Move it! I have to get to Her!
Hey! At least you could-
No!
...
How is She?
Not good. Her body's been under too much stress. That last surge almost blew out our capacitors.
You mean the big ones?
All of the big ones.
Oh Sweet Creator... How much longer til everything goes bust?
Not long.
Not long?! NOT LONG!? The creator of EVERYTHING is dying and you say NOT. LONG?!
Well I'm sorry that I don't have a degree in... whatever you call it.
What are you doing here then-
I'm here!
Good. We need to send a message...
...
HURRY UP! NEXT SURGE IS COMIN' IN TWENTY!
MY WINGS CAN'T TAKE IT!
YES THEY CAN! WE BUILT THEM!
CAN YOU FEEL THIS POWER?
Don't get used to it! It'll destroy your body if- Hey hey hey get away from that!
...
It's over.
Whoo... That one set a record.
Yeah. Damn! She's too far away.
How much longer is it going to take?
With luck, she'll be back in three months.
Three months.
Unless she dies on the way.
***
Celestia woke with a start. Her bed was soft and comfortable, the same feathers supporting her as it has been for the last few decades. The moonlight still shone through the cracks between the curtains, and the fireplace flickered with an eternal flame. She stretched and yawned, tired from the abrupt awakening.
It was the same dream that had woken her many times in the past. But after a thousand years, the only solution was to simply deal with it. It started like it had always had...
She lands in the center of a burning city...
"Good morning Your Majesty!" one of her maid said cheerfully while pulling the extravagant curtains that reveal Luna's moon. More servants attended to her hair and coat, wielding brushes that strapped onto their hooves. Already she feels fresher.
Around her, ponies run from an unknown threat...
She walked out her door, nodding to the guards who respond wordlessly. The breakfast table was stocked with fruits, toast, oatmeal, and various other pastries. Her sister waves and sleepily yawns before lowering the moon and then retreating to her own bed.
The air flashes around as a darkly-colored mare is struck down by a ray of intensely concentrated light...
The sweet jam fills her taste buds as another sip of milk goes down her throat. It's one of life's small pleasures, but she wonders what she did before it...
The mare shrinks as a glowing being walks closer. Whatever it is, it's too bright to clearly see. She screams...
Slowly, the source of all life on this planet rose above the horizon. Another day has arrived in the peaceful land of Equestria. Celestia dropped to her knees and panted in exhaustion as a few caretakers help her up. Her sun is bright, but if one looks closely, many spots plague the surface.
She begs. For her life and for her filly that stands bravely between them...
She sighed as another wave of weakness passes through her body. The rich, uptight ponies of Canterlot continue as if nothing happened, but one of her more observant advisers notices and whispers to her to rest. She refuses, and vows to continue. The rich ponies back up and tax ponies enter.
The filly screams as tears run down her eyes. Her mother starts disintegrating into little particles from tail to head. She softly speaks words of wisdom as the last glowing bit floats off and disappears...
The castle garden is calm as she slowly trots over the soft grass between two massive trees. A bird flutters above and squirrels chitter around, forever gnawing at tree nuts. A snake coils on a tree branch while a stream trickles crystal-clear water to a small pond. Outside, snow still covers the land like a thick blanket.
The being seems amused as the dark purple, almost black filly glares with fire unlike anything ever seen. Grinding her teeth, she stares for another second, then lets out a war cry as she charges...
Celestia closed her eyes as the wind blows across her body. It always ended the same with the filly running towards the bright being. The earliest time she could remember having that dream was when she and her sister were sleeping in the same bed during a thunderstorm. Luna had run from her own bed when the first lightning bolt struck. They were both scared, but as the "older sister" she took it upon herself to comfort her sibling. Those were the old days, before Equestria or even Discord. Many small kingdoms dotted the land without a single ruler to guide them.
Many times she had visited shamans, "witches," and even the voodoo pony who lives at the end of the street who was coincidentally related to Zecora. All of them said the same thing. It was probably resurfacing dreams from the Chaos War. Of course she insisted that she remembers what happened during the war with Discord, but all they did was change their answer to "Your dreams reflect your inner conflict." It was then she walked out.
