I entered the dream world and looked up at the not-stars, surrounded by the silvery shimmering portals of all the ponies' dreams.
Taking a slow breath, I shook my head and applied a bit of will and magic before tapping my hoof. The portals flew around before a single silvery one with a hint of blue of calm dreams came to a stop before me.
Luna’s.
I watched it for a moment before I took a deep breath and stepped through into a room I had only seen once before and in much worse condition than now.
It was her room in the tower at the Castle of the Two Sisters. It actually took a second before I recognized it, it looked so different. The wall was intact and covered with thick drapes, as was much of the walls not having a window or bookshelf on them.
The bed wasn’t rotten, instead it was covered in soft sheets occupied by a certain alicorn.
Luna smiled as she looked up from her book. “My Page,” she said and closed the book, putting it on the bed as she raised her wings.
“…My Sky,” I answered with a smile in return as I slowly moved closer as I watched her. She looked different. She was smaller, more Cadence's size than her normal one. Her mane was a pale blue and still instead of its normal flowing star field. “You look different. Was this how you looked when you lived here?”
She shook her head and scooted to the side, giving me room to jump up next to her. “No… by this time I had already been using my mane to release excess magic for a long time. I was just feeling a bit nostalgic.”
Nodding I settled down next to her, putting my wing over her back as I gave her a quick nuzzle before I eyed her. “Luna?”
“Hmm?” she asked with a smile.
“We should talk.”
“Of what?”
I shook my head and looked at her. “Luna, was I on a date with Twilight?”
“I don’t know, were you?” she asked with a smile.
“Luna!”
Luna gave my ear a small nuzzle, sliding her wing across my back and pulling me close. “Page, relax.”
Sighing, I leaned against her.
“And if it was, My Page?” she finally asked. “How do you feel about that?”
I looked at her. “…Not sure. How do you?”
That got a smile from her. “I like Twilight,” she answered before she sighed and rested her head against the top of mine. “…And she is an alicorn, which is good. I never want you to experience watching your love wither and die from the winds of time.”
Rolling over onto my back I frowned up at her. “What happened to ‘being selfish’?”
“These,” she answered and touched my wing. “These happened.”
“What do you mean?”
Luna smiled and settled down with her head against my chest. “I won’t lose you to time,” she murmured. “I had... I had barely sixty, maybe eighty years. I wanted every single one.”
“Oh.”
I put my forelegs around her, pulling her tighter.
“Now…” she continued and shifted to look down into my eyes. “It’s different. We have a long time,” she pointed out before she frowned and poked my chest. “Assuming you don’t do something idiotic like fighting Tirek ever again!”
I cringed at that and then nodded. “Will try to.”
She settled down again and sighed. “Good. Not sure if you have realized what it means yet, My Page.”
“Like what?” I asked, stroking her mane. It felt different than normal, less… thick gas like and more like silky soft hair.
Luna shifted slightly and raised her wings. “I’m not sure if you are like me or my sister. Celestia falls in love easily and quickly. I… what you and I have, I have had twice in my life before. I have had many lovers, but something like this… just twice in thousands of years. For me this is rare.”
I just nodded. She told me this when we first got together. “I know.”
“Do you?” she asked and raised her head to look down into my eyes. “Do you realize what it means?”
Pausing at that for a moment to think, I finally shook my head. “Not following.”
Luna rolled her eyes. “You are usually pretty bright, but sometimes you are such a stallion,” she snarked before she sighed. “Page, Love is rare. If you find it, I want you to take it and hang on to it as tightly as you can.”
I just frowned up at her.
She shook her head and bumped her nose against mine. “Page… we have thousands of years. I love you, but thousands upon thousands of years is a long, long time, even for us. You… we… we will both find other ponies to love in time.”
“Oh,” I said with a frown. I… I guess that made sense. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but it made a certain degree of sense intellectually. It felt very strange though.
The idea of someone else with My Luna was not one I liked. Like, at all.
“Eeep!” I suddenly blinked and flicked my ear as Luna let go of it.
“Stop that,” she commanded and then settled down again. “Page, it's not like any of this is rare or even uncommon among common ponies. I know you know this!”
“…I blame my human upbringing,” I sighed and pulled her close and away from biting distance of my ear. “It’s difficult to adapt to.”
Luna nodded and settled down with her head against my chest. “I know.”
