The Burdens Of Alicornhood

Her next question was something of a delicate matter that was important for her to find out, but more than likely a sensitive topic for the princesses. Cadence being the first and only to marry and not one recorded relationship on the either one of the two princesses.  This brought a few ideas, more probable by this new news of immortality.

They just couldn't bring themselves to love a mortal.

"So, what's your next question, Twilight?" Asked Celestia, sitting back in her chair, pressing her forehooves together.  Luna placed herself in a similar pose as they waited for her response.  The lavender mare took a deep breath.

"Why have you never been in an relationship?"  She must be pretty good at shocking ponies since this was the second time she was able to shock the goddesses of night and day.

"Well, it's a bit of a sensitive topic." said Luna, tracing the grain of the wood with her hoof.  Twilight sighed.

"Right.  Sorry.  Just curious." said the lavender mare, looking away to hide her blush.  Celestia bit her lip and looked over at Luna.  The night goddess nodded.

"Well, part of it is that society has just come to except ponies of our sexuality." said Celestia.  Twilight took a few moments before she came to a conclusion.

"Oh."  Was all she could say.  It was still weird to learn two of the most powerful alicorns were lesbians but she couldn't complain.

"Yes.  The other thing leads us back to your last question and our answer to it.  We are immortal.  A life of a mortal is fast in our lifestyle, especially if we enjoy the time we have with that mortal the way you would with a lover."

"The time with your love would be short and filled with sorrow by the time it so quickly ends." Finished Twilight.  Celestia nodded her confirmation. Twilight sighed.

"So Cadnce will end up losing Shining than she can probably handle." said Twilight, looking out the window to the beautiful afternoon.  It was ironic.  Such sad and dark topics on a beautiful and carefree day.  Neither of the three princesses had much work for the day.  Sadly this free time was not taken in leisure, but for a more needed and deserved conversation for the new alicorn.  Not an ideal pass time for them, but it had to be done.

"That is the most likely outcome, yes." said Luna, nodding.  "I learned of her relationship with Prince Shining Armor shortly after my return and I tried to tell her the consequence of it all, just as Tia has.  She just said she will find a way to make him immortal, an alicorn.  Something me and Tia have searched for since before she was born and only barely accomplished and that was with special conditions."

"The one who got lucky." muttered Twilight.  The only reason she was an alicorn was because she got lucky.  Just a stroke of luck that she was the most powerful unicorn in existence and the element of harmony.  Barely allowing her to become an alicorn.  A process lost in the centuries only to be brought back and used on her.  She was lucky.

"Twilight, you got to understand we are getting closer.  We may be able to finish the spell before the other elements pass on." said Celestia, trying to soothe the mare.

"What am I to do, Celestia?  I'm immortal and all who I love will pass on centuries even millennia before me.  I can't fall in love because the moment I do, I'm doomed to mourn them only what feels like a few years when it's been decades of being with them.  How am I supposed to go on with all this weighing in on my mind?"  Asked the mare, tears streaking down her cheeks.

"Twilight..." said Celestia, standing to go comfort the mare.

"No!  I did not ask for any of this!  I did not want to be immortal and never love!  How could you do this to me?"

"It was to help keep the elements of harmony alive.  The elements are rare enough to come by that we were lucky to find you when we did.  We can't keep searching for them once a century." said Celestia.  Preservation.  Twilight didn't know wether or not to be angry.  She maybe should feel thankful.  But she didn't know.

Charging what magic she could into her horn, which was quite a lot with her new reserve of magical energy, she casted a long distance teleportation spell.  Not caring where she ended up, as long as it was away from the castle.

With a flash of lavender light, she appeared in a large, dark corridor.  The ceiling and walls were filled with numerous alicorn shaped holes from the wrath of time and the battle that raged here over a thousand years ago.

"How ironic I would go here.  The place it began." she muttered to herself, looking around the room she once faced Nightmare Moon in, discovered friendship, and reactivated the five elements of harmony and created a sixth.  It was the room that started a chain of events that soon ended up with her as an immortal being.  Forced to watch everyone die around her while she weathered the years, unharmed by its effects.

