The Burdens Of Alicornhood

REMEMBER:  This is a fictional Faust as I see head cannon.  Not actual Laruan Faust that gave us this show.  Back to the chapter.

Three months have passed in the pony world, with close to two years in the library.  By now, Twilight knew many of the twists and turns of the eternal library and the organizing system by heart.  Over the course of these two spirit years, Twilight was able to learn the multiple offense and defense spells against the universe and whatever ponies may find a way to travel into the realm.

The realm itself was closely connected to dream realm but hidden enough that Luna had to really look for it to find it.  However, once Faust was gone, the door between realms would become more visible to not only Luna, but to whoever was aware they were dreaming.  They would be able to see the faults and whatever doorway they could.

If such an event would to occur where a lucid dreamer found themselves in the spirit realm, not only would Twilight be well aware of it and she would have to work on carefully removing them as to not accidently harm them, for the injuries would still be on the body once they woke up and prove it real, or to cause severe harm for it could kill them in their sleep and cause their bodies to disperse into the spirit realm and for their story to conclude.

However, at the end of these two years in the library, another story must conclude its long story and rest it's head among the sea of spirits gone by previously.

Faust smiled as she walked the halls one last time, taking in every shelf and tome.  She had spent millennia in the library and now it was time for her to move on.  She was thousands of years past due and it was prime time she did. And knowing there was a pony to take up her position when she left was very comforting.  Besides, according to dreams from her eldest, this young mare could end up making the sun goddess more happy than any pony could hope to and so many wished to but mortality prevented them from.  Faust blushed and giggled as she remembered some of the more vivid dreams.  Oh what an imaginative mind Celestia had.

She sighed happily as she came to the very room she used to watch over her daughters and adopted granddaughter and, at one time, change the very fate of a certain alicorns future.  In Faust's opinion, it was not time for Twilight to die, not yet at least.

There was a surge of familiar magic, making the old alicorn smile.  She has grown familiar with the feel of the magic over the past two spirit years.

"Please, come in, Twilight." said Faust, gently stroking one of her daughters tomes.  She ran her hoof over the crescent moon, tracing its shape as she remembered the day Luna received it.

It was when her daughters were not but filly's.  It has the day Luna was first able to not only discover the magical tether to the moon such as Tia did for the sun, but the door into the dream realm that allowed her to freely walk and alter dreams as she pleased.

Faust remembered waking up in the middle of the night to a excited Luna jumping on her bed and a tired, confused Celestia standing in the doorway as Luna explained how she recieved  her cutie mark.

"You wanted to see me, Faust?" Asked the lavender mare.  It took awhile before Faust could get Twilight to stop calling her Princess, Mentor, Master, and got her to just call her Faust.  Now she was able to say it with more ease than any could hope when in the presence of the Keeper.

"I did, Twilight.  Tell me, you have memorized everything I have taught you, correct?" Asked the elder alicorn.  Twilight nodded.

"I have.  I even taken liberty to practice at the Royal Guard training grounds once a week." said Twilight with a smile.  Faust chuckled.  She looked over at the awaiting pedestal.  She nodded towards it.

"Do you know why I have placed that there, Twilight?" Asked Faust.  Twilight sighed.

"I have a few guesses.  I don't think another alicorn is one of them.  You know your daughters will be devestated when I tell them." said the mare sadly.  Faust sighed and nodded.

"Yes, yes they will.  But it cannot be helped.  I have outlived my death for thousands of years.  As will you when you die in the material world.  Leaving your soul to wonder here until a alicorn with the right potential shows up to claim your position.  Then you will train them until they are ready, and then you will join the ones you lost." said Faust, stroking a hoof over the pedestal.

"I had a husband, obviously since I had Tia and Lulu, but he was mortal.  He was the first and only stallion to win my love.  And you already know how fast time flies when you are immortal.  One day we were married, the next we had one daughter, then two, then the next I was sitting next to his death bed as he lived his longest.

"I guess the reason why Tia and Lulu have never been with a stallion or mare is partly my fault.  They saw what it did to me when their father died and did not wish that fate on themselves." said Faust, turning to Twilight.

"It was one of the things I hated when I passed on to here.  But, now I can see him once again."  Faust laughed softly and looked back at the tome with her eldest's cutie mark.  "Read page 3,005.  Tia can be very imaginative." said Faust.  She giggled slightly before looking up into nothing.

