If I Ever Leave This World Alive
The sound of a quill scribbling on parchment echoed throughout the dark library. This soft scratching was enough to wake a small, sleeping dragon. Opening one of his eyes, he sat up in his bed. Rubbing his eyes with his claws, he got up to investigate the source of the sound.
Carefully maneuvering around in the dark, he made his way down the staircase. Stopping halfway down the staircase, the dragon found who was responsible for the sound. Sitting at her desk, Princess Twilight Sparkle was writing something upon the parchment with magic. A single candle flickered as she continued to work. Suddenly, she lowered the quill and read what she had just written down. Apparently unsatisfied with it, she took the parchment in her hooves and crumpled it up and threw it elsewhere. Twilight took another piece of parchment and began again from scratch.
Walking down from the stairs and moving closer, the dragon decided to spook the alicorn, “You know, it’s very unprincess-like to be awake at this hour. Well, except for Princess Luna, I suppose.”
Twilight almost jumped out of her purple coat at the words, “Eep!” Turning to see the familiar face of her assistant, she was calmed, “Goodness, Spike. You startled the daylights out of me,” one of her hooves were placed on her chest in an effort to calm her racing heart, “what are you doing up at this hour?”
“I could ask you the same, Twilight. I know you like writing letters to Princess Celestia and all, but I think this is overdoing it a bit,” Spike pointed out.
“I’m not writing a letter to the princess,” Twilight turned back to the desk and the parchment that laid on its surface. The expression on her face dropped.
Spike raised his head up to try and see what was on the desk, “Really? Then what’cha writing? One of those ‘special stories’ that I’m not allowed to read?”
A small smile appeared on face at Spike’s question, “No, no, this isn’t one of those things.” While she was amused for the moment, her facial expression became one of melancholy again, “It’s just…I don’t know how to put it….”
“Then just try and say it,” Spike responded. He grabbed a nearby stool and took a seat.
Twilight Sparkle took a heavy sigh and looked down at the almost empty parchment, “Spike, how old do you think Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are?”
Raising his claw up to his chin, the dragon thought aloud, “How old are the princesses? Well, Celestia is the older one, by a few years or so….um, I would guess they would be about three thousand years old? Give or take a few years.”
“That’s what I thought as well,” Twilight commented.
“Why are you asking this?” the dragon asked.
The pony answered in a sad tone, “Because I’m a princess now. I’m just like Celestia, Luna, and Cadence.”
Spike nodded, “Well yeah, you’re the Princess of Friendship. A pretty cool role, if you ask me.”
“You don’t get it, Spike. I’m a princess, I’m an immortal, I’m….cursed.”
“Cursed? What do ya mean by that?”
“For time and all eternity, I’ll be here, alive. I’ll live far beyond anypony else, just as the other princesses. I’ll watch those I love and care for vanish from my life as they succumb to their own mortality. Mom, Dad, Shining Armor, the girls, even you Spike. I’ll be alone without any of you by my side. A curse of immortality,” Twilight fought hard to keep the tears in her eyes at bay, but a few managed to roll slowly down her cheek.
Spike was shocked by the sudden sorrow and desperation in the alicorn’s words. He had never seen Twilight more frightened in his life. The truth of the matter, it actually scared him to see the mare like that. To Spike, the purple alicorn before him was the same pony that not only hatched him from his egg and raised him from an infant, but she was the first individual that he could trust, put his faith in, and rely on. To him, Twilight was far more than just a simple friend; she made him feel like he belonged.
Carefully, Spike attempted to speak some comforting words, “Well, at least you don’t have to worry about something like that for a while, right?”
“But it will happen. It’s inevitable. And when it does, it….it will utterly destroy me. I will watch all of those who I hold dear grow old, wither, and die while I live, considered to be blessed with this agelessness,” Twilight wiped a few tears off of her face, but the candlelight still showed that a few new ones were begin to fall from her closed eyes, “I don’t want to live an existence like that. Not without those I love.”
The dragon was silent, unable to think of anything to say. The deafening stillness between the two was haunting and bothered them both. Breaking the motionless calm, Spike hopped off the stool and moved close to Twilight Sparkle. In one fluid motion, he wrapped his arms around the sitting mare and hugged her tightly.
Opening her eyes in surprise, Twilight looked down at her assistant, “Spike?”
“Can we please change the subject? I don’t like this or where it’s going,” the dragon begged as he held on tightly to Twilight. His voice was timid.
Twilight was a bit taken back, “I-I’m sorry, Spike. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad or anything of that sort.”
“I just don’t want you to think this way, Twilight,” Spike looked up at the mare’s face as he released her from the hug. “You know we all care about you a great deal, and no matter what happens, we’ll be happy for you. That includes you becoming a princess or whatever. And….” Spike paused in his statement, looking baffled and at a loss of words.
