The End of the Universe Ch.4 -Warmth

>The intervening millennia has been kinder
>You are not afraid to sleep anymore.
>And you are not afraid to love.
>The small blip of space that you inhabit in the endless void no longer carry the dull echoes of meaningless eyeblinks or half-conscious mutterings.
>You are no longer smothered by resigned despair, or self-imposed apathy.
>Instead, you are grateful.
>You are blessed.
>Never again did you think that word would carry any meaning.
>Even before the fall of light and oncoming cold, had you lost hope.
>But you still had fear.
>Unbridled fear of eternity and the idea that no one would ever find you.
>You remember the sound of an explosion.
>You remember the uncompromising pull of a vacuum.  The sensation off flying through space, struggling to breathe, planets and stars flying past you.
>Ha.  You were so young.  You still needed a spaceship in those days.
--
>You told what few friends you had....what few were left that you were leaving, looking for something.
>Everyone was in those days.  Looking for a way to protect themselves, or hide.
>Entire planets sorrounded themselves in metal and warped sorcery.
>Colonies of beings locked themselves away in the empty space between atoms, cutting down their exposure to reality to the thinnest tether in desperate attempts to eek out a few more millenia of sustainability.
>Huge stations were built along the edges of black holes, carrying a number of lifeforms cryogenically frozen, hoping to be thawed should the universe ever be warmed again.
>Some built huge engines that tore holes in existance itself, not knowing or caring whether they lead to a younger, fresher universe, or death beyond time.  You tried those machines a few times.  They never worked for you.
>It was all meaningless in the end.  Just society as a whole covering their heads beneath the blankets because they're afraid of the dark.
>The walls crumbled.  The atoms themselves fell apart.  You know what happened to all the black holes.
>Others were like you.  Countless ships of all sizes spreading across a universe that became increasingly dark and cold in one final and hopeless diaspora.
>The few you spoke with looked at you, waiting on an explanation from a crazed immortal and entirely unique being in the entire universe.
>That you were going beyond and far away. You said you were going to reverse the problem of entropy.
>And maybe you even believed yourself when you said those words.
>But even then you knew you were lying.
>You may have picked through bits of hydrogen floating through space, and amassed endless reams of data, viewed the birth of stars and their ever quickening deaths and ran simulation upon simulation in order to find some flaw behind the very logic of reality itself that may yet be corrected.
>You worked hard and sweated harder as you looked at the cruel, unyielding numbers of physics that refused to give you the smallest iota of hope.
>At the heart of your small ship was a meter that gave out the percentage of how much the universe had left to reach maximum entropy.
>It was a worryingly high number that grew ever higher.
>You wrote down a small note next to it that read "buy new lightbulbs."
>A few communications were traded with others amongst the empty space.  They gave no comfort.
>You laid upon the single, featureless gel-mattress of your vessel and stared at the glass ceiling.
>A star blinked out.
>You closed your eyes.
>And in the depths of your mind you faced the true purpose of your mission and your ship:
>You were running away.
>Life had its share of kindness and cruelties for you.  But there was precious little life yet to be had.
>You were tired.
>You were envious.
>Everyone you've known and loved and hated was gone, or will be gone soon.  You wanted to let them go in peace.
>You wanted to hide.  To look away as the rest of the universe's massive population was taken into the sweet embrace of something you could not know.
>You still idly wondered what would happen to you once the average temperature reached absolute zero.
>It probably wouldn't be death for you, but maybe that sort of oblivion would bring its own peace.
>Wasn't that a funny thought? A frozen Anon floating through empty space forever, discarded like a popsicle no child wanted.
>Maybe you would shove a stick up your butt as one final joke to existence in general.
>You snicker at the thought.
>It's around that moment your ship exploded.
>You still don't know what caused it.  By all accounts the two most indestructible things in the universe was you and your small vessel.
>The thought still upsets you.  It was a very fine ship, made of equal parts science and magic.
