Everlasting

After telling princess Celestia what she had apparently already known, she graciously (and surprisingly abruptly) offered him a guest bedroom. Aegis was now walking with her through the ornate hallways of the castle; Princess Luna had left to do her nightly duties. The two walked slowly and in silence, Aegis not quite knowing what to say to the one he had avoided for a millennium. Celestia kept a slight smile on her face, seemingly pleased at finding out about Aegis’ longevity but keeping her silence as to not let him know her true thoughts. The only light throughout the empty spaces were torches which gave a mystical feeling to the castle once night came, and only adding to this atmosphere were the bat-like ponies of Luna’s guard which were seen a few times milling about the castle’s many halls.

“I haven’t seen those ponies since before the fall of Luna of the Stars, did they return at the same time?” Aegis voiced his question after passing the latest of Luna’s guard. “Your age is clear by just the mention of my sister’s title she held before her fall… and yes they did return after she did, but even I don’t yet know where they hid for those thousand years.” Celestia morphed her gentle smile only slightly into a more smirk-like expression as she pointed out his dated way of referring to her sister. He only gave her a questioning look and finally asked, “Does she have a new title? I know that you no longer carry your titles but what of the Goddess of the Moon?”

Celestia chuckled at this, “You even still refer to her as a deity, the validity of calling us such is questionable Aegis;the ponies of today only know of us as their princesses and not their all-powerful gods. My sister is still quite new to the order of things in this age and may wish to acquire a new title but she has shed her old titles as her own brand of self-punishment.” Celestia seemed somewhat perturbed at mentioning her sister’s guilt. “And what became of your titles? After Luna of the Stars’ fall, I heard fewer ponies refer to you two with your respective titles; perhaps you similarly felt you no longer deserved your titles?” Aegis gazed steadily at her; she seemed somewhat taken aback by the question. She slowed to a stop, “I… perhaps I did…” her eyes were drawn to the floor tiles as she seemed to search her memory.

Before Aegis could try to apologize for saying something he shouldn’t have, Celestia abruptly changed her expression back to her gentle smile, “It seems we have reached your quarters, I will see you tomorrow Aegis.” She began walking past him immediately, and although her gait did not betray her; Aegis felt that she was running away not only from him but her thoughts as well. Regret hit him, he had only thought of the imperious, Celestia the Solar whenever thoughts of returning to her crossed him in the past. Now he saw that she was not the same pony she had once been, and neither was Princess Luna. Perhaps it had not been in his best interest to hide, but for theirs; he became a reminder of the past and theirs had not been a peaceful or particularly happy one.

“This isn’t at all how I imagined this whole situation to go…” he muttered to himself as he turned his gaze away from the retreating princess and to the quarters he had been given. He opened the large wooden door with his magic and looked into the darkened room, too dark to make out much detail but it was obvious that it was overly lavish. The thought that these quarters might be for visiting dignitaries crossed his mind but he only sighed and entered. He easily lit the sconces that were evenly spread throughout the room with a few flames spells. The light revealed a large bed that looked entirely too comfortable to him…

He cringed at the thought of sleeping on the large cushion, “I may never leave that monstrosity if I sleep on it…” The sudden thought of home struck him, the image of a wall of scales passed through his mind and a melancholy smile alighted upon his face. He shook his head though, he had come to Canterlot for a reason and even now he needed to accomplish his goal. Celestia had asked so little after finding out his identity that it left him puzzled, had their places been switched he would have spent all night questioning him. ‘I will see how this situation plays out I suppose, but, I have not forgotten Celestia’s fondness of subterfuge. Even after all this time, I doubt her love of masterminding toward her own agenda has faded.’

He decided to stop his wandering mind and looked toward the washroom; the door was ajar and showed a glimpse of the immaculate, white tiled room. He walked swiftly toward the place that promised cleanliness; the sudden realization that he did not remember the last time he’d bathed called him to action. He was quickly submerged in warm water contained within a great porcelain basin; much of the tension his body had held throughout the last few hours melted away. He slowly sunk his head under the waterline, enjoying the feeling of being completely engulfed in water; the basin was large enough for him to feel as though he were floating, his eyes closed to aid in the illusion.