I held her for a long moment before I sighed and nuzzled at her ear. “I know I’m being stupid, I can’t promise I will like it… but I do understand what you mean and I just have to adapt.”
Lifting her head, Luna bumped her nose against mine. “I love you. No matter anything else, I always will.”
I couldn’t help but smile and pull her tight again for a quick kiss before I whispered. “I love you too, My Sky.”
She cuddled close and we just relaxed like that for a long moment, each of us caught up in our own thoughts before I finally frowned as a thought struck me. “Luna?”
“Hmm?” she asked lazily without moving or opening her eyes.
“…I still have no idea if Twilight thinks it was a date.”
That caused her to break down into giggles.
Yeah, totally reasonable and logical given the unique circumstances but still a super uncomfortable concept.
Soon we will see the awkward fumbling of two nerds talking about their feelings
Thanks for the update!!
Welp Luna is on board too. Nothing you can do to fight this Page. Just lie back and think of Equestria.
Hmm... I think it is a big assumption that love could not last hundreds or thousands or years. There are human marriages that have lasted over 80 years. Who's to say that if humans lived for thousands of years, some relationships would not last that long as well. Luna is assuming a lot as she has never had the chance of one of her loves also being immortal. Not to say that all would, but I would not think it to be implausible. Anyway I really just hope that Page stays with Luna for at least the duration of this story and the story doesn't become a back and forth between Page and all the mare that want him. I guess we will see what happens. Also, I wonder how far we are into the season at this point and if we are going to get any resolutions for Discord and the box at the tree of harmony.
ok, first. you got the best princess, and the most powerful battlemage(*twilight is too badass to be just a princess*) since luna. i say accept it and go forth to joy.
8039872 she didn't say they'd stop loving each other, she said they'd both find others too love.
I see this less as Luna believing that they will fall out of love and more of her knowing that at some point they will simply need time apart.
After a thousand years of non-stop loving bliss I think it would be perfectly reasonable for them to see each other far less and meet other people, and possibly fall in love with those people.
Doesn't mean they would love each other any less.
8039746
And one few other stories involving long lived characters and marriage ever bother to tackle. Apart from David Webber's Honorverse (where it is relegated to a single minor characters musing) and Errant Story (Elves taking human spouses that are nice enough to die before the marriage becomes stale, producing atern desiderium (a sort of forlorn longing)) most stories go for the standard 'death till us part'.
8039897
You could be correct about her statement, I may have misinterpreted it.
My main point was just that trying to imagine a relationship that long is difficult, because it is outside the context of what we know about human relationships by orders of magnitude. Even in the context of the story this is the first time that such a relationship would even be possible for any of these characters and none of them really know what would happen.
8039746
My favorite quote from Babylon 5. Lorien about love and immortals:
"Only those whose lives are brief can imagine that love is eternal. You should embrace that remarkable illusion. It may be the greatest gift your race has ever received."
Every chapter you make, I becoming more accepting of Page having relationships with other ponies. Especially since Luna gave us context to what love is like for immortals in a world full of short-lived mortals. Ok...I'll accept it. However I think 5 mare-friends at the same time seems a bit too much to navigate even for an immortal.
I been thinking back to what Swift said in the last chapter:
What if you made Page's relationships mirror this? As in Page only end up with only three permanent mares (Luna, Celestia, and Skitter). Meanwhile Sunset and Twilight end up as a couple themselves and only be with Page in the short term primarily as the father of their future child?
This will offer you much more diverse story-telling between the relationships...plus I imagine Page's face and reaction being HILARIOUS if Sunset come up to him and says "Twilight and I want to start a family...MAKE IT HAPPEN PAGE!".
8039758 H-Hey P-Page, h-how's it going?
"Twilight, Hi, doing good. And....h-how are you?
Good, good....you?
"You, uh, you already asked me that Twi."
"Did I? Oh! Guess I did heh heh."
"........yup."
well I best be going.
"Yes! Good talk! See you 'round."
"O-Okay bye Page, love you-AHHHH I mean....
Hiver, somehow you did it again. You took something in which people were divided and found a sensical way to make it plausible and acceptable.
this talk was vary much needed, it has helped to clear the air between the to lovers about what it really means to live for ever.
is it a curse or a gift???
this is a question us mortals can not answer.
I think you've handled the situation remarkably well.
They will always have each other, but over all the years there will be others.
Twilight is a really good choice and I think Skitter will be too.
Celestia, would be many years down the line.