>You just remember the whole ship shaking by just the smallest fracture and then everything erupted into flames before the vacuum of space snuffed it out.  The whole process took less than a third of a second.
>Your body was wracked by heat, metal, and the burning out of unimaginably complex spells.  This was followed up by the unforgiven non-atmosphere of pure space.
>Just because you are indestructible does not mean you are immune to pain.
>Well, under certain conditions you've learned to turn off different nerves and cut off sensation.  You've had a lot of time to learn control of your body.
>But this was different.  You had no warning, no time to prepare.
>So by all accounts it hurt like hell.
>There you were, eyeballs trying to pop out of your skulls, lungs doing their damndest to get sucked out of your mouth, and your brain fighting against being fried and frozen out in the cold vacuum.
>You were spinning away at immense speeds.  You tried to pull yourself into a ball and steady yourself, but the raw g-forces you were moving at prevented you.
>It was a pain beyond pain.
>But even so, the small part of your mind that was ever present and so stubbornly indestructible knew the severity of the situation.
>There was absolutely nothing you could do.
>By now you were already approaching the fringes of the galaxy, with nothing but celestial gas and empty space.
>Even if the explosion threw you towards the galactic core there was an absolutely zero chance of anyone finding you.  Careful observers of space can miss entire solar neighborhoods, miss even the biggest asteroids that are knocking on their planets back door.
>What possible hope could you have that someone somewhere out there would ever find the lone human flying through space at how many millions of miles per hour?
>You had no means of communication, no way to alter your course, nothing.  You didn't even have air to scream with.
>You had lost all hope then.
>Hope of reversing the decay of of the universe.
>Hope of being found.
>The hope of opening your eyes and beholding a sight that would make you smile.
>You fly through space in broiling pain and despair.
---
>You open your eyes.  Celestia is there.  She always is.
>She's sleeping.
>The two of you made love a few millennia ago.  The pair of you tend to rest in between bouts.
>Oh yeah, you're so good they need several thousand years to recover.
>Plus five to ego.
>Your a tangle of arms, hooves, and wings.  Her graceful head is buried in your chest. Her mane glows warmly.
>You stroke her.  Fingers running softly along her muzzle and follow the soft curve of her dark eyelashes, set against fur that's purer than porcelain.  You feel her breath against you.
>She is so beautiful.
>You begin to pet along the scruff of her neck.  She stirs awake, slowly.
>She doesn't open her eyes.  She just leans into your hands and coos softly.
>You start to kiss along the base of her neck and slowly make your along to her chin.
>You lower yourselves to each other, spinning around slowly in the void.
>Lips meet.  Softly, slowly.  Your mouths open centimeter by centimeter, sharing each other little by little.
>She laughs quietly.
>Her eyes open.
>Brilliance. Lavender gems against pure white that carry nothing but love for you.
>The sight makes your heart stop for a moment.
>She smiles, her cheeks pull up around her eyes and they light up even more.
"Hello again."
>"I was told there was princess around here."
"Silly place to find one, hmm?"
>"And yet here you are."
>She begins to nip at your shoulder feeling like pricks of ice, kissing your skin in small circles along your neck until she reaches your ear.
"Yes.  Here I am."
>She nuzzles against the side of your head.  Your own hands wander down along the sides of her body, tracing the grain of her fur and along the lines of her slender muscles.
"Anon," she whispers as she pulls away from you.
>"Yes, Celestia?"
"I love you."
>She has that billion-year stare focused on you.
>Her face is the portrait of serenity and sincerity.
>She's just looking at you.  Maybe a litle more than looking.  She's more beholding you than anything.  Looking at you and through you.  Seeing everything you are and ever was.
>She kisses you and says it again.
>"I love you too."  You don't know what else to say.  You do love her.  Wholely and truly.  She is the light of your life.  Literally.  You don't say it too often to each other because it was more than a feeling.  It simply was.
"Say it once more."
