When I came out of the cave, I realized I truly was in the new world. Everything was white, even the sky. Pieces of whiteness were falling from the clouds. When I caught one, it turned into water. “How can there be snow in summer?”

Another thing that chilled me was the actual cold. I’ve experienced cold before, but not to that extent.

Besides the big castle before me and a herd of some white creatures digging in the snow in the distance, there was nothing out there.

As I walked toward the castle, I pondered to myself if my visit wouldn’t be disruptive somehow. The King and Queen must have had a big fight if the King had the Queen live in a cave…

When I came to the entrance to the castle, my path was blocked by flat wood that I knew was called 'a door’.

I turned around and bucked at it with my hind legs. I managed to damage it a little, but they didn’t budge.

A moment later, I heard hoof clops approaching from the other side. Perhaps together we could destroy this barrier.

When the clops stopped, the door simply opened. What I saw on the other side was not a monster like in a cave, but almost a horse. More like a foal, judging from his size. And of course, he too had a horn on his forehead. It seemed to be a running trend in this Whiteland.

The black figure sized me over with a glance then sighed upon seeing the damage on the door. “You fucked my door. And you’re not a trader. Are you here for revenge of some sort? You need to make a reservation for that and take a number, you know?”

I was making a bad first impression, so I tried to overcompensate with my politeness. “I've traveled here from a better world through your sucky portal. I seek to reunite with my love who entered before me and is now somehow in the future, supposedly. I’ve been told by your lover Queen that you are able to grant immortality to those who are worthy. I'm desperate to receive the daily blessing of immortality by your fringe, limited magic so that I can cheat death in order to be reunited with my stallion. I’m sure you’re a very nice person, King Sombra, and will grant me my wish.”

He sighed. “Queen Chrysalis talks too much, yet too little at the same time…”

“I would actually like to also file a complaint against her.”

“You’ll need to take a number for that as well. She does seem to be doing her job, so I have no beef with her. And my experiment seems to actually work, somewhat. You really are from another world, aren’t you? I’ll need to study my formulas again, it seems I was onto something, after all. My equations are calling me to set them free upon the world; somepony else will have to deal with the traders when they come.” He turned around and yelled, “Cozy Glow!” He then sat down and muttered to forehooves, “If only I could direct the origin point to this universe, then time travel could actually be viable…”

“Err, about my immortality…” I interjected.

“Oh, right, let’s get this over with so that I don’t have to deal with you anymore.” He trotted back to me and laid his horn on my shoulder. “I bestow to you my daily blessing. You’re now immortal. For a day. Disclaimer: immortality does not equate to invulnerability. I’m not liable for mares jumping off the cliff. Not this time.”

I felt a wave of relief wash over me as the dark mage blessed me. The magical rejuvenation stream spread through my body. My flared skin patch from wool was instantly restored to normal. Even the scratches I had received from Queen Chrysalis healed in mere moments. I bowed to the dark mage. "Thank you, thank you so much," I said, tears of gratitude streaming down my face. "I promise that I will be a good mare and do everything in my power to deserve your daily blessings for the next century or two."

"Yeah, about that... I already have too many slaves. Why would I want to sacrifice more of my time with you? Chubbies are a waste of resources. I’ve seen starving fillies outdo their productivity."

I felt my heart sink at the mage's words. "Please, I beg of you, do not turn me away," I said, my voice shaking with desperation. "I will serve you faithfully and do anything you ask of me to receive your daily blessing and become immortal. I will work harder than any other slave, I will serve you with all my heart and soul. Please, just give me a chance to prove myself worthy of your blessing."

“You yelled?” A small filly flew down the corridor. This one actually had wings. And she flew!

"Tell you what, chubby…”

“Rain,” I corrected him.

“Whatever, this here is Cozy Glow. I tolerate her presence because she keeps me on the edge with her schemes. The sociopathy I pride myself with is only matched with her manipulative nature.” He turned to her, “Weren’t you supposed to manipulate snow off the road so the traders could bring me my crystals faster?”

