. The statement was closer to a question as it danced through the air, leading to the alicorn to answer it as such.

“That is correct.” Celestia’s face was solid and unmoving. Her eyes traced the features of the being, looking at his loose stance and the way he slouched. She saw tight skin across his hands, indicating he was young, at least by Equestrian standards. Then, the immortal’s eyes moved to his, only to find them hidden beneath his hood.

“They are lucky to have such a benign ruler,” the creature continued, the conversation robotic to Celestia’s ears: automated and predesigned.

“You are too kind.”

This elicited a sound somewhere between a cough and a snort. “I’m sorry for showing up uninvited. I had just gone into the Everfree when I remembered I had a book I needed to return. Seems I got detoured by a title that caught my eye. I thought I had some time to look over it, though it appears I was wrong,” the thing explained with the shadow of a smile on its face, then turned its back to them and made its way slowly towards an open window. “But I don’t want to bleed into too much of your time.”

“Wait,” Celestia said again, repeating the process that happened only moments earlier. This time, however, Celestia knew what she wanted to say. “Why did you set me up to look like the savior?” The look on Twilight’s face was a twisted mixture of relief and confusion as her eyes drifted over Celestia, an odd look that the princess hadn’t been expecting.

“I needed a scapegoat,” the creature responded slowly, choosing its words with care.

“A scapegoat? Did you do something wrong? If you’ve done anything negative to my little ponies—”

“That’s not how I meant the word,” he cut in as potent wrath began to build behind Celestia’s words. The being seemed to slump a little and groan in self-loathing, clearly angry at himself for being unable to communicate. He pressed a palm against his head, catching his hood in between, but not minding it. “Negative connotations can terribly obscure a definition. It’s not that I didn’t want to be blamed; I just didn’t want to be praised,” it explained. “Being the hero never really works out.”

“These words with negative connotations.... Would you say ‘necromancy’ is one of them?” Twilight asked, catching both of the beings by surprise as she entered into the discussion. A smile crossed the face of the hooded figure and Twilight backed up a step as she misunderstood the meaning of his bared teeth, especially at the sight of his sharp canines.

“You’re a very clever little girl,” he answered before letting his voice fall away, leaving an empty void in the air. The silence persisted for several moments as the creature seemed to be struggling with his own words, trying to articulate what he wanted to say next. But eventually, he gave up on it with an expression of deject shame.

He let the stillness sit in the library for a moment longer before he simply shook his head and carefully climbed out of the window. Twilight made to call after him again, but for some reason or another, she didn’t. Once on the windowsill of the building, he dropped a foot or two to the ground with a thump and turned around to lean back in.

“Now, I’ve got to go. You two take care of yourselves, and don’t worry.” His cloaked face turned to Twilight and a grave tone overtook his voice. “You’re just as alive now as you were before.” He left without another word. A blessing, really, since his few words had already put Twilight’s mind on a teetering point as she tried to understand everything.

Celestia watched him leave. She was torn about whether to make him come back or let him go, but her mind was decided when she looked to her shaken student. The princess quickly took charge of the situation and had Twilight sit down. She gave her a few moments to collect herself, then began to brew some of the tea that her student always kept on hoof for when she visited. A mixture of caring and preparation, but regardless the reason for the tea, it was a blessing all the same.

It was only a few minutes before Twilight began to recover from the mind screw that had hit her so unexpectedly and Celestia was there as she slowly brought herself back. Both were extremely happy to see the other, Twilight slightly more so when she saw the calming cup of tea that had been prepared for her, and neither was willing to break the comforting silence with words.

They enjoyed each other’s company in silence for several long moments before Twilight looked to Celestia with a face full of confusion. Instead of speaking her mind however, she bit her lip nervously and turned away, putting her attention back on the tea and beginning to stare into it with an anxious look about her. Celestia was having none of it, especially as she began to see the small salty tears beginning to gather in Twilight’s eyes. She was about to speak, to ask Twilight what the matter was, but was cut off as Twilight managed to muster her own courage.

“Celestia,” she began softly, having to force every word she said past her quivering lip. “Am I...” She struggled with the words, but not like the other two had. Where Celestia had had too much to say and the strange creature couldn’t explain his thoughts, Twilight just wasn’t sure she wanted the answer. “I know what he said, but... am I dead?” The words shattered Celestia’s heart as she heard them and, within mere moments, she had brought her student under one of her massive white wings.

It brought comfort not only to Twilight, but to Celestia as well. She knew now, both in her mind and her soul, the answer to that question. “No, my dear student,” she said, beginning to nuzzle Twilight’s cheek in a show of platonic love. “I promise you, you aren’t dead.”

Author's Notes:

StapleCactus the editor, my ever doting companion.