>You smile.  You cup her face in your hands and kiss her nose.  "I love you."
>She smiles warmly and her wings begin to flutter stiffly.
"Prove it.  Show me."
>She kisses you again, going straight for the prize.  Her tongue is strong as it entwines with your own.  She's breathing heavily and so are you.  The intensity of her mouthing throws you off for a moment.
>She pulls away.
"Love me."
>You start to bite down on her ear and neck, going down again to her chest.  Her coos of pleasure grow slightly louder.  Her body tensed up like a bundle of steel chords as you went down ever lower.
>You paused along her stomach and ran your nose across the soft fur there.  You bit down again into the sensitive flesh, it almost reminded you of peaches.  Her whole body began to writhe and squirm as you teased her.
>Her hooves started to press down on your shoulders, urging you even lower.
>You only fight against her a little bit, trailing your tongue all along her, over the small pink mounds of her breasts.
>You cup them in your hands and circle your fingers around them, flicking at the tiny nubs as her nipples harden.
>Her hips have started to thrust absent-mindedly against you.  Her backhooves keep trying to wrap around you.
>Her hooves rub the back of your head.  Celestia not being quite as purposeful with her motions but its still clear she wants you even lower.
>You let her push you down.  She presses her self against you and shudders as you breathe against her lower lips.
>Your hands grab onto the side of her generous flank and squeeze hard.
>She starts to quiver as your tongue begins to dance around her outer lips.
>Her soft thighs press down on the side of your head, locking you in between her as she crosses her legs around you.
>She strokes your hair.
"Mmm...right...where you belong..."
>You give her rump a firm slap.
>She yelps out loud.  You make a quiet muffled laugh.
>Your tongue enters her, easily sliding in between her sweet moistness.
>You started off slow, tantalizing her by gradually building up speed and intensity, going as deep as you possibly could.
>The goddess began to moan as you worshiped her.  Buckling and swaying her head.  In the void her mane began to twitch and expand and contract erratically.
"Oh...oh...oh...Anon, Anon..."
>She bit down on her lips hard.  Her cheeks were completely flushed.  Her eyes clenched shut so tightly that tears began to squeeze through them.
>She began to double over, and clutched at your head even harder.  Your fingers press deeper into her flank.
---
>You soared past planets.
>By then you've managed to turn off most of your nerves.  Your body had stabilized itself and adjusted somewhat to being flung through a vacuum.
>You no longer felt like your organs were trying to evacuate from every orifice you had.
>You still could not work out the burning sensation in your lungs, however.  You fake-breathed, going through the motion.  The sensation eased you pain, however slightly.
>So your existence, while agony, wasn't complete hell.
>But perhaps you would've preferred hell all the same.  If you were there that means you finaly died.
>You streaked in between a binary star system.  You shielded your eyes from the brilliant light.  Their rays penetrated the space between your fingers and eyelids all the same.
>The heat of the twin suns still set your skin a flame despite your nerve control.
>Your unaided trek through space let you witness many wonders.
>So even as you were being broiled alive you couldn't help but marvel.
>It was one of the last times you remember feeling truly warm.
>But eventually the heat faded away as you flew out of the solar system and into cold of even further and ever diminishing stars.
>You could brute force yourself into sleep.  It was hard, and never for more than a few hundred years at a time, but it was the only reprieve you could have from the pain.
>Aside from escaping into memories.  You had a lot of them after all.
>More time passed.  Your lungs eventually stopped burning.  Or maybe they still burned and you just got used to the pain.
>For a long time had you accepted that no one would ever find you out here.
>So you were completely surprised when Celestia found you.
>You were flying one way.
>And she was flying the other.
>You made out a dazzling light in the far distance.  You thought it was just another mass junk hurtling through space much like yourself.  You've seen comets pass mere miles away from you.
>But then the flash of light flew past you and changed direction.
>A small field of magic surrounded you and all of your organs jolted as the momentum of stopping for the first time in god knows how many millions of years took its immediate toll.