"When I leave here, please be gentle with telling them.  Oh, and make sure you lock the door on your way out." said Faust, winking.  The air around the white mare shifted and glowed bright golden.  She started to dissipate as a tome started to form on the pedestal.  Twilight's mind finally caught up to her and tears started to fall as she watched her mentor pass on.  She stood tall and watched as the alicorn died for the second time in her lifetime.

She took a shaky breath as the final piece of Faust's soul was transferred into the very thick tome with a quill and parchement cutie mark on its cover.  Twilight stood there for a few moments before taking a deep breath.

Twilight summoned a saddle bag onto her bag and levitated the rather thick tome into it after placing a series of wards on it.  She prepared to leave then remembered what Faust said about Celestia's tome.  She levitated the smaller tome over to her bags and placed the same wards on it and placed in the bag.

~~~~~

Twilight completely forgot her postion before she went to the library.  She yelped as the sudden weight of the heavy laden saddle bags was suddenly on her back and caused her to fall forward off the throne she was holding court on.  Celestia, who was sitting next to her and helping her with court, caught her with her magic before the mare was crushed under her saddle bags.  The poor stallion who was trying to get a land loans stared confused at her and the saddle bags that appeared out of nowhere.

"I forgot time is stopped in the library.  And that was holding court." groaned Twilight as she was lifted back onto her hooves.  Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"Mother sending you back with homework?" Asked Celestia.  Twilight froze as she remembered what exactly brought her to the library in the first place.

"Please leave us.  I will hold court for an extra two hours tomorrow." said Twilight, talking to both the stallion and the guards.

"But what about my loan?" Asked the stallion.  Twilight sighed.

"Have the papers sent to my study and I will sign off on them when I get the chance."  The stallion bowed and left with the guards.  Once the door closed, Twilight opened her saddle bag and lifted out the tome with Faust's cutie mark.

"Twilight, what is that?" Asked Celestia, concerned.  Twilight took a deep breath.

"I think it would be best if Luna was here." said the lavender alicorn as she teleported paper and quill to herself. She wrote her quick message before sending it off in a purple cloud.  They stood there for a few minutes, Twilight slowly looking over the thick tome.  Finally, Luna appeared before the throne,confused.

"I have some news concerning my most recent trip to the library." said Twilight.  She floated it between herself and the two sisters.  She placed one hoof on it.  "This, is what is left of Faust."  Finding out someone you loved died is painful, finding out they died a second time is ten times more painful than the first.  Twilight had the misfortune of watching two of the most powerful beings in Equus, next to herself now, breakdown in full hysterics, complete with bawling.

It tore at her heart to see the two ponies she grew up admiring, Luna as the moon, all her life in such a destroyed state.  Twilight still had both of her parents so she had no clue what it felt like to learn either one of them died, let alone twice.  Twilight wiped away her own tears as she placed Faust's tome back in the saddle bag.

"I will leave you to mourn." said Twilight, standing and walking to the door.  She was stopped by the sound of Celestia's voice.

"Twilight,  thank you."  Twilight turned around and smiled warmly at the sisters.

"You're welcome.  I will be in my room if you need me."  With that, Twilight left the two sisters to comfort each other.  Twilight had her own research that needed to be done.

Twilight made her way through the halls of the castle.  Not many guards were posted in the private rooms, both an upside and a downside.  But it mattered not to Twilight at the moment.  Right now, she didn't need any guards surrounding her while she looked through the lives of the most powerful ponies in Equus.

Twilight closed the door to her personal chambers.  She sighed as she levitated the two tomes out of her bags and threw the bags on the floor.  The young alicorn strides over to the desk she set the books down.

"Alright, page 3,008 of the Book of Celestia." muttered Twilight as she leafed through the tome.  She came to the marked page and started reading.

"Huh, this was just a few days ago.  'Celestia walked through the yellow fields of her dreams.  She hummed as she walked towards the lone oak tree.  Sitting below it was a lavender mare.  Celestia felt a spark of joy and love as she saw the younger lavender alicorn and the love of her life...'" Twilight stared at the dream.  Her cheeks burned crimson as the dreams meaning came to her mind.

"Well, that was unexpected.  Now, on to Faust." said Twilight, switching the book with the one of Faust.  The very book in her hooves was the very life of Faust, and she planned on deciphering it.