I sat back, relaxed. Equestria was still small enough to not floor me with work, but large enough to keep me busy. I looked up, smiling as a soul gently drifted past. My smile widened as it went on to the next realm on its own, not needing my assistance. Most souls didn't need my guidance to make it to the next stage of existence, but I was here for the ones that did. They were few and far between. Some weren't ready to die, and I had to convince them it was time. Others wanted to wait for their loved ones, wanting to pass on together. I did my best to honor those requests, but I only had so many positions that could be filled. On the other hoof though, who better to face the realm beyond with than those closest to you?
I shrugged, chuckling to myself at my own rhetorical question. "Well, let's see if there are any planned for today." I commented aloud, more to myself than anyone else, my bleached bone horn glowing. I reached up and grabbed a large tome, one that contained the death date for the scheduled. Not that many lives had a scheduled end, but some things must stay constant in the world. A fixed point if you will. As my magic surrounded it, just about to pull it down, a blue pony, taller than any that had passed through before, burst into my office most unceremoniously. I rolled my eyes. "Luna, what are you doing here? And would you just calmly tell the pony out front that you wish to talk with me? They will let you in." Princess Luna was the only living pony allowed to access this little world. For all the other ponies, including her sister Celestia, the only way they got into here was through their own death. Something about Luna’s charge over the night let her in here. With a sigh I let my horn's glow fade, my skull tilting as I leveled my gaze at her.
"Ah, Death. Yes, sorry about that, but Tia is demanding I hurry this along." Luna rose to her hooves, brushing her coat off. "Twilight has ascended." She said with something slightly more than a simple smile. One that seemed to say she had her own personal reasons for being happy with this. "I'm here to fill out the paperwork."
I stared at her. I would have blinked in mild surprise, or perhaps raised an eyebrow if I could, but, lacking such fleshy things, I was forced to simply stare. “Twilight Sparkle?” I asked, mildly annoyed.
“Yes, purple unicorn, now alicorn, not that old, personal student-” Luna began before I cut her off.
“I know who she is Luna.” I heaved a deep sigh, turning to face the shelves behind me. As I scanned them, looking for the forms Luna would need, I continued my questioning. “And pray tell, why is she becoming an Immortal Alicorn?”
“Well, she was able to work magic in a wholly new way, something that Celestia deemed her worthy of ascension for.” Luna replied sheepishly. Though I couldn’t see her, I knew she could tell there was something fishy with that explanation.
But I didn’t want to know why Twilight was becoming an Alicorn. I couldn’t care less. No, it was the immortality thing that bugged me. “No Luna, I believe you misunderstood. Why is she becoming immortal? I don’t much care that she’s an Alicorn.” I asked, pulling a large stack of papers off a shelf and setting it on my desk. “Cadence isn’t, though she’s just as much an alicorn as the rest of you, and she created love magic.” I added, turning around to face Luna again.
“Well, true. Cadence will grow old and pass on along with her husband Shining Armor.” Luna responded thoughtfully, her head tilted to one side. “But I don’t see why the immortality thing is such an issue. My sister and I are immortal, and you don’t have an issue with that.”
“True, but the two of you became immortal out of necessity. I couldn’t very well leave Equestria to be ruled by two mortals. When you died there would be a vacuum of power that would lead to a horrible war, and flood me with souls. I didn’t want that.” I paused to take a breath, calming down from my rant. “Sorry. But there was a very good reason to make the two of you immortal. And I need a good reason before I will make Twilight immortal.” I placed a hoof on the paperwork, preventing Luna from taking it.
The blue glow of Luna’s magic quickly faded from the papers. “Well, I don’t honestly have one.” Luna answered, her head hung. “You’re right. I can understand why you had a reason to let Tia and I become immortal, and why you don’t have one for Twilight.” She sat down, a few tears starting to leak from the corners of her eyes. “All I can say is that I love her, and I want her to stay with me forever. I truly love her.”
I chuckled, levitating a cushion for her to rest on, and some tissues to dry her eyes. “Love.” I said quietly. “True love, the greatest thing in the world.” With a flash of magic I created a small portal, just large enough for Luna to fit through. “Come on Luna. There are ponies I need to speak with. Most notably, your sister.” Luna looked up, slightly confused. I gestured to the tear in space next to me, motioning for her to go through. “Don’t worry, I’m coming too.” Luna stood and nodded, exiting my room through the small portal. I quickly followed.
It was strange, being on Equestria again. There was actual grass beneath my hooves, not the fake stuff I kept in Purgatory. I could feel the wind tugging at my cloak, pulling the hood off my head. I could feel the sunlight playing across my skull, warming me. I shuddered. “I don’t like being here. Lets make this quick Luna.”
She nodded. “I can understand. It was weird enough for me coming back from the moon. I can only start to imagine how strange this is for you.” I gave her a weak smile, the corners of my jaw twisting to do so. “Shall I teleport us to Canterlot?”