"Anon?"
>You looked at an alicorn you never thought you'd see again.
>You always knew Celestia was out there...somewhere.  After Equestria and its planet was destroyed through the natural process of things, she took her subjects and crossed the stars.  Settling on more planets and weaving a grand empire, ruling as she was won't to do.
>You were a part of that.  In the beginning.  After Luna died you slowly become more and more detached from the race that took you in.
>So one day you left, taking no great part in their society ever again.
>But even so, you heard stories, and kept tabs on them.  You knew Celestia was a forerunner on entropy research, going so far as to delegate the running of her empire to others and taking to the stars in hope of finding a solution.
>You looked at her.  She still had the exact same damn crown from all those years ago.  Her chestplate had changed, along with the rest of her attire, things of different designs and technology to better regulate her energies.
>By all rights she should have never found you.  But she did.
>She surrounded the two of you in a field of oxygen.
>"How?"  You have no idea how you managed to choke that out.  She should not have found you.  It was beyond impossible.
"I was...looking for you."
>You coughed.  Good God, breathing hurt almost as much as choking right now.  "Well l-looks like you found me."
>Your body quaked, adapting itself to a pressurized atmosphere.  It was like the worst hangover in the world.
>"Thanks."
>It took you time to recover.  You told her of the crash.  She told you of the things that you missed.
>Desperate things.  The fibers and foundations of physics were falling apart all over the universe.
>She told you of some of them.
>They were terrible things that made you shiver. You were right to run away.  Almost made flying through space sound enjoyable.
>Celestia told you of her efforts and research.  She had no answers.
>You asked her what she planned to do next.
>She gave you an angry and desperate look.  Her regal composure and eternal dignity cracked as she told you.
"I do not know."
>To this day you believe she was in much the same boat as you.  Telling herself that she was trying to fix the problem when in fact she was just running away.
>But she's too stubborn to admit that.  She was trying harder than you were, at any rate.
>Time passed.  You stayed with her.  Pooling together your knowledge and energies, trying your best too wring out energy from whatever corner of existance you could.
>Machines were built.  Massive engines that stretched on for mind-shattering distances.
>With their aid, stars were made between the two of you, but they never held for long, or at least not long enough.
>The rules of everything were breaking down.  Nothing worked the way it was supposed to.
> Eventually you learned a few tricks that can only come to those who live for a ridiculously long time.  How to cope with a vacuum.  How to speak in an airless void.  Making your way through space without the aid of a ship, and touching over light speed if you angle yourself just-so.
>Small distractions that kept you from your ever building desperation.
>Your constructions fell apart.
>Things became darker.
>Things became colder.
>The stars became so rare that you could count their numbers with your fingers and toes.
>A few would still blink in when things began to run on the tail-end.
>Some were natural.  A small number were made by others like yourself, who had the knowedge and the will to forge their own stars from the leftovers.
>But such others were long gone.
>Celestia still kept at things, of course.
>Never stopped looking, neve stopped moving.
>You could never turn away from the inevitibility of it all.  This caused some friction between you and the Princess.
>Just more distractions.  You were both terrified.
>Eventually things were much darker.  Nothing but glowing clouds remained from the empty husks of galaxies.
>Then came the dull period before the found the Carbon star.
>That star.
>You still don't like thinking about that.
---
>You and Celestia are facing each other.
>Hips move and gyrate, you drive yourself deep into her.
>This position took some effort to nail down, but the two of you loved it.
>She was moaning loudly.  She was a bit of a screamer.
>Her wings were going insane, they would sway strongly, slapping the side of your body on occasion, or wrap themselves around your back, like two strong arms with a million small feathery fingers pushing you closer to her.
>Feathers caressed your back and held onto your head.
>You ran your hands along her stomach and caressed her ribcage.  It was one of her more sensitive areas and she just lost it when you tickled her there.