Time slipped away from Aegis, the peace that the water provided made his mind wander. The years stretched before and ahead of him suddenly, without warning. His eyes shot open and he found himself completely submerged and unable to breathe, his lungs screaming for air. His head surfaced explosively and he desperately gulped oxygen into his starved lungs. His heart was now racing and his muscles twitching with the burst of adrenaline coursing through his veins; he eventually sighed heavily once his breathing slowly slightly. He felt utterly foolish.
“Damn.” He muttered softly.

The vastness of space loomed around him in all directions, distant stars shined with their endless numbers and nebulae created patches of color not normally seen from the surface of Equus. Slowly looking down toward his hooves he found them to be semi-transparent as if he had become a spectre. There was no apparent surface on which he stood and yet he did not feel as if he were floating listlessly through the cosmos, nor did he feel as if gravityhad its normal hold on him; an odd and not fully definable sensation. He felt peaceful in a different sense than earlier, his mind did not drift from the humbling sight of the void before him and he experienced no anxiety; he was waiting.

Before he could fully ponder why he somehow knew he was waiting for some unknown event with such certainty, the abyss of darkness in front of him rippled. Where once there was only nothingness stepped a lithe form. The Goddess of the Night appeared in all her glory before him, in fact she seemed to radiate a darker and more regal presence than when he had seen her earlier that night. She blended with the surroundings so well that it almost seemed odd that she resided in the mortal realm and upon the same soil that common ponies stood.

“Everlast? I wouldst speak with thou.” Her voice was a whisper in the yawning void.

He struggled to find his voice past his awe and failed; he managed a wide-eyed nod. Luna smiled kindly and closed the distance between the two forms in space.

“Our sister seemed content to thou rest without providing many answers for ourselves or for her. Celestia certainly is a gracious host, however we are still left in the dark.” She gazed at their surrounding and a small smirk played upon her muzzle. “If thou wouldst forgive our choice of words…”

“At this moment I believe that I could forgive you anything” His sense of awe had not faded and his automatic response made that quite clear to his companion. Luna appeared surprised by the words but soon smiled again.

“This environment appears to rob thou of thine normal faculties. If we should want to continue our conversation, it seems a relocated is required.” With her words the space surrounding us fell away to be replaced with the throne room of the castle. It was with a feeling of déjà vu that Aegis was pulled back to whatever sense of reality could be expected.

“Wow, that was…” He searched for the words to describe the trance he had been in as Luna moved to the position in which Celestia had been but a few hours ago. “Where are we? What did you do? How could you have-“ Luna held up a hoof to silence his words before he could begin to ramble.

“Thou are currently dreaming, asleep here in this castle. We now require an explanation now from thee. Who or what, art thou?” The goddess appeared to have become impatient somewhat.

“Luna of the Stars, I do not wish to deceive you or Celestia the Solar. I had not planned on interacting with either of you at all when I came here but,” a pause “I require something. I believe it is here in Canterlot and once I retrieve it, I will leave. I do not wish to stay longer than is necessary.” Aegis vaguely described. He did not wish to reveal too much of his original plan, if the goddesses knew what he wanted they would likely refuse and he could not afford to leave without it. She needed it. Even if her pride didn’t allow it, he would help however he could.

Luna gazed at him carefully, noticing his hesitance as well as his distracted look; she was unsatisfied. She strode forward until she was once again directly in front of him, and lifted her hoof to his cheek. His eyes widened at the contact but her gaze connected with his.

“Thou hast lived far longer than any other mortal pony… Why? Although we might wonder whether thine existence is considered mortal anymore.” She now used her hoof to move and inspect his face thoroughly. She let go, to his slight chagrin, and moved around him to inspect his scars.

“I… I made a promise. A promise to a dying mare.” He couldn’t believe that he had so easily revealed that! He couldn’t afford to think back to that day!

Suddenly the world shifted again.

The two were no longer in the throne room of the Canterlot Castle. The ground under hoof was grass stained with ash; the air was thick with acrid smoke. Screams pierced through the roar of flames which surrounded them, the sky could barely be seen through thick fumes. Aegis’ body was no longer transparent, he noticed, and suddenly every seemed very real; he settled into a readied stance and he could hear the roar of his own pulsing blood along with the flames now. A scream sounded more clearly than all others.

