The First Unicorn

Eternity

Walking into the Carousel Boutique, Twilight felt cold, in a good way though. Her friend, much taller than she once was a few years ago, came around the corner. Her mane was done respectably, and the woven, green shirt she wore matched her cotton white coat. Winter time was approaching fast, so Twilight not only needed a question answered, but she also required her own warm attires to wear during the chilly period.

“Twilight,” Rarity said with a beaming smile, “it’s so good to see you again! How long has it been? Two weeks now? You’re always asleep during the day, not that this is a problem, but we all would love to know why you choose this routine of rest rather than the traditional way.”

Twilight blushed and said, “I have my reasons, most of which are personal… sorry.”

“Oh, don’t be. I understand where you are on this subject; personal ordeals and all.”

The unicorn grinned and prepared herself to ask her question, but first, she requested the scarf she needed.

“Oh, of course darling, a pony in the wintertime and no warm attires simply won’t do you know.”

Getting to work, fabrics melodiously swirled around the room, some going up next to rarity’s customer so she could examine the colors and make fashionable decisions. While the clothing designer concentrated on the task at hoof, Twilight gulped her frustrations away and asked, “What would you do if… you had the chance to be immortalized through the process of becoming an alicorn?”

The mare stopped momentarily to ponder such a question. Her head tilted and thought in immense levels. Never had she imagined the responsibility, or the ultimate sorrow one would be forced to endure while taking up such a difficult position. She looked back at the fellow unicorn and said, “Well I… don’t… really know darling… I mean, who would be able to live through the life of eternity… watching all your loved ones wither away… and die? I can’t… say I’d choose that route, for it would mean… I’d have to watch you die.”

Twilight shook her head and said, “nothing lasts forever… and I need to decide if… I want to become like Celestia and Luna… You see, I’ve been given the choice of immortality or growing old with all my friends and venturing to the afterlife, something that not even Celestia knows of. I’ve been told of many things; religiously, and from all this, I still have no idea what death holds for me. Nopony does, so this decision… I can’t be selfish with it; just because I want to know what lies beyond the resting demise doesn’t give me the right to choose death over life. I’m trying to figure out what’s right, and so far, from what I know, for me to die would be greedy because as an alicorn, I can help a lot of ponies, but it also means that if there is a life after death, I’ll never be able to be with you, my friends. That’s something I don’t think I could bear… so, I need opinions. I’m going to ask each and every pony, including the princesses what they think I should do.”

Rarity’s eyes glistened as her muffled, sheepish moans of sadness escaped. Her hooves grabbed Twilight’s neck and held her tight. The purple pony could feel salty tears drop onto her shoulders and slide softly downs her chest. The fashion pony croaked out, “Whatever you do, just know that I will always love you… and I’ll always be by your side even if I’m dead and gone… I’ll forever be with you… in your heart.”

Twilight bit her lower lip in distastefully emotional pressure and returned the hug. The two held each other as if they’d never cross paths again, and when the time came for the two to part, Twilight almost didn’t wish to do so.

Each and every friend reacted the same way. They didn’t know whether they’d choose life over death, which just made Twilight feel hurt and alone on this decision. Choices require weighed factors. Math is almost always included with every decision, and if Twilight chose the easy way out, which is to die then there would be the consequences to remember. As an alicorn, she could help billions of ponies in her eternal life by being there for them, helping with whatever they needed. But if she died, all those ponies may never get the help they need. Assistance of others is predictable, and if you know you could help them in any sort of way, why hesitates? Twilight understood which choice was the right one, but the pain that came with it, the ultimate sacrifice of never knowing what was beyond death, the fact that she would witness pony after pony die while she remained immortal; she wasn’t sure if she could hold onto her sanity after years of putting up with these aspects.

The time came to ask Celestia, and with no real way of knowing if the princess would tell her what she needed to do, she asked her teenaged dragon, Spike to take a small letter. All she asked was for her mentor’s opinion, nothing more. An hour passed before a reply arrived, but this was one that was actually very difficult for the pony to comprehend and accept. This is what it read:

My faithful, long time student Twilight,

Choices are hard to cope with, and immortality can easily raise too many to handle on your own. I understand Dawning Light is the one who has offered this gift to you, so if you choose to attain such a gift, both Luna and I will assist you in the time you spend dealing with the loss of your friends. In time, you’ll realize the hurting never ceases. The pain in ones chest never dissipated, but instead, it just grows. Never, will these emotions truly leave you, as they’ve never left me, or my kin. Luna feels it far more though. Regret and sorrow for the deeds she committed while being Nightmare Moon and all. These times you spend as an alicorn, it’s not fun. Too many moments I’ve spent contemplating what it’s truly like to die, and experience the admission of entering the afterlife. Many believe that we alicorns, who create miracles know what it holds for ponies, but we don’t, and we never will. Immortality isn’t even, really a gift to me. It’s more of a curse; an anathema that you never get used to, but learn from regardless of how you interpreted it. If you do choose to join me and my sister in this eternity of torturous, mental despair, we will aid you in accepting each and every loss you encounter.

Sincerely, your mentor, friend and technical daughter: Princess Celestia.

All that is good now seemed like disharmony to Twilight as she finished reading this in her mind. Everything seemed to shout to her, telling the unicorn to take the road more traveled. The road less traveled has a reason for being less traveled. There are forks in it, the experiences you live through are devastatingly harsh, and it’s obvious you’ll end up being scarred many times as you wander this never ending journey, but then, the ones that do trot this road stick together and help each other through thick and thin all the way. One doesn’t have to go down it, but one doesn’t have to follow the crowd either. Reaching her decision, Twilight threw her final fears away and ventured off to the to the Everfree Forest, ready to face her phobia of immortality.

The dark and bloodcurdling woods put no such fright in Twilight’s mind. Her power was ten times stronger than Celestia’s, so to be scared of the darkness would be like an elephant being alarmed of a fly. Her scarf kept her cozy as she searched for her love. Eventually, through the thick branches, the mare came out glowing as always. Her worried eyes speculated which outcome would occur this night. Twilight frowned and said, “I know this isn’t what I want, but it’s what many need. Lots of ponies could use my eternal assistance, and my own loss is inconsequential at this point. I’ve decided to become… the one thing all my friends currently dread me converting into… I’m ready to shift into the existence… of an immortal alicorn… Regrettably, I wish I didn’t have to do this, but I understand that many would be lost and sad without my eternal presence, so… just hurry up and get this over with!”

Her tears spread wide across her depressed face, and every second felt too long. Dawning Light formed the final orb of power, this one being the brightest of them all. As it entered, electrical surges spread all over Twilight’s back. Her body rose a few inches above the ground as small, colorless feathers grew. Soon, purple pigmentation soared to the tips and in one small instant, Twilight’s wings spread open, streaming far and wide. Each one was bigger than Celestia’s own, but the most remarkable thing about them was the outstanding amount of feathers that grew. Shining in the glow of Dawning Light, her wings glided her back down, and everything she was disappeared. Twilight was now, no longer a simple unicorn. She had evolved beyond this small title and donned the prestigious, unforgiving identity of an alicorn.

Her head rose and asked, “It’s going to be tough,” tears fell life snow as she spoke, almost hovering in place thanks to her outrageous power, “but I know I can take the pain… Thank you.”

Light kissed Twilight’s forehead and explained I’m the one who should be thanking you. You’ve given me the greatest relief I could ever hope for at this point… a true and loving companion.

The work of a godly being will never end, and in time, Twilight’s sorrows shall grow, but this is tolerable, for the warm feeling of knowing she is aiding ponies everywhere helps, if only, a very little bit.