Twilight Sparkle, Captain of the Royal Guard, laid in her bed later that night. She realized it was close to morning, but her mind refused to let her sleep. She stared at her ceiling, the subject of Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, dancing in her thoughts.
A wise pony once said that immortality was the path to madness. Twilight couldn’t remember which pony actually said that, but she realized that it was an accurate saying. Her counterpart had survived long enough to not only become an Alicorn, but to gather enough power to become something akin to a Goddess.
Survived long enough… Twilight sighed. The Princess hadn’t survived long enough. She had been dragged, kicking and screaming, into every single year, every decade, century, millenia… time cared not for the wants and desires of others.
She never survived. She merely lived. After all, she couldn’t die… not even by her own hoof.
“I realize this is probably a question I shouldn’t ask, but… have you ever considered just ending it yourself?” the Captain asked.
The Princess nodded. “I did, but my brand of immortality acts on its own. I regenerate from everything, even complete atomization. My soul itself will reconstitute a body from magic in the event there is nothing left to regenerate from. I… didn’t handle that revelation well.”
The Captain decided not to press her luck with further questions on that topic.
To live forever… regardless of wishes to the contrary. Twilight didn’t know how she’d react if it was her in that situation. She never asked how old her counterpart really was, but Discord had dropped a clue in the form of the Princess’ son, Spike. A dragon. They tended to live upwards of… well… a really long time. And this one had passed from what had sounded like natural causes.
So the Princess was probably fairly damn old, even if she didn’t look a day over twenty-one.
Ancient.
And despite that, she seemed to be maintaining her sanity. Twilight shook her head with another sigh. No. The other Twilight was good at faking it, but there were signs that she had snapped. Hidden well, but not professionally. She probably snapped a long time ago, but held herself together on pure willpower. Perhaps for the benefit of her son, if nothing else. But when he died…
Yes, Twilight could see all too easily why the other Discord was so worried. But then that begs the question; what was she supposed to learn here? What in this world could reignite that spark that, in Discord’s words, every Twilight Sparkle shared? What spark?
What did Discord think the Captain, a war-weary soul herself, could possibly reveal to the Princess of Friendship?
She sighed again. She knew The Princess needed to accept that she likely had no peer anymore, had figured that out during Twilight’s slightly unhinged declaration of who… what she was. But she eventually realized there had to be more to it than that. This was the living embodiment of friendship, for crying out loud! Accepting that fact would only do so much.
Unfortunately, the answer eluded her. However, at least getting the Princess to accept what she was should give her time to think about this. Maybe at the end she’d have a better idea.
As sleep finally began to claim her, she wondered if perhaps Princess Luna would have any ideas.
---
“May your tears never dry.
“May your blood never cease.
“May silence ever haunt you.
“May memories ever taunt you.
“May you never forget.
“May you ever remember.
“That you did this to me.
“That I hate you.”
The Princess had long since mastered the art of concealing one’s emotions, so she did nothing more than sigh as she opened her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered to herself, before rolling over on the couch her counterpart had let her borrow for the night.
“I’m… so sorry…
“Spike…”
---
Discord sighed from the Astral Realm as he watched his oldest friend through time and space. Celestia, marked by age with wrinkles and slowly fading musculature, sat beside him. Also watching.
“I don’t think she’ll ever forgive herself, Discord,” Celestia said slowly, yet surely. Age may have slowed her down, but her mind was still as active as ever.
Discord nodded, his own slightly aged features, which he normally kept hidden, all the more apparent by his sadness. “I’m afraid your right, Tia. Twilight is never going to let go of the guilt, but… maybe this journey will give her the strength to withstand it. I dearly hope I’m not making a mistake…”
Celestia rubbed his back with a hoof comfortingly. “Neither of us has too much longer left. We owe it to her. This idea of yours is probably the only thing that will save her.” She sighed. “I don’t think I can pass on knowing I’m the cause of her anguish.”
Discord looked at her. “It was hardly your fault for speeding up the inevitable. Destiny had marked her long before you got your hooves on her. She would have ascended without your intervention.”
“She still hates me for it, though.”
Discord heaved another sigh. “Yes. I’m afraid she’ll always carry a small amount of hate for you, even if she tries to hide it. That’s one of the things she’ll have to face on her own time eventually.”
He smiled after a moment. “But I have faith in her. Twilight’s strong. She’s overcome everything life has thrown at her. She’ll conquer this as well.”
Celestia also smiled, leaning into Discord’s side. “She may need to be reminded once in while, but she’s the strongest of all of us. She’s done so much good for the world, and will do even more.” She closed her eyes and gave a happy sigh. “I still have that vision once in a while. I know she can do this.”
Discord turned his gaze upwards, towards the distant stars of the realm. “Unity…” he whispered, also smiling. “It’ll be quite the spectacle,” he admitted. “I only wish we would be here to see it.”