>Your own breathing grew fast and deep as you threw yourself deeply into her primal embrace.
>You kept one hand on her side and moved another down to her mounds.  You rubbed her nipples between thumb and forefinger, and squeezed at the base with the rest of your hand.
>You are very glad to have hands.
>Celestia cried out.
>She was glad you had them too.  Her head swung back.  The bangs on her forehead were coming apart and swept all over her face.
>Her chest began to twitch and her shoulders pulled together.  Her legs began to twitch and buck with increasing severity.
>She was getting close.
>"I love you." You let out between deep ragged shudders.
"Anon. Anon, anon anonanon I..."
>You released yourself inside of her.
>And then something happened.
"Love..."
>From deep inside her...
"You..."
>you felt...
"Too."
>warmth.
>It started small.  Just a small speck of heat isolated within her soft but otherwise icy cold embrace.
>But then it spread throughout the rest of her.  Your member burned in heat and far forgotten comfort. You felt her teat heat up underneath your hand and follow all the way up through her chest where you placed your other hand.
>Her heart was beating louder than ever.
>You could see  the shock and amazement in her eyes.
>The unexplainable phenomenon coupled with her mounting pleasure proved simply too much for her.
>Her eyes flashed lightning and her hair turned pure white and billowed madly.
>She did more than orgasm.  She practically thundered with ecstacy.
>Hot damn, you are good.
>Her horn lit up and sparks shot out in amounts you haven't seen in a long time.
>Oh god.  She's warm.
>She's warm.
>You immediately press your whole body against hers.  You wrap your arms around her.  She wraps around you.  The two of you basically try to push yourselves into each other.
"Touch me."
>You do.  You touch every inch of her.
"Yes, yes, oh gods yes. Don't stop.  Please -don't-stop-"
>You have absolutely no intention on doing so.
>She was warm.
>And you were cold.  You've been cold for so long you didn't even know it.
>You were at absolute zero, after all.
>You held her.  Your brain was going berserk processing the long forgotten pleasure of touching another warm body.  You were in tears.
>"Celestia...Celestia, good God.  I love you."
>She brings herself over you.
"Thank you, thank-you thank-you thank-you."
>You spent a moment in that bliss.  Reveling in something as simple as body heat.
>And then the two of you reveled some more.
>You rejoiced and reveled for so many rounds you lost count before eventually succumbing to exhaustion and falling a sleep, the both of you impossibly entangled with each other.
>You dreamed.
>And they were good.
>You don't know for how long you slept.  But if felt like a million years when Celestia jolted awake and stared at you with eyes the size of dinners plates.
>You noticed her hair was still white.
>You held you.  You steadied her.  You told her to slow her breathing and asked her what's wrong.
"I don't...I don't think wrong is the right word."
>"Then what is it?"
"Anon...I'm pregnant."
>A few years passed before your brain would let you say anything.
>"Are you sure?"
"I am very sure."
>"But that's...but...how?"
"I do not know."
>"That's -th-that's impossible."
"I know."
>"There hasn't been a-"
"I know."
>"Me and you, we're not even-"
"I KNOW!"
>She was shaking.  Her eyes were darting around nervously.
"I know.  But...it's happened once, with you...before...with..."
>You remember.  You don't want too, but you do.
>Yes, you've had a beautiful child before.
>You loved her more than anything, even if her short life was filled with difficulties.
>"Once, yes.  But that required...intervention."
>It was a very complicated process.
"You felt what I felt.  I'm sure that qualifies for intervention."
>Her hooves kneaded together.
"Anon, I've never been with child before."
>You nodded.  You thought as much.  There were other alicorns.  A very small amount.  But you always assumed a child from Celestia would've been out here with you this whole time.
"I think I'm afraid."
>She lowered her head against you.  You gently ran your hand against her neck and calmed her.
>"Don't be.  I'll be here with you.  Everything will be okay."
"Anon?"
>"Yes, Celestia?"