Sunset, well, could be a fun Story but I think they work better in there teasing relationship they have now.
Now silverleaf would be a different story even though she is just a mortal.
Seeing him mourn could be what draws Celestia close, or might get him the other most likely mourning princess.
So many choices and theories.
As always I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next. ?
Thing is, it used to be known that this falling in and out of love thing happens for humans, as well. It's just before people used to think of Marriage as kind of a permanent thing, and so they actually worked at it instead of rushing to divorce, and so eventually fell back into love again. So when you extend that sort of cycle over thousands of years (or more) then yeah, Luna makes a very good point.
Besides, which, Twilight is utterly adorkable.
8040114
Ah, B5, such a great mine for quotes. Like this.
8040214 It's my special talent.
That will be a fun talk he will have to have with purplesmart.
8040409 That it is, my friend, that it is. Just don't go overboard with this
Yep, I'd deffinetly feel uncomfortable sharing my woman.
8040257 they aren't immortal, a good hit over the head would do it. They are just ageless, they will live much longer but they will still die someday. Especially if they keep being involved in politics and national defense.
Even though I understand the logic and reason behind it all it still makes me kind of sad knowing what direction this will likely go in ?.
I hope I still enjoy this fic though since the past three fics I completely adore but Im just not really a fan of the idea of a herd, maybe because im human and just prefer romantic relationships to be shared between two. Either way I look forward to each update and seeing how this plays out. ?
8040706 Just because he can doesn't mean he will. Perhaps in time, but maybe he won't immediately. And even so, knowing Page, it would be for the right reasons.
8040429 That sounds like a job for Celestia to me.
8040212 It's funny cause it's totally in character.
And seeing how the story is entirely in Page's perspective, we don't know how Twilight reacted after the "date", was she bouncing around in joy that he actually asked her out or a nervous wreck cause she doesn't know if he's stringing her along.
We'll see
Luna: "Don't worry, my Page. The gossip rags will all convince her. "
Page: ""
8041528 Just give me the muffins, and nobody gets hurt.
if twilight didnt see it as a date then by skys above page you are safe... for now. i'm sure rarity has probably started the same conversation with twilight by now...
8041542
I shall summon the holy muffins!!!
I really feel kinda bad for Page. In his position, realizing the princess I'm spending an eternity in love with will find others to have "fun" with as well would be really, really hard to accept. I, myself, might just vanish for a week or so to figure out how to deal with that.
Though, that is probably just my romantically selfish nature. If I'm in a relationship with someone and they try to do anything romantic or sexual with someone else, my relationship with that person is going to be gone within a minute of finding that out. I do hope Luna and Page stay faithful, despite how cute Page would look with anypony else.
9155136
That is our 'morality' talking. We rose in society where polygamous relationships are frowned upon in the best case and strictly illegal in the worst. We are also nowhere near being immortal yet.
9157738
That's true, but at the same time, some people are, in a somewhat good way, selfish about certain things. I, personally, can't stand the idea of "sharing" a relationship, though I won't be the one to tell people who agree to such a thing that they shouldn't. I think, in the end, it's a combination of societal "morality" and personal preference/experience. People (and ponies) are different. There's not necessarily a single "right way" for relationships for every single person.
9155136
to be honest this would probably lead to me dumping luna were it me.
Maybe if i had hundreds of years for my perspective to shift, but me right now? nope
Self inserting into a harem. I bet the vast majority of people who write this kind of garbage have never experienced the kind of effort that has to go into a relationship with one person.
And yet the same stupid line, "I JuSt HaVe tO aDapT!!!". Gets repeated over and over in every single one of these fics.
Honestly there were some fun parts in this fanfic but now it's just devolved into shipping and self insert wanking.
10131172
Tell me, have you experienced that kind of thing?
I'm poly, but currently only dating one person. By choice. If everyone involved is genuinely interested in making a relationship work, they'll usually make it work, whether its a monogamous relationship, a trio, or more. There are limits, but it ultimately comes down to if you can share, and how well you can divide your time and attention.
An immortal poly makes much more sense than a monogamouse one. People experiment inside of a marriage, and those go for max 80 years, imagine, young forever, trying things out throught the years.
Also, this is not a harem, this is two concenting adults in a relationship, an open relationship. Page was told that luna will bring others into it, or come onto them if she finds love elsewhere.
10335909
This comment deserves more likes for fucking hitting the nail right on the head.
