Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, was immortal. She didn't want this, she didn't ask for it. It was merely a side effect of her ascension to an alicorn.
And thus, as another side effect, was forced to live through and endure all of her friend's deaths.
It was painful, having to live alone after all of the times that the seven of them had together. And now, all Twilight could do was look back in those good times, wishing they were all still around to have more of them. But that was not the case.
Before, she felt that she could always at least count on Spike to stay around with her, as a dragon's lifespan stretched thousands of years. But, love got in her way.
Spike and Rarity did eventually fall in love together, and, in an act of kindness, and per Spike's request, Twilight's wedding gift to him was to transform him into a pony. The couple then later died six days apart.
And in time, all of Twilight's friends died, leaving her alone in this world. And now, centuries later, this loneliness was still as potent as ever.
Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, was all alone.
In the mausoleum of the elements, silence was mandated, and enforced. For among these tall, lifeless structures, created to mimic the appearances of the mane six, only a strong air of reverent respect was allowed.
It was often populated by about two or three ponies at a time, and was silent except for the echoing hoofsteps as they walked around. Today was no different as Twilight entered the chamber, as she did every evening. Few ponies stood about amount the giant statues, bowing politely to her as she walked by, and took a seat in front of the likeliness of Rainbow Dash, the center most of the statues. To the left was Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, and to the right was Rarity, Spike, and Sunset Shimmer.
It was Twilight's idea to include Sunset in the mausoleum. She played a significant role in the stability of harmony within the human world, and was often ready to help defend Equestria as well. Twilight felt that Sunset had earned her place among the heroes of Equestria.
There was no statue of herself, as much as the builders and officials implored her to do so. She felt it was not proper to include herself, while still living, in a place for honoring the dead.
So, today she sat, merely staring at her reflection in the cool, dark marble.
Sighing, Twilight reached forward and placed a hoof against the smooth surface of the statue base, watching as her reflection did the same. Then, her reflection lowered the hoof.
Gasping in shock, the lavender alicorn watched as her reflection stared sadly at her through the marble, just sitting there. Then her look-alike stepped out of the marble, and stood before her.
Twilight sat there, not moving, watching as her clone just stood there. Then she gasped again as purple hooves wrapped around her, embracing her in a tight hug. Twilight stiffened in the hold, not quite expecting it. However, after a few moments, she hesitantly relaxed into the warm, furry body holding her tightly. A hoof began to stroke her back lovingly, a reassuring action that helped her to no longer feel so alone...
She woke with a start, the comfortable feeling quickly disappearing with the dream. Twilgiht frantically looked around the now-empty mausoleum, her eyes resting on a young, unicorn guard next to her.
"Your highness?" a young colt guard gently tapped her shoulder. "Princess Luna had told me to fetch you, she's taking over for the night."
Breathing heavily, Twilight nodded. "Yes, of course, thank you," she replied, standing shakily, and following the guard out, giving a welcoming nod to Luna as she left.
The sun had long since set as Twilight's chariot took off into the night sky, heading back for Ponyville. Luna's beautiful night sky rushed past in a blur as the pegasus guards carried the royal chariot rapidly through the sky, bound for their destination.
But as Twilight Sparkle sat there, staring out into the velvet blanket of stars, her mind could not stop wandering back to the events that occurred in the mausoleum. She tried thinking of many other things, but her thoughts always returned to the strange events. And how she desperately wanted to be held like that again. And how soft the coat felt against her own. And how warm, welcome, and comforting that hug was.
The lavender alicorn shook her head to clear those thoughts, and turned her attention back out the window. The warm glow of Ponyville began to make an appearance, and the roof of the Everfree Forest provided a natural backdrop. Her eyes lingered there for a moment.
An old memory surfaced above the wreck and ruin of many years of sorrow and sadness. A memory of a pink earth pony who used to be her friend, and one particular bit of mischief she had caused. And then her thoughts wandered back to her clone, and finally admitted to herself just how much she wanted that.