“I was knitting.”

He sighed and turned back to me. “Chubby Rain, if you beat the lazy filly at her own game and convince her to sacrifice her immortality, you can take her place."

“I don’t like the sentiment but I do like the rules of the game.” Cozy Glow grinned. “This ought to be good.”

I was taken back by the mage's offer. "I... I don't know if I can do that," I said, feeling overwhelmed. "It's a great honor to be considered for the gift of immortality, but I couldn't possibly ask someone else to give it up for me. Is there no other way for me to earn your daily blessing?"

"There is no other way. I don't have space for any more slaves. If you wish to receive my daily blessings one of them has to go. All you have to do is make a spot and then you can fill said spot. With that, you will prove that you really want immortality. I hate hesitators."

I took a moment to consider the mage's words. A difficult task lay before me, but the temptation of living forever and meeting Spirit again motivated me. "I understand," I finally said after much hesitation. "I will do my best to convince your faithful slave to give up her immortality for me. Thank you for the opportunity, wise mage."

“Sure, throw me in with all the others, why don’t you?” The immortal slave landed before me and grinned. "I never want to leave this place. Good luck convincing me otherwise."

I approached Cozy Glow and looked into her eyes, trying to gauge her feelings. "I understand that you love serving the mage and that you never want to leave this place," I said gently. "But please consider the offer. By giving up your immortality, you can allow me to take your place and receive the mage's daily blessing. It's a difficult decision, but I hope you will consider it carefully."

“So, basically you’re offering me nothing.”

“Well, there’s everything to gain from my perspective, I just don’t have much to offer you in return.”

Cozy Glow sighed. "If I accept your offer, I will die. If I reject your deal, I will live forever. And I do want to live forever.” She waved a hoof at me in an explanatory manner. “Therefore, I reject your offer and substitute it with my own: Go crawl in a ditch and die." Her grin widened.

My body shook upon hearing her words. At the same time, I sympathized with Cozy Glow’s perspective. "I understand that you want to live forever, as do I," I said. "But please consider the fact that by giving up your immortality, you are not necessarily choosing death. You are simply choosing to leave this place and start a new life. And who knows, perhaps in time you will find a way to achieve immortality again. It's a difficult decision, and I don't want to pressure you either way. I just want you to consider all of your options before making a decision."

"Why don’t you take your own offer if it’s that good? I have considered all options and the best way for me to retain immortality is to stay here. Is there anything else you can offer me besides nothing?"

I thought for a moment, trying to come up with a way to persuade Cozy Glow. "Well, perhaps I can get you something else in exchange for your immortality," I said. "What is it that you desire most in the world? Is there something that I can give you that would make the decision easier for you?"

"What I most desire beyond anything else is immortal life."

I nodded again, immersed in Cozy Glow’s desire. "I understand that immortality is what you desire most in the world," I said. "And I wish that I could offer it to you. But perhaps there is something else that I can offer you instead, something that would make your life more fulfilling and bring you happiness. Is there anything else that you desire, anything that I can give you in exchange for your immortality?"

"Indeed there is a thing that brings me happiness and fulfills my life. The thing I speak of is immortality. That is all I want. I don't want anything else."

I sat on my plot in defeat. "I understand that immortality is all that you desire, and I respect your decision to keep it and stay here for days to come. Though I envy you, I wish you all the happiness in the world. I hope that you will continue to serve the mage faithfully and bring joy to his life."

King Sombra sighed, "I'm disappointed in you, Rain. I thought you actually wanted immortality, but it seems your desire to stay here is simply not strong enough."

I hung my head in shame at the mage's words. "I'm sorry, wise mage," I said, feeling guilty for not being able to convince Cozy Glow to give up her immortality. "I truly desire immortality more than anything else in the world. I'm sorry that I was not able to convince your faithful slave to give up her immortality for me. It was her decision, and I respect her choice to keep it."