"I think it's going to be a girl."
>You kissed the top of her head and laughed.
"Of course.  We'll have to think of a very pretty name, then."
>You held her until she fell asleep again.
>And then you thought.
>You were terrified.
>The pregnancy itself would have its own share of trails.
>The birth even more so, but luckily this would not be the first time you've ever delivered a foal.
>But...
>What the hell kind of place was this for a child?
>What would she look like?  What would she need?  Would she need to eat? How would she grow?
>Alicorns were different enough from ponies.  And Celestia was on an entirely different level than other alicorns.
>And a child conceived here in this frozen void, and with you as the father?  How much different would such a being need to be?
>Good God...
>You were going to be a father again.
>The realization hit you like a nuclear bomb.
>You stroked Celestia as she slept fitfully.   You ran a hand across her belly, thinking about the life that was growing within.
>Life.  New life.
>For the first time in a long time, there was going to be something new.
>Someone new to cherish and love and be thankful for.
>You smiled, despite your worries.
>You were blessed.
---
>You didn't sleep as much after her announcement.  She slept alot.  Her stomach swelling gently over the course of millions of years.
>Alicorns have a very slow gestation period, apparently.
>The pregnancy was hard on her.  Her hair grew an even more brillaint white, and lost some of its cohesion.
>She was very tired, unable to stay awake for long.  Sometimes she would only stir for a moment, look at you, just to make sure you were still holding her.  She would kiss you, smile, and go back into hibernation.
>Other times she would stay awake and....
"Perhaps we can invite Twilight and her friends to the castle.  This will be a very special occassion.  I haven't seen my dear student in so long, she can make a very enjoyable weekend out of it."
>"Of course, Princess."  You held her hoof as she gestured out to a court that wasn't there.
"You can be so stuffy sometimes, Anon."  she looked at you with excitement, "I know just how to get Luna out of that castle on the moon.  I shall inviter her as well.  I hardly get to see my sister these days and...and..."
>She stared off into empty space.
"I was doing it again."
>"Yes."
"It's getting worse."
>Her lucidity was slipping.  Sometimes she would just talk nonsense, or speak as though she was in a different place in some far-off time.  It scared you.
>But you did your best not too let it show.
>"It's just the stress, love.  You're undergoing a lot of changes."  You kissed her.  "I've seen women act worse when pregnant."
>You rubbed her belly.  She draped her forehooves around you.
"No, it's more than that.  Anon, I've been having dreams."
>"What kind of dreams?"
"Strange dreams.  I dream of new stars and planets and wonderful things that have never been."
>"Sounds nice."
"I think I see her...with you."
>She looks at you.
"Anon...I think something might happen when she is born.  I don't know what.  Just be ready."
>"Yes.  Don't worry.  Just rest.  I'll be here with you, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you or our little princess here."
>She laughed.
"Have you thought of a name yet?"
>"I have a few ideas."
"Well," she playfully kissed at your chest, "I'll let you surprise me when the time comes."
>"Lookin' forward to it."
"Just be there for me."
>"I will.  I have absolutely nowhere else I'd rather be.
"I just -I just want to stay awak a little while longer with you, my love."
>And so she did.  She stayed awake with you and you laughed and talked about warm suns, old friends, and sweet days long passed.
>It was lovely.
And then she slept, and grew more tired and dillusional.  The skin under her eyes grew dark and her joints stif.  Her hair became more and more vaprous and didn't flow in any particular pattern anymore.
>Her voice became vaguely disembodied.  She sounded like far-off thunderstorms again.  Her quiet words echoed throughout the void.
>Her wings lost some of their luster.  A few feathers fell away and quickly crumbled into dust.
>You did not tell her about that part.
>You had no idea what an alicorn pregnancy was supposed to look like...
>But you couldn't wait for this to be over and prayed that everything would okay.
---
>And soon enough the day did come.
>She went into labor.
>You delivered foals before.