I nodded. “Somewhere in the castle we won’t be disturbed. And then call for Celestia and Twilight will you?” She nodded in response, her horn glowing. The intensity grew until she cast her spell, a flash of blue magic blinding me momentarily. As my vision slowly returned, a welcome sight of stone walls and dark blue curtains greeted me. Luna had taken us to her room. She wobbled a bit, shaking her head clear of the blurriness that no doubt came with such a teleport. With a smile she righted herself, then set off, looking for her sister and loved one. I found myself a cushion, sat down, and waited.
A while later Luna returned, her sister and Twilight in tow. Luna smiled and sat down next to me. Celestia gave me a warm smile, though she remained standing across from me. Twilight stopped dead, staring at me. I have to give her credit though; the first time Celestia and Luna saw me they ran screaming. “Thank you Luna.” I said, turning to her. “And it is good to see you and Celestia. I’m glad to see Equestria is doing so well.” I added with a warm smile.
“It is good to see you again as well Death. Though I must admit this was rather a surprise.” Celestia sat down across from me, her smile never fading. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”
“In a moment Celestia. For now, I believe it would be prudent to fill Twilight in.” I gave a small gesture to the purple alicorn who hadn’t moved since she saw me. “Please Twilight, sit down. I assume you have questions, though I would first like to introduce myself.” Slowly Twilight sat, her expression never changing, her eyes never leaving mine. “I am Death. I watch over the souls of the departed, making sure they reach the next part of life safely. No, I do not go around harvesting souls, they come to me. Yes, physically, I am nothing more than a skeleton. My voice, and the movements you see are the result of magic, nothing more.”
Twilight nodded slowly, her body slowly relaxing. She closed her eyes, as her breathing slowly returned to normal. After a few quiet moments, she opened her eyes, leveling her gaze at me. “So, what are you doing here Mr. Death?”
“Please, just Death.” I replied, trying my best to sound open and inviting. “Well, Luna is the only living pony able to visit Purgatory. And, for a pony to become immortal, there is certain paperwork to be filled out. It isn’t as simple as a spell being cast. There is a lot of work that needs to be done.”
As I mentioned immortality, Twilight’s expression turned from curiosity to puzzlement. As I took a breath to continue, she cut in. “Wait, why are we talking about immortality? Where did that come from?”
My words caught in my throat. What did she mean by that? “Celestia asked Luna to fill out the paperwork to make you immortal.” I stated plainly. “Were you not aware of this?” Twilight shook her head, looking from me to Celestia. I heaved a deep sigh, then glared at Celestia. “Luna, were you aware that Twilight was unaware?” I asked, my glare never leaving Celestia.
“No. Tia said Twilight was perfectly fine with it.” Luna responded slowly. “Tia, why did you lie to me?”
“Yes, please inform us all why you planned to thrust the curse of immortality upon your student, without her consent, or even knowledge.” I deadpanned, my glare turning sourer.
Celestia looked around, finding herself caught in her own little web. “Because I knew Luna wouldn’t look too deep, wanting to be with Twilight forever. They've been so happy together.” Celestia admitted, her head hung, her ears dropped. “And I knew that in time, since we would have it, Twilight would come to forgive me. I didn’t think it through.”
I shook my head, a small sigh escaping my jaws. “You meant well Celestia, and I understand. Just don’t do it again. Immortality isn’t just something to be given out willy nilly.” I took a deep breath, preparing for a long speech. “Immortality is more a curse than a blessing Twilight.” I began, turning to the purple alicorn. “You will have to lose part of your soul Twilight. This isn’t a decision to be made on a whim.” Twilight’s eyes went wide as she stared at me. “Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it sounds. You see, there is a balance that must be upheld. I can not allow a soul to stay in Equestria forever, nor can they stay in the next world forever, as it messes with the balance and flow of things. If you become immortal, part your soul will simply enter the cycle sooner. Half of your soul will be in the realm of the passed, and half here, in the realm of the current. And until you die, you will stay like that.” Twilight shakily raised a hoof, as if to ask a question. I barely managed to suppress a laugh. “Yes?”
“Well, two things.” She said shakily “First, what do you mean, ‘until I die’? And second, why is my soul being split such a bad thing?” I could hear the curiosity in her voice
I chuckled. Not many ponies would be able to get to those issues so easily and quickly. “Well, immortality just means you won’t die of old age or other natural causes. You can still be killed though. Not that it’s likely, you being an alicorn and all.” I shrugged before continuing. “As for why it’s a curse, well, the soul is who you are Twilight. Your soul contains your personality, the things that make you, you. Your mind contains your memories, but they are viewed through the soul. With half of your soul gone, you can’t change, you can’t grow.” I looked down, a half smile on my skull. “And you will be lonely. You will always feel as though a part of you is missing, because a part of you is gone. You will be more lonely than a single pony looking for a date on Hearts and Hooves day, you will feel more alone than the last pony alive will feel. It will tear at you, day in and day out.” Twilight’s eyes grew wide in terror as I spoke. I gave her a sad smile, glad to see my point was being made. “The only way to counter it is the same way all ponies counter the loneliness. Through love. Through spending your eternal life with another. That is the only thing that will make it bearable.”