"Don't you want to live forever?” The mage tried to motivate me. “Here's your opportunity. Just make a spot for yourself. If you can’t beat her at her own game, do it on your own turf. Exploit her weakness. She’s the smallest pony around here while you’re the biggest… creature. There are plenty of stones lying around under the snow if you need a tool for the job. I can even give you my horseshoe for the task. Prove that you really want the spot."

“Er, what’s going on here right now?” Cozy Glow interjected.

King Sombra glanced at her, “You know the rules; might makes right.”

I paused, considering the mage's words. The desire for immortality was strong within me, and the thought of being able to live forever was tempting. But at the same time, I couldn’t bring myself to take someone else's immortality away from Cozy Glow, especially not by force. "I'm sorry, wise mage, but I can't do that," I said, shaking my head. "I respect Cozy Glow’s decision to keep her immortality, and I can't go against her wishes. It's not right to force someone to give up something that they value so highly. I'm sorry, but I can't take someone else's immortality in order to obtain it for myself, much less their life.."

"All it takes you is one minute of your time and you'll get to live forever. Is it really so hard to sacrifice a minute of your time to achieve immortality?"

I hesitated, the temptation of immortality causing me to waver. "It's not that I'm unwilling to sacrifice anything for immortality," I said slowly. "It's just that I can't bring myself to take someone else's immortality away from them, especially not by force. It wouldn't be fair to them, and it goes against my own sense of morality. I'm sorry, wise mage, but I can't go against my nature in order to achieve immortality. It's just not something that I can do."

"You say you want to be my slave, yet you choose to obey yourself instead of me. That's not a marking of a good slave."

I lowered my head in shame, knowing that the mage was right. "You are correct, wise mage," I said. "As your slave, it is my duty to obey you and serve you to the best of my ability. And yet, I have allowed my own sense of morality to take precedence over my duty to you. For that, I am deeply sorry. I will strive to be a better slave in the future, and to put your needs and desires above my own."

"Good. Here is my horseshoe since you can’t be bothered to find a stone." The mage placed a horseshoe in my hooves.

“Mister Sombra, why would you put me in danger?!” She looked at him with puppy eyes and brushed on his foreleg. “You said you needed me.”

King Sombra ignored her and kept looking at me. "Now open a slot for yourself. It will only take you a minute. There’s an immortality spell waiting for you tomorrow that will let you retain your immortality for yet another day."

I stared at the horseshoe in my hooves, feeling torn. The temptation of immortality was strong, and the thought of being able to live forever was almost too much to resist. But at the same time, I couldn’t bring myself to go against my own principles and take someone else's immortality away from them. "I'm sorry, wise mage," I said, shaking my head. "I can't do it. I can't take someone else's immortality in order to obtain it for myself. It goes against everything I believe in. I'm sorry, but I can't accept your offer." I returned the horseshoe back to the mage, hoping that he would understand my decision.

“I hate creatures like you. So self-righteous that you can’t even serve.”

I slumped my head in shame. All my life I believed that the ability to be tamed was my special talent. But it seemed I wasn’t even good at that…

King Sombra sighed. "Okay, here is my final offer. You can become a slave of Cozy Glow. Each day, I will offer one blessing to the two of you. By default, the psycho filly will get it, but if she ever decides to pass it to you, I will give it to you instead of her. That way, she will grow one day older and you will become immortal for that day. Do you agree?"

I thought about the mage's offer, considering all of my options. Becoming a slave to the immortal slave was not what I had hoped for, but it would at least give me the opportunity to someday receive the daily blessings of immortality. "I understand your offer, wise mage," I said. "And while I had hoped to receive the blessing by your grace alone, I am willing to accept this compromise. I will serve the immortal slave to the best of my ability, and I hope that someday she will choose to pass the daily blessings on to me. Thank you for the opportunity, wise mage."

King Sombra walked away without even throwing me a glance. All he said was, “Have fun, Cozy Glow, but don’t forget to take care of the traders when they come. I need those crystals!”

Author's Note

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