>Each one was different.  There was screaming and cursing and crying and a lot of nasty mess.
>You knew what you were doing, but you were always a little nervous.
>But this-
>This scared the shit out of you.
>She was screaming in ways that made more than noise.  The very nothingness that you inhabited shook beneath the birth pangs.
>Her wings flared out and waved powerfully, threatening to blow you away.
>Her horn was lightning hot.
>You positioned your self in front of her.
>Ligh was coming out from places it no business coming from.
>It was like a portal to another dimension.
>You felt an immense fiery heat as you placed your hands before her.
"An-A-Anon!"
>"I know.  We're going to get through this!" you screamed
>There were flashes of unlightning that glowed like some kind of holy reckoning.
>"Push!"
>She screamed.
>"You're doing good.  You're doing so good."
>How was this even going to work?  You were very realistically worried the baby was going to launch itself out of there like a damned cannon ball.
"Agh!  Anon, I don't think I can -I don't think!"
>"Don't think, just push!"
>Come one, you can do this, girl.  You've raised the sun, you've made stars, and treated all of existance like a vhs tape before, you got this babe, you got this.
>"Deep breaths, come on.  I want to name her already!"
>Her eyes turned red and she stared murderous light at you.
>"You can kill me after this, come on."
>She screamed.  She screamed loud.  She screamed so loud you could feel it shooting  through time itself.  The unnatural atoms of your body shook and warped.
>It took all of your will to remain focused .
>And then you saw something.  Something bright was moving into the universe.
>"She's coming."
>More flashes of lightning.
>By now her whole body began to light up.  Her wings looked as though they wre made of pure energy, the feathers blending into each other and tracing their way through space.
>You felt as though you were goingto be disintegrated by their very heat.
>But you can't.
>Your child is coming.
>"One more time.  You've got this, Celestia.  You can do this.
>She opened her mouth and made no sound.  There was just this extra-wordly force that expelled from her mouth.  It scrambled you brain to listen to it.
>And then she stopped screaming and collapsed.
>The baby came from her.
>Despite the cacophony and light show, it was a very...clean birth.  There were no after products.  The light from her womb simply dimmed away.
>Your child glowed. You brought her towards you.  She was small.
>She was so small.
>The light around her began to dissipate like fireflies on a treelimb.
>You truly saw your daughter for the first time.
>She was beautiful.  She was more than beautiful.  She was perfect.
>Her fur was the purest white, just like her mother's.  Her mane was mosty solid, but still held traces of the same cosmic swirl that would blossom into a full ribbon of energy as she grows.  It was sky-blue and gold.
>She took her first, deep breath.
>Your heart froze.
>And then she began to cry.
>The sounds of a newborn child filled the dark, empty abyss for the first time.
>Tears welled up from your eyes.
"A...non..."
>You looked at Celestia.
>Oh no.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7FDAkpQSJVA#t=186s

>Your heart dropped like a brick at the sight of her.  She raised herself onto her forehooves shakily.  But she didn't have hooves.
>She was falling to pieces.
>Her legs broke away along their length, ending in a bright cloud of white dust and sparkling embers.
>She was crying.
"I know...what's going to happen now."
>Her voice dropped in and out of focus, going from world-covering thunderstorms to crystal clarity.
>She looks at you.  Her face is heartbreak.
"I'm s--orr--y."
>"No...no, no nonnoono."  You ran up to her.  You brought a free hand to her face and touched her ever so gently.
>Small specks of light crumbled away at your touch.  You bring back your hands.
>No, no god no please, not this, not now.
>She tried to smile.  She brought her wings, now mile long lines of bending light, around the two of you.
>"I wan----t ---to se--e her."
>You held your child to her mother.
>She took her from your hands using gentle magic and she beheld her.
>A tear fell from her face, drawing glowing cracks where it traveled.
"She is t----he most beautiful thing-----I have ever se---en."
>She kissed her.