Twilight turned to Celestia and Luna, giving the latter a warm smile. “But, then how did you two deal with it? You’ve had thousands of years of this, so how did you do it?”
Celestia answered first, though her eyes remained fixed on the floor. “I had the love of the ponies of Equestria. While not as wonderful and fulfilling as the love of another, it was enough. But it was still hard.” She shook her head slowly, curling up on herself slightly. “It has always been painful though.”
Twilight’s eyes watered, and she placed a wing around her mentor. Looking up, she found Luna with her back turned to us, staring out the window. A silence passed through the room before Luna spoke. “I didn’t have that love Twilight. The ponies of Equestria shunned and hated my night. And then....” She trailed off, never turning to face us.
“And then you became Nightmare Moon.” Twilight finished, realization dawning on her. “I... I didn’t know.”
“It is okay Twilight.” Luna responded, her voice cracking slightly. “Please, Death, continue explaining this whole deal to Twilight. She needs to understand what she’s giving up, and what she stands to gain.” I nodded, turning to Twilight. The purple alicorn rose, gave a last hug to Celestia before trotting over to her lover, wrapping a wing around her.
I smiled. “Well, as you can imagine, you will outlive all of your friends and family. You will watch them grow old and die, as you forever stay young. It will be painful. But you will have to move on.” Twilight nodded, a few tears streaming down her cheeks.
“But what about the good?” She asked through the tears. “Surely it isn’t all bad.”
I gave her a strong warm smile, nodding my head. “You’re right, there is good. And a part of it is sitting next to you.” In response to Twilight’s confused expression I continued. “You and Luna, as you love each other so much, will become much closer. You will truly become the other’s other half. You will love each other for as long as you live, though you will quickly grow to be unable to live without the other. But you will never stop loving each other. No matter how big the fight, no matter how much you may hate her at some point, you will never stop loving her. Though I do suppose that your fights will be on a much larger scale, being immortal powerful alicorns and all.” I let out a small laugh, Twilight chuckling along. “I mean, just look at Celestia and Discord.”
Twilight promptly stopped laughing, turning to stare incredulously at her mentor. “Oh, did you not know?” I asked, slightly surprised. Twilight shook her head. “Well, ask her some time. I’m sure it would make a wonderful tale.” Twilight turned back to me, still confused, but going back into learning mode. “Now, where was I?” I asked aloud, thinking for a moment. “Oh yes. Well, you and Luna will always be together, and it will allow you to ease the pain of immortality. And you will be happy.” I stopped for a moment, thinking. “I think that’s it. Any questions?”
Twilight shook her head, her eyes closed as she thought. “Do I have to decide now?”
“Not at all. Though know, the longer you take, the older you will permanently stay.” I answered. I stood, stretching. “To be honest, the paperwork is more a formality than anything. It has to be done, but it has no actual bearing on your immortality. I’ll make sure it gets filled in.” With a flash I tore open a portal back to my office. “When you decide, have Luna let me know.”
“Wait!” Twilight called out just before I could leave. “What do you mean the paperwork is a formality?” She asked, clearly confused.
“Oh, well, the paperwork does nothing. I don’t need to fill it out to make you immortal.” I answered with a shrug.
“So then why the paperwork?” She asked, again stopping me from leaving.
I sighed, closed the tear and sat back down. Curse her curiosity. “Think of it this way. Two ponies, lets call them A and B, want to make a deal. A wants to sell something to B. They could simply make the trade, A gets the bits and B gets the product.” Twilight nodded, following along. “Or, they could fill out some forms, making an agreement to make the trade. Then A sells the desired object to B.” Again Twilight nodded. “Now, the forms have no impact on the trade. In fact, they just make it more annoying. But higher ups are more happy, as they have proof of the transfer. Same basic idea here.”
“So, you don’t need to fill out the paperwork?” Twilight asked, slightly confused now.
“Right. To make you immortal, I cast a single spell.” I replied happily. “That’s it. However, Ms. Faust likes it when I fill out the paperwork. So I fill out the paperwork.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Ms. Faust? Who is she?”
I shrugged, letting out a small sigh. “Imagine Equestria is a company. Bad metaphor, but it’ll work for now. You, Celestia and Luna are the different Executive Officers. You are in charge of specific things. I’m another one. Ms. Faust is the president of the company. She’s at the very top.” Twilight took a moment, then smiled in understanding. “Now, I do have to get back. Goodbye Twilight.” With a smile, and a short farewell from Twilight, I left, returning to my plush chair in my office. “I hope she makes the right choice.” I said aloud before returning to my work.
It was a few weeks before Luna returned. She calmly knocked on my door before entering. With a smile she walked in, pure joy radiating off her. “Well?” I asked, knowing nothing more was needed. She turned to face me, and slowly nodded. “Alrighty then.” I said. I pulled out the paperwork, turning to the last page. I closed my eyes and cast a single spell. I opened them again, smiling. The paperwork was gone, along with Luna. All that remained of the soon to be very happy mare was a single blue feather. “Good luck.”