"How can I even hope for a somewhat normal life anymore?  I can't have a family of my own and I'm destined to protect and guide Equestria for eternity, watching every single pony I meet die with years to me." said Twilight, slumping against an crumbles pillar.  She scanned the room and smiled.  Even the castle that first housed the immortal princess fell to the wrath of time, leaving a skeleton of what it once was.  Though, alicorns are somewhat the same.

Time will have its effects on her, that much she was certain.  They just would be different effects than most ponies would go through.  She won't grow old and wither.  She will live on while her mind slows and falls apart through grief and mourning.  Leaving nothing but a shell of what she once was.  A mask to hide what was inside.  The broken soul that cowered behind its asylum from the pain that each waking moment would bring.  Only a few years and she will be just the same.  A broken soul hiding behind her mask in asylum.  Just a small matter of time was all it was.

Curse was more than an the right word to describe alicornhood.  She remembered dreaming along with so many other foals of have the pure privalge and honor of becoming an alicorn.  Now she just wanted to go to every one of those old dreamers and tell them to forget it.  Save them of the disappointment they will receive when they achieve their goal.  Though it won't stop them.  Ponies would always search for a higher power and alicorns were the highest you could get among the common knowledge.

The clopping of hooves broke Twilight's dark thoughts, causing her to turn her head to the stairwell leading up to the room she now stood in, waiting to see who dared interrupt her.

"Of course it's you." she said as Celestia and Luna topped the stairs.  It took her a moment to realize that they weren't alone.  Following behind them was Cadence, Shining, and each of her five friends and fellow element bearers.  She turned away and walked up to the incline that they had once defeated Nightmare Moon, sitting with her back to the group.

"Twilight, we need to talk about this." said Celestia.

"Why did you bring them?" She asked, casting a glance back at the group.  The closest to the inclined alter were her friends.  She now noticed Spike on Rarity's back. She sighed and turned back to the wall in front of her.

"Because we are worried about you dear.  You have been out here for three days." said Rarity. Twilight raised her eyebrows and looked back at the group behind her.

"Three days?  Well, I must have been thinking pretty hard." said Twilight, laughing slightly before laying down.  Her head sat on her forelegs while she stared off into nowhere.

"Twilight, please talk to us." said Cadence.  Twilight could hear the concern in her voice.

"There is nothing to talk about.  You've been in my place, Cadence.  You know what it feels like."

"Yes, I have.  So has Celestia and Luna.  All three of us know that you need to talk. Right now, more importantly.  You are hurting and confused.  You can't just hide Twilight."

"And why can't I?!  I'm immortal!  It wouldn't matter!  Why should it?!" Snapped Twilight, whipping her head to Cadence and causing the others to back away.

"Don't your friends matter?!  Don't we matter?!" Shouted Rainbow Dash, flying up into the lavender alicorns face.  "We may not be immortal.  Not yet, at least.  But we still are your friends and we still care and worry for you.  You can't just throw us aside because you are depressed.  We work together and we get through this."

"I uh-bu-um"  Twilight tried to think of something to say to the cyan Pegasus that was now glaring at her.  Rainbow was right.  There was no reason for her to throw them aside, immortality or not.  It just wasn't what they deserved to remember her as.  A ,are who couldn't take something and hid away from the world and her friends because of it.  It was appropriate to hear it come from Dash.  She was the element of loyalty and she hated to hear someone betraying another.