Another cold gust of wind chills her face. This had been the most interesting year in some time. The heatwaves had rolled in early March and had persisted til late September. During that time she had never felt so... alive! Cheerful and happy, she was full to the brim with energy and the sun reflected that with its bright radiant light. Never had the guards seen the princesses play around in a lake as if they were foals. The entirety of Equestria seemed more alive, ponies seemed to find more and more free time as their work was done in a heartbeat and older ponies somehow found the energy to keep up with their grandchildren. It was nicknamed "The Summer of Life" by many.
But as with all good things, it ended much too early. It didn't just end though, it took a big dive down, and Celestia found herself only just able to carry out her duty of raising the sun. Her head felt woozy, her legs felt weak, and she found herself sleeping a straight eighteen hours with the other six spent on paperwork to "take it easy" in bed as her sister had put it.
Speaking of her sister, she too had been stricken with the disease but not to the same extent. She could still walk and speak in front of a crowd for short amounts of time. For a few months, the two sister's roles had been switched, and Luna benefited greatly. It gave her a chance to interact with the population and practice modern politics. In all, the years of distrust after Nightmare Moon had finally come to a close.
For the most part, the solar princess had recovered, but found her power fluctuating and generally weaker than before. Nonetheless, she resumed carrying out her regular duties and months of paperwork. Her sister wasn't one to slack and continued at the level she was at during the worst months of winter, lightening the load on Celestia even further.
But after all that, one thing still stuck in her mind.
Fear.
Fear that something out there was enough to weaken an alicorn. Had the mysterious disease been stronger, there was no doubt that she would've been crippled, ending life as we know it on the planet. Actually...
She didn't even know that it was a disease. As said by Discord, and as much as Celestia didn't want to admit, sometimes a lie really is easier to take. That lie stuck around, and she was tearing herself up because of that one line uttered in front of the reporters. The princess was an immortal being true, but still a pony. She needed to talk to somepony she could trust. Luna already knew so that left...
Celestia turned to the ponies flanking her, "Guards! Prepare my chariot. We leave for Ponyville!"
"Yes Your Majesty." They bowed and one of them galloped back to inform the servants.
She needed a vacation anyways.
***
The six ponies and dragon were still asleep in the library. The sunrise had come and gone hours ago, and even the early bird that was Applejack had slept in for one night. Stomach gurgling, Spike slowly got up and peeks at the clock. With only an hour to noon, he sleepily walked towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast. As the food came together, he stared outside through the window.
Pancakes... A grey pegasus stuffs a mailbox full of mail... Eggs... Three fillies talk about their night without their older sisters... Orange juice... Princess Celestia knocking on the door...
The last one sends the dragon into a panic. Immediately, he ran to the entrance as fast as his stubby legs can carry him.
"P-Princess... Celestia..." he stutters out of nervousness.
"Hello Spike. Is Twilight here?" she calmly asks him.
The dragon nods, "Yup. Oh! I just made brunch. Want some?" He held out a pan carrying the fresh pancakes.
"No thank you Spike, I already ate. I just need to talk to Twilight."
Celestia nodded to her guards who take off with her chariot. The dragon sprinted back upstairs to wake the girls who are still snoozing.
"Twilight! Twilight!"
The mare in question groaned as she turned to face the ceiling, "Spike... What time is it?"
"It's almost noon! And princes-"
"Ah! Noon? Oh no!" She shot up to look at her schedule. "I was supposed to be at... Applejack's..." The apple farmer is still peacefully sleeping while using Rainbow Dash as a pillow. The events that occurred yesterday crawl back into her mind. Twilight rubbed her head, "Spike, why did you wake me?"
"I was trying to tell you that Princess Celestia is here!"
The resulting squeal wakes the remaining ponies who shoot up as if their friend is being attacked. Downstairs, the princess rolls her eyes at her student's panic. More than once she had wondered about the unicorn's priorities. That fiasco with the Smarty Pants doll did not help.
"Spike," she whispers, "why?"
"She said that she wanted to speak to you."
"Just me?"
The dragon only shrugged, and she walks down with her friends all listening in.
"Hello princess!" she loudly said.
"Good morning Twilight!"
"Are you feeling any better? Or did you come here to find a cure?"
"Well, I've been feeling much better-"
"Is it about that one test that one time about that one thing? Did the results come back? Did-"
"Twilight." Celestia said firmly. The unicorn went silent. After much deliberation, the princess opened her mouth...
***
"What."
"Ah was right...?" Applejack said breathlessly. Pinkie would've let out the biggest gasp as if one of the biggest mysteries of the world had been solved had not Rarity held her mouth closed. That being said, her own mouth was wide open.