Just asking but why haven't celestia and luna fall in love?
I mean yeh, they are sisters, but I find it hard to belive after so many years living and being the only immortal alicorns in the world they never been more than sisters to each other
The idea that love is temporary and/or not unique is one reason that I can never find myself drawn to the concept in real life. The logical part of me accepts this as it is, the rest of me abhor it, the result is ignoring it. It is painful to see this idea in fiction, the only place in my mind that can defy it as fiction is free and malleable. I accept this chapter as a part of the great story that this series is but it does make me wonder if it was better if Page remained mortal.
10598513
Love is... many things. Besides, it's not about love per se. You can love someone, and still absolutely not want to be with them. There is love, and then there are the how-s and the when-s, the entire logistics... and sometimes it's just someone you simply dislike.
To some extent, I have very warm feelings for every girl I've ever been with. I loved them at some point or another - that sort of "come here" kind of love that makes you do stupid things... But I would never, ever send them away if they came seeking my help (and actually needed it... ;P), whatever happened and however things ended between us. We may have drifted apart and found other partners, but there are things that can never be taken from us - the time we shared, the feelings we felt, happiness we've given one another. Those are with us for as long as our memory works right.
Life, is change. If it's not, you're not doing it right. I'm not saying I wouldn't grasp for eternity (or anything adjacent) if I got the opportunity, but things pass... You often find the value of things once you've lost them - innocence, childhood, your parents... In a way, things are beautiful because some of them don't last - you can't take them for granted. But you can, and should, love again. Things change, things end. That's just the nature of existence. You keep moving forward - but you'll always remember what's behind you.
I would like you to remember that life isn't "supposed to be" in any specific way. Give up the notions and expectations, and just take it as it comes. Forge your own path ahead, regardless of how similar - or dissimilar - it is to the paths of others. And yes - the emotion isn't unique. But the circumstances always are.
Hm... In time Luna get her Stallion Sandwich. Or was it a Spitroast
10968210
c.tenor.com/iyiOA0P4NY4AAAAM/the-road-to-el-dorado-both.gif
8040639
What? Are you saying alicorns aren't immortal? Sure twilight could die say if she got infected by a magic borne virus and went. Insane but alicorns will live forever unless something happens like getting crushed
10598513
Well when you're not alicorn and unless something happens you are supposed live to say you want to be with someone for that long is a bigger commitment than most people make because forever is a very long time.
10131172
Based monogamist.
Harems ruin everything.
11302698
The funny thing is, forever is a long time, but don’t you want to be with the one you love for eternity? I don’t like to bring religion into this, but I will for the sake of my point. In my religion, we have a special ordinance called sealing that you after, or alongside, civil marriage, you are sealed to that person for all time and eternity, so in that sense, at least for me, marriage is an all time thing, you find the one that you love, and you stick with them. Humans aren’t perfect, so there are obviously times people get wrong who they want to spend forever with, so there are ways to undo it, but for all intents and purposes, the intent to marry in my religion, is the intent to be together with that person and only that person forever. I take love seriously, which is why this direction of the novel unsettled me a bit, it treats love as transient.
11032364
I think the implication is that some day, something is going to off them, and the chances of it happening sooner rather than later increase if one is involved with politics and/or the national defense. Theoretically they can live forever, practically, not really, but they are dang hard to kill, so they at least have a good run ahead of them.
11404096
Harems are actually pretty bad, they don’t work. People are possessive, and love is selfish. Not to mention the health risks, STIs man, STIs. Also, I avoid reading about harems, so I don’t have much experience with the “I just have to adapt” mindset, but it seems kinda bullcrap, first for the reason mentioned below, relationships are difficult, and second, polygamy is viewed as morally wrong in a lot of the world, so chances are, someone from earth would most likely share that belief, or at least have it ingrained in them, that’s a little hard to change.
Also, biology came knocking, it wants to explain how species with heavily skewed gender ratios are fairly fragile, now, the ponies might have a large enough population that it doesn’t affect them as much, but it would have been weeded out when the population was smaller and higher risk. The issue with having it skewed, is that if enough of the lacking gender dies off, you’re kinda screwed when it comes to reproduction. Due to that fragility, it is generally weeded out of a population to skew that way, or the species dies off.
12 Consorts allowed via Law... There is a lot of fun to be had 👍
10973413
A reader of culture i see 👍
Most fun, will it be.
-Someone like Yoda