"Alright.  I will come back.  I still have some questions, b-but those can wait." said the mare, standing.  It came apparent she had been there for three days as her legs nearly gave out from beneath her.  She caught herself and gave a few flaps of her wings to correct herself.  She huffed slightly before walking down the alter.  She was able to make it three steps before exhaustion and lack of movement caught up to her, causing her to fall over face first onto the marble.

~~~~~~~

Twilight stood on a cloud plain.  The expanse of endless clouds stretched for miles and miles in each direction, dominating the sky.  Above was a clear night sky, stars twinkling in the sky as the moon shone down on the clouds, illuminating the clouds in a silver light.

"One is never sure of things, are they?"  Twilight turned to find a white alicorn mare walking towards her, her red mane shining in the moon light.

"I guess.  I'm not exactly sure of things myself." replied Twilight, casting her gaze over the sky once more.  She could see each constellation more clearly than she could ever dream of.  Not even in a town like Ponyville with almost no lights could accomplish a perfect view such as this.

"You like it?  My daughter always had a way with the night.  Just as my oldest had a way with the day and I had a way with more...sensitive matters."  Twilight gaped at the white mare.

"Y-you are Celestia and Luna's mother?!" Asked the young alicorn, shocked.

"The very same.  Didn't live long enough on Equus to see them grow in pony, but I know they've had some pretty rough times since my passing, though they are perfect for the role of ruling Equestria." said the mare, staring lovingly at the moon, a somewhat sad look in her eyes.

"But, from what it sounded like to me, you were a regular pony.  What were you an alicorn of exactly?" Asked Twilight, confused.

"My name is Faust.  When I was around, I was called the great creator, though I wasn't a creator of anything.  I was a keeper."  said Faust.

"A keeper of what?"

"Lives, dear Twilight Sparkle.  Every move, breath, and thought of a pony is recorded in that ponies own book, kept in the library of souls.  I keep these books, memories, thoughts, ideas, and dreams safe and accounted for."

"So you know every detail that is lost to ponies, secrets long forgotten, and tales never told, and you protect them?  From what?" Asked the studious mare.

"Demons, corrupt angels, soul hungry reapers.  The list goes on, Twilight.  Now, we must get to the reason why you are in my domain.

"As I am obviously aware, you are currently going through the emotional crisis of finding out the burdens of alicorns.  Am I right about this."

"Yes.  What does this have to do with anything?" Asked Twilight.

"Simple.  Another thing that all alicorns carry is a certain connection.  Celestia has her sun, Luna her moon, Cadence and Chrysalis love.  Now.."

"Wait!  Chrysalis is an alicorn?" Asked Twilight, shocked.

"Yes.  Changelings are like ponies in many ways, including alicorns.  Now, can I please continue?  This is rather important."

"Yes.  Sorry." said Twilight, smiling sheepishly.  Faust giggled a bit before continuing.

"Now, as much as you can try to control magic, it is impossible.  You can't exactly control friendship as easy as love either.  It's more nitpicky somehow.  It has been attempted but failed.  So, that leaves one option for you, Miss Sparkle.

"You must become the next Keeper."  And out of all the things that Twilight has heard in the past week, this has topped it.  Her jaw hit the floor, trying to place if the eldest alicorn wasn't actually just joking as her youngest daughter was prone to.  The serious look on her face shot down any hope of that.

"But why me?  How am I suitable for something of this scale?  I have enough trouble with having to deal with the nobles as it is as well as everything else.  I doubt protecting, and occasionally reading, the souls of ponies is exactly a quick thing." said Twilight.

"Its not, but you are not in the realm of time when you enter.  Right now, if I were to show you your current location, you would be in the hall that the elements of harmony  once sat, heading face first to the ground and the others trying to catch you.  But no pony would be moving.  Time is in stand still as you enter.  You move so fast, you never move at all.

"As for why you, you are extremely studious and organized.  Your magical power is enough to protect the library as well.  In all, you are ideal." said Faust.  Twilight stood there in shock, trying to figure out what she should do.  She wasn't exactly keen on becoming a god of such a stature.  Celestia herald the dawn, Luna brought the night and guarded the dreams, and Cadence brought love.  Twilight, however, was asked to guard the housing the most valuable knowledge in the universe.  The very essence of souls.  But....

         "I'll do it." said Twilight, standing tall.  Faust smiled and nodded.

         "Brave young mare.  Now, close your eyes."  Twilight nodded.  After a moment, she felt something touch her horn, but she kept her eyes shut despite the odd feeling.

         "Now wake up."