>The interior of her body began to burn away slowly.  You were half blinded by the sight of her.
"What...what is her name?
>"Astra...I...wanted to call her Astra." You smile sheepishly.  "Th-thought I'd keep up with the theme."
>She nuzzled her child.  The baby cooed at her mothers touch.
"Little Astra.  Your mother loves you.  Your father loves you.  With all of our hearts, we love you.  Never forget this."
>She kissed her again.
>She gave you the child.
>"Cel-Celestia."  Your words were choking.  She was going to leave you.  She can't leave you.  No, please. Please.  "There...there has to be something we can do, some kind of trick we haven't figured out yet, please."
>Her brow knitted together in pure compassion.  She looked like an angel.
>She was an angel.
"Anon...this is...th--is is something I have to do.  For you, and for her.
>Mostly her face remained now.  There was a vague outline of the rest of her body.  Like she composed of a million galaxies.
"I'm...I'm not afraid, Anon."
>She had that billion year stare going on.
>She looked at you with eyes made of violet gems.
"This feels right."
>"But...you said...you said you'd never leave me.  You promised."
>She sobbed.
"I did.  I did promise you that.  But I'm not leavin---g, Anon.  My light will never stop shining for you."
>"But how can I...I can't raise her by myself.  Not a child like her.  Celestia, you know things, things I just can't comprehend, I...I..."
"Everything will be ok---ay, Anon.  A long time ago...I said you needed to love me."
"And you did.  You were my greatest friend and my grandest love.  You stayed with me and held me and gave me a reason to live."
>Her face shimmered in the heat and the light.
>Where her heart was there was immense red flame.
"And now you give me a reason to move on.  I know this isn't right of me...but...but I need one more thing...."
>You looked at her.   "What?  Anything, please."
"I need you to ---love---her."
>Your child cuddled deeply into your arms.
>"I will.  I will.  You never..." you had to catch your breathe. "never have to worry about that."
"Thank-you, my heart.  Just remember, this isn't death..."
>"No..."  You wiped at your eyes.  "We're immortals.  We don't get off that easily."
"I'm going to send you away now.  I love you, I've always ----loved--- you and I --alway--s will."
>You reach out to touch her.  She rubs her face into your hand.
>It burns, but you don't care.
"Smile for ---me---, please."
>You do.  It hurts, but you do...just to make her happy.
"Goodbye, Anon."
>She pulsed. You saw her wings stretch out and wrap around her
>You were flung back.  Far back.  Farther then you've ever been away from her this entire time.
>You reached your hand out for her as she rapidly become smaller and smaller.
>"I love you", you whispered.
>And then there was darkness.

THE

SUN

RISES


>And there was light.
>In all the universe, there was now exactly one star.  It was the biggest, brightest, hottest star that ever was, or ever will be.
>"That's my girl..."
>You floated there, holding Astra, staring at the light of your love and bathing in her warmth.
>She was so far away.
>You felt the tears on your eyes and did not try to move them.
>In the illumination you saw the great clouds of cosmic dust that swam through the void.
>Even now, mere seconds after the birth of this new star, the dust began to react to the heat and new source of intense gravity.
>It began to circle around it, changing into different shapes, being affected right down to their non-molecules and atoms.
>A few bits of hydrogen began to pull themselves together in the light.
>It would take a while before planets would form again...
>Other stars would have to be made first...
>Astra began to cry softly.
>You stroked her mane and bounced her lightly in your arms.
"Shh, shh, little one.  Daddy is here.  He'll always be here."
>You looked at the star.  At Celestia's grandest light and greatest gift to you.
"And Mommy's here too."
>This was going to be hard.  This was going to be the single most difficult thing you ever had to embark upon, but at least you weren't alone.
"And we both...we both love you."
>You smiled.  You wanted to scream, and cry and just collapse into yourself, but you smiled all the same.
>You had hope.
>For this was the dawn of a new universe.
>And truly were you blessed.