//------------------------------// // Dead! // Story: The Immortal // by Beats-Box //------------------------------// “Is he… Is he still alive?” Fluttershy asked. “I believe so,” This voice was new to him. “But I don’t know how, Nightmare Moon’s horn pierced straight through its body.” “Princess, we need to help him. He was injured because he was trying to protect us.” Twilight this time, “We need to get him to a hospital.” ‘No’ he thought, not having enough energy to speak. He had always hated hospitals. “’Ah don’t think that’ll help shug, I’m pretty sure that nopony has ever seen a creature like this before.” He opened his eyes to see the orange pony holding a crying Twilight. “He’s awake!” Pinkie exclaimed. They all looked to see that she was right, this had lightened the atmosphere in the room considerably. Twilight hadn’t been the only one crying; Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow, and even a pony that he didn’t know had tears in their eyes when they saw him. The ponies ran to him as he was sitting up but were stopped by a large white alicorn with a flowing mane. He felt great power from this alicorn but it was pure and good, nothing like the other one. It was watching him closely wondering how he was still alive, much less moving. It realised what he was doing when his hand started to glow over the wound. ‘This creature can use magic.’ She thought. After a few short moments he was completely healed, and the alicorn decided to speak. “My name is Princess Celestia and I would like to thank you for trying to protect these ponies.” She said indicating to the seven ponies behind her. He nodded to her, knowing how royalty could get. If they believed something no one could change their mind. The other new pony came up to him and asked him, “Are you going to be okay?” “Yes, I’ve lived through a lot worse” this was completely true of course, he was once decapitated in a public execution. He had left town that evening with his head on his shoulders and none were the wiser. “I would like to know what you are though.” Celestia asked. “The last of my kind,” Was all he said to that. This had caused the ponies to feel bad for him, although this had not been his intention. “Sorry” She looked away in shame. “Don’t be, their own greed was what killed them.” After that she asked him “Could I know your name then?” He had to ponder this for a moment, as he had been given many names over the millennia. He could think of none that stood out above the rest. “I don’t have one.” “How can you not have a name?” Twilight had asked this one. “I’ve had many, many names over the years, only none of them were ever truly mine.” “Why not?” “They were the names of heroes, a title that I do not deserve” He told them with sadness in his voice. “I think that you’re a hero,” Twilight told him, “You protected us from Nightmare Moon.” “No Twilight, whoever defeated her is the hero, I’m just an old fool who made you ponies cry. I deserve no praise.” The princess was shocked by this creature’s humbleness. Anypony would have jumped at the chance to be called a hero, but here he was insisting that he wasn’t no matter what they said. She was finally beginning to realise that he had been through more than anypony should have ever been able to handle. “If you are not a hero, then why did you risk your life for these ponies?” “I will always help the innocent, when they need my help. Regardless of the danger to myself.” This creature was either the bravest or the stupidest thing she had ever met. “Weren’t you scared?” Fluttershy asked him. The rest of the ponies had surrounded him by now and were just sitting and listening to what he was saying. “No, I’m too old. I don’t feel fear, haven’t for a long, long time.” He said as he pet her. “How old are you?” “Older than any of you can even imagine. You are all like children to me, even you two” he said to the alicorns. He knew that they were older than the others, but what he didn’t know was how old they really were. “What are children?” Pinkie asked? “That is what humans called their young.” “We have lived over a thousand years,” Celestia said indicating to the pony beside her. “What makes you call us young?” “The fact that I have been alive for more than ten times that which you have.” “Is that normal for your kind?” “The oldest a human could live for is a hundred years, if they were lucky. No, I am immortal I cannot die, such is my curse.” He told the princess. “I will need to read your memories to make sure that you’re not lying to us.” But this was not the only reason she wanted into his mind. She wanted to see if she could trust him. “Go ahead” he told her removing his mental blockades. The room was completely silent for the next few minutes as Celestia combed through his memories. She quickly skimmed through them sometimes skipping years at a time, until she was satisfied that they were real. Only she kept seeing the same thing over and over, death and sadness. His sadness over other’s deaths. She was pleased at his kind heart and knew that she could count on his help. “Satisfied?” He asked when he saw her smile. “Yes, but I have one more thing to ask of you.” He nodded, unsure of what she wanted. “I would like you to take guardianship of these ponies,” She said indicating to the six he had followed to the castle. “To keep them from harm and teach them how to use the power that they now possess.” “It would be my honor” he said with a smile. He truly liked the ponies; Fluttershy’s kindness, Rarity’s generosity, Rainbow’s bravery, Pinkie’s silliness, Twilight’s purity, and even the orange pony’s honesty. These were the qualities that made heroes and he could see that these six would be the greatest of all. “Yay” The six cheered. The ponies were happy when he said this, they really liked him. Twilight even more than the others, he had saved her from falling off of a cliff. “But before you take on your new duties I believe that you should at least know the pony’s names.” Celestia said. Of course he already knew almost all of their names, but he wanted to take this chance to learn more about them. “Mah’ name’s Applejack, it’s nice ta meet ya.” The orange pony said to him, wildly shaking his hand. “The name’s Rainbow Dash, the best flyer in Equestria.” Rainbow was posing as she said this. Appearing out of nowhere Pinkie said, “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie.” “My name is Rarity and it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” “I’m Fluttershy.” “And I’m Twilight Sparkle. Now you know our names but we have no idea what to call you.” She was right, they didn’t have a name for him. “That’s because I’ve never had to choose a name for myself, others have always chosen for me.” “The princess could choose a name for you.” Twilight suggested. “Yeah” The others agreed with her. “That’s fine with me.” Celestia had to think about this for a moment. She had to choose a name that would fit him perfectly, or else it wouldn’t make any sense. Then it came to her, “Steel Guard.” Thank you to everypony that has read the story and I would love to hear your opinions on it.