"Guards," called Twilight. "Change of plans. Take me to the Castle of the Two Sisters."
Hesitantly, both pegasus guards nodded, and rose out of their decent towards the town, instead heading out over the Everfree Forest. The chariot flew for another few minutes, before it once again began its decent, this time towards the ruins of the old castle.
Twilight exited almost immediately after it come to a halt, the two royal guards detaching themselves from the chariot and rushing after her.
"Your highness," said one. "You're heading into the woods! The castle-"
"I know perfectly well where I'm going," interrupted Twilight. "And it is your duty to follow me." And with that, she entered the thick foliage, the two pegasi chasing after her.
In all honesty, Twilight did not remember exactly where the mirror pool was. However, she did remember what the area looked like. It was a smaller clearing, with a giant rock placed in the side of a small mound. Twilight remembered placing it there in order to block off the entrance to the pool, after the Pinkie Pie incident. With this image in mind, she continued her search.
The process was not very easy in the forest, especially at night. Yet, the alicorn, with the aid of her magic, did eventually find what she was looking for.
The entire group paused, standing still as they stared up at the massive Moss encrusted stone encased in the now-overgrown hill. The two pegasi jumped as the stone promptly vaporized, and Twilight stepped forward. Turning back for a moment, she said, "Wait here for me." Then, she entered the dark cave, the only light being the one from her horn.
Her guards stood at the entrance, unsure of whether to obey her orders or follow her in. Both were quite nervous at the fact that their leader had just walked muzzle-first into a dark cave, and told them to stay behind. However, their training took over their instincts, and both stayed at the entrance, making sure no unwanted guests joined their princess.
Twilight descended into the cavern, the faint blue light of the mirror pool finally fading into view, casting weak shadows along the walls and overgrown mushrooms as she proceeded deeper. Apprehensively approaching the edge of the water, the lavender alicorn gazed down into her own shimmering reflection. Sighing to herself, she took one step back, and called to mind the rhyme that would see this process through.
"And into her own reflection she stared, yearning for the one whose reflection she shared, and solemnly sweared not to be scared, at the prospect of being doubly mared!"
With the rhyme complete, she stepped into the pool.
An immense feeling of vertigo quickly over took her, as she felt herself being swung around, and gravity rapidly shifting around her. Loosing her balance, Twilight quickly scrambled up out of the water, gasping for breath. Looking up, she came face-to-face with an exact clone of herself.
She quickly got to her hooves, standing at equal height with her look-alike. The deep violet pools that were her eyes stared back at her, and Twilight noticed that the other her was trembling. Upon further observation, Twilight determined why.
Her clone was, for some odd reason, not an exact copy of her. Instead, she was only a unicorn, and had no wings. It was easy to determine that this was why her clone was trembling, as wings provided additional warmth for a pony. Even with her own wings, Twilight thought it was a bit chilly in here.
After casting a quick drying spell on herself, (the clone appeared relatively dry), she lifted a wing, and motioned for her clone to rest under it.
Although appearing a bit hesitant at first, her duplicate eventually did approach, and take shelter under her wing. Twilight heard her own voice drift up to her, in the form of a quiet, "Thanks."
Now, with both of them dry, and comfortably protected from the cold, the two lavender ponies walked back up the steep slope to the entrance of the cave.
The two guards did not know what to expect when their Princess returned. It was already shrouded in a great deal of mystery, as Princess Twilight gave no hint of what she was planning, of why she had led them out here. Both pegasi were extremely anxious, awaiting the return of their leader.
Finally, the tell-tale glow of lavender light began to appear in the depths of the cave, slowly drawing closer. As Twilight began to become visible, the two noticed another figure huddled under the Princess's broad wing. From their viewpoint, the guards could not make out exactly who or what it was, and Twilight dimmed the light from her horn, covering the two in darkness.
