Immortal
By: Ephraim Blue
The Choices We Make
Before Twilight came along, everything was the same for Celestia. Every day, everypony... Nothing was different.
She never thought about the other ponies around her, other than her sister. Her sister was all she ever cared about, and she threw her away.
But it wasn’t her fault, some may say. They might say that it was Luna’s own fault for choosing to be corrupted by what those would call The Nightmare. And that’d be true because she really did allow it to corrupt her.
But others would disagree, and they’d be right as well. They’d say that it was Celestia’s fault for disregarding her sister when she was feeling like nopony cared about her, for they slept through her night and played in Celestia’s day.
Back when Luna was banished to the moon, there was rumor that it was Celestia’s fault, and rumor of it being her sister’s fault. As a result, a conflict erupted between the good ponies of the land.
An inevitable war started, all based off rumors and beliefs that the opposing side was wrong, and they were right. But in reality, they were both right about theories and rumors, and both wrong in their doings.
There were the ponies who loved Luna, and what her night brought. They fought against the opposing, who thought the night was a waste of time. Their conflict lasted for Celestia knew how long, and showed no sign of an end.
In the outcome of the battle, no side won. The conflict ended. Nopony knew why. Some said it was because of a lack of evidence, while others argued that one side did win, and a third group said that Equestria couldn’t handle the true outcome of the war, and destiny forced it to stop.
The true outcome of that battle stayed a mystery, and many more theories popped up to claim why it ended. Both sides had heavy casualties, and many families were at a loss of loved ones.
But nopony suffered more than the princess of the sun herself, for it was her own sister that she banished to the moon. Her sister was her only regret for the next thousand years.
And then Twilight came along one day. A normal unicorn filly, interested in magic and doing an entrance exam when the accident happened.
Her magic spiked and flew off in many different directions. The judges of her exam floated into the air, her two parents actually turned into plants, and the dragon egg she was supposed to be hatching not only hatched, but also grew the dragon a hundred times her size.
At the time, that meant nothing to Celestia.
In a matter of concern, she took the filly in and began training her under her wing. She taught her spells, how to control her magic, and cared for her.
Something started building up in the sun princess back then. Something she hadn’t felt for a thousand years. She cared for the filly, much like she had done for her sister.
A many years passed since that day, and Twilight grew into a fine young mare. Her brother was the captain of the royal guard, and became engaged to Princess Cadence, who also happened to be the foalsitter of Twilight when Celestia could not look after her.
Twilight also became the bearer of the Element of Magic, and with the help of her new friends, vanquished The Nightmare from her sister and brought back Luna into her life.
It was then that Celestia knew that she didn’t want Twilight to leave her life, and she would try her best to make sure that she could care for Twilight much like she did her sister in the days of old.
But when the time came for Celestia to reveal that plan to Twilight, her student had other ideas.
Twilight cared for her friends even more than Celestia cared for her. So when Celestia offered her to become immortal like herself, the purple unicorn refused, and almost gave her own life so that she didn’t have to outlive her friends and bear that pain and agony for the rest of her life.
A tear fell onto the book wrapped in a golden aura of magic. A tear that had never been shed by its bearer before realizing the true pain of her curse.
The book in Celestia’s magic closed, revealing its cover.
The Immortal Life of Princess Celestia
“Sister?” a voice behind her called. “What’re you doing?”
She recognized the voice as her sister’s, and responded in a calm, quiet voice. “Nothing,” she lied. “I’m not doing anything.”
Luna walked up to her and saw the book floating in the air. Her eyes closed. “I see. That was today, wasn’t it? A thousand years ago?”
Celestia silently nodded her head. “Yes… It was…”
Luna wrapped a hoof around her sister. “I know what you’re going through… I miss somepony very dear to me as well.”
Celestia looked at her. “Who? Who do you miss?”
Luna looked directly into her eyes. “I miss my sister.”
Cadence sat in the throne room of the Crystal Castle. Though the adjacent seat next to hers hadn’t been occupied in hundreds of years, it was regularly dusted and cleaned.
“Cadence…” a deep voice spoke. Her eyes lit up and she turned to her side.
Nopony sat next to her… Just like the last time.
Her head hung toward the ground when she turned back around. The sound of hooves reached her ears and she looked up to see Celestia walking toward her.
“Oh…” she said, dimly. “Hello Celestia.”
“Hello Cadence… I wish this visit could have been on more pleasant terms…”
Cadence sniffled. “What do you want?”
Celestia stood over top of her. In nearly an instant, she brought a hoof around the pink alicorn’s back and brought her into a hug. “I… I just thought you could use some company…”
Cadence was shocked at first, but soon allowed her eyes to tear up and cry into Celestia’s shoulder. “I- I miss him! S- S- SO much!”
Celestia hugged her even tighter. “I know Cadence… I know…”
Celestia stood in the ruins of her old and crumbling castle. Two thousand years, and this was what she had to regret for that entire time. It used to be only Twilight and Luna she regretted losing, but Twilight certainly changed that.
Twilight taught her that there were choices that we all make in our everyday lives. Some are good, and some are bad. All choices we make will affect our future in some way, shape, or even form.
If Twilight had chosen to ascend into alicornhood, she would have lived forever and outlived her friends, who she cared about. Normal, simple ponies.
Twilight taught Celestia not just to care for herself and the ponies close to her, but to care for all ponies, both simple and complex.
And when she started to do so, she felt the weight that they all bared. For they all bared the weight of death, and immortality cheated them all. Cheated death.
She wanted to stop, to let go of all the pain she was feeling and allow herself to live the simple life, only regretting the loss of the two she cared for the most.
But she couldn’t, for once that kind of pain is felt, you will never be able to let it go. It is a pain that all but her bared before then. And when she chose to feel the pain of those around her, it engulfed her.
A thousand more years passed and she’s learned to live with the pain of everypony around her. Every time a pony leaves the world, she feels it, and regrets.
She turned to the stars from the hill she stood upon, both close to her student’s home, and close to where Twilight could be up there.
“Thank you Twilight,” she said. “You showed me that even though I was basking in the light of my own sun, I was in the darkness for far too long. You showed me what my curse has brought upon me, and now I see why you chose back then… Chose to stay a simple pony. You couldn’t just bear the weight of your best friends’ deaths, but you would have been cheating everypony in Equestria. If I had a choice to turn back now, to live my life as a normal pony and live like the rest of them, then I wouldn’t have a second thought before choosing that. But no… Equestria needs its princesses, and needs me. So I will continue bearing the weight of everypony, and not just my own. Thank you again for what you taught me.”
She smiled at the stars above her. As if out of nowhere, a shooting star came across the sky. It disappeared in an instant, but it was worth seeing.
She turned around and flapped her wings. Flying back to the castle on the mountain.
Back on the hill, six graves rested in a circle, each baring a different mark, and different words to describe who was there.
Here lies Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in all of Equestria.
Loyal to the end.
Here lies Rarity, the fashionista.
She was always generous to her customers.
Here lies Fluttershy, the animal caretaker.
She was never too kind to ignore anypony, or animal in a time of need.
Here lies Applejack, the farmer.
Even in dark times, she was honest to us all.
Here lies Pinkie Pie, the party planner.
She could make anypony laugh.
Here lies Twilight Sparkle, the student.
Loved by her mentor, her family, and her friends. Never will she be forgotten.
Author's Note
And there you have it. A lesson lived is a lesson learned.
And it's my birthday when I finished this! And so this fic is...
This is also my 101 followers special!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Leave a comment, a like, and even a favorite of you so deem necessary. And that's it! I'll see you all next fic!
