//------------------------------// // What do you mean "Forever?" // Story: Twilight for a Day // by Mike the Red //------------------------------// "Michael, I would like to thank you for returning the Elements to me safely. I am sure that in time Princess Luna's emptiness will subside and I will do what I can to comfort her. As I am sure you're aware, Michael, your new status requires you to perform certain duties. Should you ever need advice or wish to converse with me, or even just to exchange pleasantries, I am always available. And as your vehicle is capable of relaying messages to me, I will be able to communicate with you through that method. You have my deepest appreciation for your deeds and my utmost respect." "My thanks go to you, Princess Celestia, for being so kind and generous. I am fully aware of my duties and responsibilities, and even though I was hesitant to comprehend them, and as I told Twilight earlier, it is a responsibility I do not welcome, but am willing to accept. I recall informing you that I was not very happy with this new body and wanted to make my time as an Alicorn as short as possible, however I now realize such a possibility is no longer feasible. That having been said, my only curiosity is how long I will be required to perform these duties." "I hate to break this to you, Michael, but you will be required to at the very least raise and lower your sun until it burns itself out." "That's another five billion years!" I exclaimed, almost incredulous as to just what I have gotten myself into. "Yes, Michael, but I was under the impression you would be able to manage it. After all, you helped defeat Discord, you killed the Changeling Queen, and also dispatched Nightmare Moon. With all those accomplishments, your destiny was inevitable. You are truly the most remarkable person I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I look forward to further conversations with you, Michael, as I am sure you will have lots of questions for me in the future. As one Regent to another, I am impressed by you, and hope you will serve as an outstanding example of honor, courage, intelligence, and respect." "Princess Celestia, I can only promise to do my best. The prospect of spending five billion years raising and lowering the sun is absolutely frightening to me, and part of me wonders just what I will do once our sun burns itself out -- I have heard predictions that it will enlarge to the point where it will swallow my planet within its mass." "Certain astronomical predictions may not prove to be true, Michael. There is a possibility that your sun will never burn itself out, requiring you to continue raising and lowering it forever." My heart sank at that mention. Princess Celestia saw my face drop, and came over to me, placing a reassuring wing around me. "Please understand, Michael, I don't say this to frighten you. I am only informing you of the truth as I see it, and it might not be the same in your realm. Even so, I will still be here for your assistance, should you need it." "Thank you, Princess, for your calming words. Since you've been alive considerably longer than I have, your experience in these matters will serve as a guide for me. I hope you might be able to provide me with some instructions as how to proceed from here on out, and I too look forward to future conversations with you." "You may call upon me whenever you wish, Michael. I thank you once again." "Princess Celestia, we never gave him a party!" said Pinkie Pie. "With all due respect, Pinkie Pie, I am afraid I cannot attend a party. I have new obligations, and must return to my realm shortly. I apologize for disappointing you," I said, still a little crestfallen. "Michael, this must be a terrible burden for you. You have my sympathies, and if there's anything I can do to help, I will try to provide it as well," said Twilight. I smiled at her, and thanked her for her kind words. "You're just too awesome to be a human!" Rainbow said in admiration. "Um, Michael, I just wanted to thank you for being so kind," Fluttershy said, and smiled softly at me. "Okay, every pony, I guess it's time for me to go home. Thank you every pony for all your help! I will try to keep in touch, and so I bid you all fare well. Au revoir!" And with that, I teleported back home. ----------------------------- Back home, it was still dark outside. I was still in my alicorn form, and decided to return to my human form. I knew I would be able to change back and forth from here on out, as my role as Regent of the Sun gave me many more powers than I had, even in Twilight's body. Even as a human, my body gave off a pale blue luminescent glow, an aura of sorts. I doubted I would be able to reduce that luminescence, but I was okay with it. Brenda, on the other hand, was not. "Mike, is that you? Where have you been? I tried calling your phone, but it's in here, and kept ringing." "I'll be up there in a minute," I said, and climbed the stairs to the upper level and walked into our bedroom. Brenda was laying in the bed, where Chrysalis had been. I was surprised she didn't notice, or did she? "Who's been in this bed, Mike?" she shot me an accusatory glance. "The Queen of the Changelings impersonated