Twilight looked at Spike, “And?”
The dragon sighed, “Sorry, I’m just trying to think of the right words to say, but none of this is sounding the way I planned it to be. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we’re here for you. No matter what difficult challenges you might face, whether it be some strange and powerful villain or just struggling with some sort personal problem, we’ll all be here to help you. That includes Mom and Dad, Shining Armor, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and, of course, yours truly,” Spike pointed to himself as he gave a small smirk. “If you ever need any of us, we’ll be there for you in a heartbeat.”
A soft smile appeared on Twilight’s face, “I know you all will. And I’m so thankful for that.” The smile began to vanish as her sentence ended.
Spike took notice of this, “You know, I don’t get it, Twilight. Right now, you’re looking towards the future, but already you’re begging for past. What will that get you? I think you should think about the good things in your life with those you love, the good times that you shared with them. And you still have plenty of time to have more good things and have them last with those you love.”
“So, you think I should enjoy the time I spend with everypony?” Twilight asked.
“Of course.” Spike replied as he sat back down on the stool, “You said it yourself, you’re gonna outlive the rest of us. Sure, it’s pretty sad what will happen, but that doesn’t mean you can’t live for today and enjoy your time with all of us. Make the now great so you have great memories to look back on.”
Twilight Sparkle nodded, smiling, “You’re right, Spike. I can’t believe I never had thought of something like that.”
“For having such a big brain, you seem to forget the simplest of things, Twilight,” Spike jested with a small laugh.
The mare shared in the laugh, “I guess I just get overly worked up about things.” Twilight looked at the candle burn, seeing some liquid wax roll down, “Sorry about that all of that, Spike, “she turned back to her assistant, “I didn’t mean to get you wrapped up in my own personal dilemma.”
“Pssh, no big deal,” the dragon raised his claw and brushed the issue aside.
“I really do mean it, Spike. Thanks for comforting me.”
“Just returning the favor.”
The comment caused Twilight to tilt her head in puzzlement, “Returning the favor? What do you mean?”
Spike seemed a bit surprised that Twilight asked, “You don’t remember? You used to always comfort me or keep me company when I was little. Whenever I got hurt playing at the playground or when I had a bad dream, you would be there to make me feel better, even going as far as to stay up with me until the early hours of the morning until I fell back asleep.” The dragon seemed a bit bashful as he spoke, “It meant a lot to me then and it still means a lot to me now.”
The pony looked at the dragon with a smile, “I forgotten about that. You were such a sweet little dragon. And you still are.”
He resumed, trying not to be embarrassed at Twilight’s comment, “What I’m trying to say I’ll always be by your side. I know that being a princess is sort of an eternal role, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a friend with ya, right? Even if it is only for a while.”
“You’re saying that you’d want to stay by my side throughout your life?” the mare asked.
“That’s what friends do, right? Stick by each other through the good and the bad, and even when things get weird,” Spike seemed proud with his statement.
“I’m beyond grateful for this, really I am, but may I ask why you would do all of this for me?”
“It’s the absolute least I can do for you. You raised me, treated me like your own flesh and blood, comforted me when I needed you most, dried my tears, and have done so much for me. I want to do this to thank you,” Spike paused as he tried to keep himself from becoming too emotional, “To thank you for all the things you’ve done in my life.”
Twilight was touched.
“I’ll always be there for you, Twilight, no matter what. Whenever you’re doubt, all you have to do is just call my name and I’ll be there before you know it. And I can promise you that after I pass on to whatever is beyond this life, my spirit will always be with you, Twilight. I can promise you that I will always sit down by the foot of your bed, there to protect you as always. I promise.”
Twilight Sparkle moved to her assistant and hugged Spike tightly, smiling as a few tears of joy streamed down her face, “My faithful assistant. Just knowing you’ve grown into a fine young dragon is enough to know that everything will be alright.”
The embrace hug between the alicorn and dragon lasted for a considerable amount of time. Finally, they broke their hug and Twilight gave a warm, thankful smile to Spike. He returned the smile, but it was accompanied with a yawn.
“I think we should get back to sleep, Twilight. It’s like three in the morning,” Spike insisted.
“Okay, just give me a moment.”
As Spike made his way back up the stairs to his bed, Twilight turned her attention back to the desk for one last time. She took a fresh piece of parchment and started to write with the help of her quill and her magic.
Satisfied, Twilight left the parchment upon her desk and left to go to sleep. On the parchment, it read:
Royal Decree of the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle: Always treasure friendships, both past and present. They may be gone, but they will never be forgotten as long as a friend has a cherished memory of them.
END