"So there was-!"
"Sh..."
Downstairs, Twilight did her best to contain her emotions.
"So the disease...?" Celestia shook her head.
"I don't even know that it's a disease. Could it be connected with the events that happened over the summer? Maybe. But for right now, I... felt that it was necessary to tell somepony the truth."
The unicorn hugged her mentor's neck. "Well I'll always be here for you Princess."
Celestia smiled and closed her eyes. This was probably the first time in a few centuries that she had gotten this close to another that wasn't her sister. "Thank you Twilight." They hugged for a bit longer until they were satisfied. "Well..." the princess started, "I'm on vacation. Why not spend it here with my student?"
"Yes!" Twilight yelled, "How long has it been since we last talked?"
"Too long my student. Much too long." Her gaze turned towards the stairs as Rarity tried to stay hidden. Keeping secrets was one thing she was never good at. She grinned awkwardly at being discovered, and made herself, and her friends, known of their presence.
The smell of brunch wafted into the room and Spike walked in with a few platefuls of food. The six mares all circled around the table. Even Celestia couldn't resist a few bites.
***
Nurse Redheart sighed as she closed the file. It was rare that a pony was unidentified. The mysterious mare actually would've been very easy to ID. Prosthetics made anypony noticeable, and a cybernetic limb and a pair of wings were probably the most unique in all of Equestria.
She closed the almost empty file cabinet and drained the rest of her coffee. The last thing to do before her shift ended was to write a Cremation Order. Just another sheet of paperwork. It shouldn't take too long.
***
His name was Ember. He was a unicorn with a flame as his cutie mark. He was a pyromaniac that shot off fireworks in his spare time and he worked at the hospital. When asked, that's what he told the others.
He actually does shoot off fireworks occasionally and work part-time at the hospital. But being the sole operator of a crematory is not something other ponies were comfortable with. Every time a body comes in for cremation, he sighs at his job. It pays well and comes with many benefits, but sometimes he felt like there was something better for him out there...
Ember slid the metal rack carrying yet another diseased body. Her wings and leg are a dull bronze, but still give off a shine. His gaze moves from her limbs and lingers on her face. It's cold and unmoving, but she would've actually been quite attractive had she still lived. He shook his head. Being attracted to the dead was not something he wanted to get used to.
After a few moments, he slid her in. Starting the fire was the one thing he absolutely hated. A few sparks shoot out from his horn, igniting the hay under the thick logs and branches. After a few minutes, the fire roared into an inferno and the doors closed with a loud *Clang.*
Later in his office, Ember loudly snored with his head in his forelegs. His desk was cluttered with paperwork, most of which had been there for years. A few quills and empty inkwells sat on a tower of medical manuals and random books, all out of date by no less than six months. A few yellowed papers fluttered to the ground as he shifted a little to the side.
A long mechanical whine that rose in pitch sounded and pierced into his ears. He would've compared it to a jet engine had he heard one, but to the sleepy pony, it was either part of his dream or the emergency generators being tested. The unicorn waved his hoof to shoo off the noise which only grew louder. He growled and reluctantly raised his head, blinking the sleep from his eyes.
A deafening bang echoed through the hospital as the heavy blackened door to the crematory flies off and leaves a deep imprint on the opposite wall. The metal halves clatter as they drop to the floor, cracking a few of the tiles that lined the floor.
Ember slowly pulls the door open and peeks outside. The steel door is on the other side of the room, twisted and mangled from some unknown force. He silently wonders if her cybernetics reacted to the fire somehow, and if he should've removed them before sliding her in. He throws that last thought out of his head. Taking things off of a dead mare was... well... morally wrong. Especially something that was physically connected to her, however fascinating they might've been. He slowly nudged the door wider.
Laying there was the cybernetic mare, sweating from every pore and breathing deeply. Her wings moved up and down with every breath as her lungs took in fresh air. Servos whirred as her mechanical limb finds a grip on the surface of the floor and pushed the mare on all four of her legs.
Ember could only stare as she stands for another minute and slowly extends her wings. They opened with a sound similar to a knife being sharpened and as they extended to their maximum wingspan, she rolled her neck resulting in a few cracks.
Still a bit woozy, but much better off than before, she trotted out the door, leaving the unicorn to faint in peace.