Princess Celestia, and tried to seduce me. She was laying in the bed where you are. I have no idea how she got in here, nor do I know how she knew my name. I succeeded in killing her in my human form. I now wear her crown and horn on my head." "I don't believe you." She continued to stare at me, and showed her anger. "Why not ask Xaviera what she saw and heard," I said, not quite as a question. "She's asleep, and I'm not going to wake her up." I then changed myself into my alicorn form. Brenda was not impressed. "So you can turn yourself into the Princess, big deal." "No, Brenda, not the Princess. Look a little more closely." She got up, and came over to where I was standing. She looked at my cutie mark, and then saw my crown. "What makes that different from the Princess?" she asked. "The Princess wears a tiara -- I wear a crown." She put her hand on the crown, and pulled it off my head. "Brenda, what did you do that for?" "I didn't know it would come off like that," she said, shocked that she had pulled it off. She placed it back on my head, and it bonded itself back. "Don't do that again," I said darkly, hissing the words through clenched teeth. I let my anger show, which frightened her. "So what are you supposed to do now?" "I will set the alarm to 5:20 AM. When I get up, I will take my shower, and then raise the sun." Her face dropped in disbelief. "What ... did ... you ... just" "I said, I will raise the sun, and I will do it just before waking you up." "Tomorrow is Sunday, I don't have to work. I am going to sleep in," she said. "Very well then. I am still obligated to raise the sun around six AM." "No you don't, the sun rises by itself," she said dismissively. "Since you don't believe me, I shall wake you in the morning, and I will show you what I mean." She laughed. "You can't be serious! How do you raise the sun? And how long are you going to be like that?" "Raising and lowering the sun is easy, and apparently, I'm in this form forever." Her jaw dropped. Her mouth opened, and nothing came out. I had left her dumbstruck. "I had a conversation face to face with the Princess before I arrived. She told me that my duties as Regent of the Sun will continue for as long as the sun itself will shine." "And how long is that?" "Could be forever," I said. "WHAT? WHAT ABOUT ME?" she asked in exasperation. "I can de-age you with magic, if you wish," I said. "And I can do that for as long as you wish. At least, for as long as you wish to be by my side." "Show me then!" she said, still in disbelief. I waved a hoof, enveloping her in my pale blue magic, and she de-aged by 30 years, going back to the age of 18. Her beauty had been returned to her. "Take a look in the mirror," I said, rather flatly. "Oh .. my ... God," she said, slowly. Once again, her eyes went wide and her mouth opened in disbelief. This was going to be a fairly common sight for me, so I just took it in stride. "You like the results?" I asked, smiling. "Wow! I didn't know you do stuff like THAT!" she beamed. This was the first time I had seen her this happy in a very long time. She came over to me and hugged me, and then turned to kiss me before she stopped. "I'm not going to kiss a horse," she said, regaining a little decorum. "I never asked you to," I said, grinning. "I love you, Michael." "Love you too, babe." I returned to my human form so I could sleep in at least a relatively normal way. Before I laid down in the bed, I enlarged it a bit, made it thicker, firmer, and changed the mattress into a memory foam mattress, and gave Brenda a couple of new memory foam pillows, and dd the same for my pillows. Finally, a fresh set of sheets was placed on the bed. Tonight, we sleep in comfort for the first time in more than five years. -------------------------------- The alarm went off at 5:20, to the sound of the radio. I got up and turned it off, as per usual habit. I went to the bathroom and took care of business, and showered. I toweled off, and put some clothes on. I woke Brenda, and told her to come outside, through the back door into the yard. She rubbed sleep from her eyes, and put on her house-coat, and followed me outside. "Now watch, Brenda, and see what I mean." I changed into my alicorn form, and flew into the sky, grabbing the moon and lowering it, and then grabbing the sun with my magic, and placing it into the sunrise position. More magic to make it move across the sky was applied, so that the sun would move as the day progressed. Brenda watched in amazement as this spectacle took place. I then returned to her side, gliding in to a stop. "What did you think?" I asked her. "That was just amazing," she said, smiling at me. "Princess Celestia told me I was really lucky to have a husband like you. I never knew what she meant until I just saw you do what you just did. If I could, I would like to thank her for telling me what she did." "All you have to do is get into the car, turn it on, and tell TS to relay that message to her. Believe it or not, we can communicate directly with the Princess through that car!" I said, still smiling. The warmth of the sun felt good on my coat, and I finally felt at peace with myself. I sent a thought across the dimensional barrier. "Thanks again, Celestia."