Twilight led the group back through the Everfree Forest, cutting through the underbrush, and eventually arriving at the chariot. She helped her companion into the seat, before turning to the guards behind her.
"Take us back to my castle now, please." And with that, she herself climbed up into the chariot.
The guards hooked themselves up to the chariot, and prepared to take off, but not before they shared a puzzled glance. Both of them could have sworn they saw a tail identical to the Princess on the figure as she stepped into the carriage.
The two Twilights sat in the plush velvet seat of the carriage, a pregnant silence hanging over them. Neither pony knew what they should say, but ones actions once again spoke for them.
Twilight's clone was shivering. This high up, it was incredibly cold, and typically, pegasus wings would once again shield them from the brisk climate.
"You're cold," commented the alicorn. She gestured for her clone to come up next to her, opening a wing. "Come here."
Her look-alike hesitated, looking at her unsure. "Why are you doing this?" she asked quietly. "Why did you create me?"
Twilight slid over and wrapped her wing around the clone herself, feeling the other body tense up against her touch, before relaxing into the hold.
"I am alone," said Twilight. "No pony will ever be able to live with me, as I would live forever." Her gaze settled on her clone. "Together, you and I will be able to live forever."
"You're heartbroken, aren't you?"
Twilight's own voice drifted up to her, surprising her. Not only because she wasn't expecting it, but also because in that moment she realized it was true.
It was no longer Twilight comforting her clone, but it was now her clone comforting her. Silent tears fell from her cheeks as her look-alike wrapped her forelegs as far around her lavender body as she could. Twilight smiled, tightening her grip on her own clone.
"Yes, I guess I am," she said softly, as the chariot descended in front of her castle.
Once again taking shelter under the alicorn's wing, the clone followed Twilight out of the chariot, and into the castle, their hoofsteps soon echoing off the crystal walls. Together, they made it up to Twilight's bedroom. After closing the door behind her with her magic, Twilight lifted her wing, and the clone took a few steps away.
"Y'know," she said, looking at Twilight. "I- I know why you created me now." The clone took a deep breath. "If you want somepony to love, I- we could love each other. After all, we are the same pony."
Twilight looked at the clone and smiled. "I don't know that we would love each other as in marriage," she said. "But if we love one another, we can live together, happy."
The clone shifted. "You mean..."
"Would you like to live with me, forever, Twi?" asked Twilight. The name was pulled from her memory, a nickname that an old marefriend once gave her.
"Twi? I like the sound of that," said Twi. "That's what Rainbow used to call us."
The two ponies embraced each other, smiling. Twilight leaned forward, and whispered in Twi's ear, "Thank you."
Separating after a few moments, Twi asked, "What does this mean for us now?" She looked back at the alicorn, expecting an answer.
Twilight became lost in thought. "We love each other. That much is certain." She sighed. "For now, I'd just say we're... marefriends. Dating, but not married."
Nodding, Twi smiled. "I'd love that."
Later that night, one alicorn, one unicorn, but each of the same coat and marked, lay together in the bed as Princess Luna drifted into the open window. Smiling, she lit her horn, and sent a single spark to the two bodies. She turned to leave, but not before saying one last thing to the lavender alicorn.
"You're welcome."
It wasn't until years later that Twilight learned that Luna was the one who granted her the dream that began it all. And she was all the more thankful for it. Twilight and Twi were happy together. Although they made an odd couple, and drew many strange looks the first time they were seen together, they were accepted as fact.
Each pony grew into their own separate personality, soon becoming almost like two different ponies, which they were. And even with the new idea they symbolized brought into the equestrian world, they remained unique. While what they had may not have been a traditional love, to them, it was just as strong as marriage.
The sun rose and set each day, and from then on, and Twilight continued her immortal life with Twi. Of course, she missed her original friends, and would always miss them. But from that point forward in time, she never again felt alone.
Author's Note
Wow.
I wrote another short story. Yay me!
Stay tuned, there may or may not be a sequel!!!