He desperately shouted her name as he tore through the flames. His vision blurred, tunnel vision blocking most of his surroundings but he knew where each step should land; he knew how to get to her. The perilous sprint through the flames and smoke seemed to take hours, a mare’s screams became the background noise until finally a modest cottage came into view. His heart was pounding and he couldn’t breathe, he briefly saw the cottage in its original form, peaceful and decorated with flower gardens of many beautiful colors. A stream nearby could be softly heard burbling water as it ran through the farmlands… In the window he could see a blurry silhouette moving through the kitchen window. The thatched room, the stonework of the foundation, the potted tulip on the one windowsill… Smoke drifted lazily from the squat chimney, and soft humming could be heard… All was gone a moment later.

The flames licked the cottage, the walls engulfed but the fire had not yet reached the door; there was still time. Aegis did not slow down as he raced to the door, a concussive blast spell instantly removed the door from its hinges explosively and the large piece of wood slammed into the opposing wall inside with a loud *crack*. His body flew through the opened entryway but the moment his hooves landed on the stone floor, the world rippled.

His nightmare ended as abruptly as it had began.

With a gasp the cobalt unicorn sat up in the bed, the dream disappearing behind him. It was as if he had been underwater and had just surfaced. He was breathing heavily and his furred coat was damp with his sweat, adrenaline made his eyes search the dark room. There were no flames, no screams, and no smoke. He slowly began to calm down, his heartbeat no longer racing; a deep sigh escaped him.

A sound in the distance drew his attention to the balcony; beyond the closed doors were the approaching sounds of flight. He rid himself of his bedding and began walking to the windowed doors that allowed the moonlight to cast away the deep shadows of the room. The doors opened with his magic, a silver glow enveloping the handles, and he waited just inside the room for his visitor; he believed that he knew who was coming.

She floated down through the dark sky toward the marble railing of the balcony. Princess Luna softly landed on the large balcony, the moonlight behind her giving her a glowing outline of silver. Her shining teal colored eyes pierced his dull gray ones. She seemed to be searching for something behind his stare…

Aegis thought that she must not have found it.

“Thou art truly troubled, our little pony. Thy heart and mind are muddled in ways that we cannot fully understand. Should we even wish to do so.” Her voice seemed to drip with pity to the unicorn’s ears.

“Troubled…? Goddess, that certainly is an understatement. Although I do not wish to discuss this further, my mind is my own.” A bite crept into his words.

“Your meddling in the dreams of others is well known. I do not believe that there is much I can do to stop you, but I would ask you to stay out of my head. I do not require a therapist, no matter how “muddled” my thoughts may be.” His indignant rant was not loud, it had been leveled against the tall dark alicorn with a cold, seeping fury.

The unicorn turned away, disgusted with the situation and wanting only to hide himself away so that he could get his mind in order. His retreat was halted, however, when a soft voice murmured from the night behind him, “We apologize… Perhaps thou art more in need of friendship… Just as we once were.” Her voice was not entirely steady; Aegis could hear a tremble in her words that had not been present earlier. He recalled the stories of Nightmare Moon, though he had not been there at the time, and only knew that a monster had appeared in a twisted form of the goddess. The diarchal ruler had disappeared without a trace after a fateful night in the castle, Celestia had become a recluse for many years after those events.

Aegis did not know the reason for Luna’s disappearance, nor had he inquired further all those centuries ago. At around the same time was when he had needed to find his own way.

“Perhaps we all need friendship.”

The blue unicorn shut the doors behind him as he reentered the dark bedchamber. His silent dismissal of a goddess seemed supremely disrespectful but, he couldn’t continue conversing. It seemed to him as though his mind was unraveling, and the speed seemed to grow with each passing moment. He was losing control; it was a slow cascade that promised to send him into a depression. He had to settle his mind.

“I don’t know if I can afford to hold onto something like friendship…”

The stillness of the room was the only answer to his whisper.

…

“Wow, I need to stop feeling so damned sorry for myself.”