It was a late afternoon in Canterlot. The Blazin' Blue's bar was, as to be expected, packed with patrons from all walks of life. But two of those patrons were more notable than the others: Princes Gothic and Shine. The royal pair were sitting in a booth near the back, celebrating a unique milestone in their lives. They were celebrating the anniversary of the day they had gained immortality.
It all began over a decade ago. On Gothic's birthday, he had begun to lament that he was getting older, and would one day perish, while his wife and child continued onward on the road of life. He shared his woes with Shine, who, while content with the time he would have, also shared reservations with his lifespan. It was then that Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, offered them a chance to join their wives in immortality, giving them a map that led to an artifact, the Golden Phoenix of Immortality, which could grant them that ability. With Caboose, who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, dragged along for the ride, they embarked on their quest. It was fraught with peril, and a chance encounter with Daring Do, who joined them in their quest (as a last hurrah for her career). Daring's old foes, the evil Ahuizotl and the diabolical Dr Caballeron, had challenged them, seeking the Phoenix for their own diabolical ends. But in the end, Shine and Gothic gained the prize they sought (and Caboose gained Daring's love).
Every year since then, Shine and Gothic had come together on the day of their ascension, reminiscing about their great quest. At the same time, Celestia and Luna were attending a conference with Thestral dignitaries, discussing relocation for a group of Thestrals who had lost their homes to a rogue hydra attack.
"Another year of immortality, eh?" Shine declared.
"Hear, hear." Gothic said, a tad flatly. "Still not quite used to it, though."
"How so?" Shine asked.
"Every so often, I get up in the morning, and I'm surprised when I don't see any wrinkles or grey hair in the mirror." Gothic noted.
"It is kinda surreal, isn't it?" Shine asked. "Living for all these years, but not getting any older?"
"It can be." Gothic nodded. "But it's not like we can do anything about it. We made our choice, and we have to live with it."
"Yeah, that's right." Shine nodded. "Guess it never occurred to us what being immortal truly means. In a hundred year's time, we'll still be around, looking no older than young stallions while everyone else grows old. I can't even imagine what Equestria will look like by then..."
"You won't have to." Gothic pointed out. "We'll have a ringside seat for it all."
"And then some." Shine nodded. "We'll see the world continue to grow and progress, just like Celestia and Luna did for so long..."
Blue Blazes, the owner of the bar, walked over to them.
"Freshen your drinks, your highnesses?" He asked.
"Of course." Gothic nodded.
"Same again, please." Shine declared.
"Coming right up." Blue nodded, returning to the bar.
"I wonder what'll happen to this place in the future?" Gothic wondered. "Maybe little Tempest will follow in his father's hoofsteps. Or even Vinny's offspring."
"I sure hope so." Shine declared. "Be a shame to see a fine establishment like this lost to time..."
"That's just the way of most things." Gothic remarked. "With the exception of us, our wives, and beings like Discord, nothing lasts forever. Empires rise and fall. Cities are built and crumble. Ponies are born, and eventually die."
"Now we know how our wives feel." Shine stated. "It's the kind of thing that can drive you nuts if you let it."
"So true..." Gothic muttered.
"What's up, pal?" Shine asked. "You're acting a little morbid today."
"Oh, it's nothing." Gothic shrugged.
"No, it isn't." Shine said shrewdly. "Come on, you can tell me. What's going on?"
"Well... okay." Gothic gave in. "A couple of days ago, I ran into one my old friends from before I met Luna..."
Flashback...
Gothic was walking through Canterlot, returning from a meeting with the city planning commission. As he walked, a middle-aged black-coated stallion with a midnight blue mane, gray eyes, and a Cutie Mark of a black diamond came from around a corner, bumping into him.
"Oof!" Gothic stumbled backwards.
"Sorry about that." The stallion apologised. "I was in a ru- Gothic? Is that you?"
"Um..." Gothic frowned. "Do I know you, sir?"
"Gothic, it's me!" The stallion chuckled. "Onyx!"
"Onyx?" Gothic suddenly gasped. "Onyx Obsidian?"
It was indeed Gothic's old friend, but he looked vastly different from how Gothic remembered him. Onyx was now going to seed, his mane greying and his face starting to wrinkle.
"The one and only!" Onyx nodded. "Been a while, huh?"
"And then some." Gothic nodded. "I didn't even recognise you. You, well..."
"You can say it." Onyx chuckled. "I got old. But you're still as spry as I remember you."
"Well, being blessed with immortality by a mystic artifact has it's perks..." Gothic admitted.
"Lucky you." Onyx snorted. "But everypony else doesn't have that perk."
Fond memories rushed through the heads of both stallions. The nights they had spent together, finding more and more ways of venerating Luna and her work. Those were wonderful times. Gothic had never really realised how much he'd missed them...
"It's so good to see you again, Onyx." Gothic smiled. "How are the old gang doing, by the way?"
"Most of 'em are doing great." Onyx nodded.
"Most?" Gothic asked.
"Yeah... Beryl passed away last year." Onyx declared. "Pneumonia."
"Oh, no..." Gothic sighed.
Back when Gothic was a member of their club, Beryl was the oldest among them, being in her fifties. She was like a kindly aunt to them, always bringing tea and cakes to their meetings. Gothic couldn't believe she was gone...
"I had no idea." He frowned. "I really should have kept in touch."
"Hey, you're a Prince now." Onyx said fairly. "Not to mention a father. You've got all kind of responsibilities to deal with. You can be forgiven for not having the time to keep up with current events."
"I know." Gothic nodded. "But still..."
"But nothing." Onyx chuckled. "Just be glad you bumped into me. I trust the high and mighty Prince can spare ten minutes for coffee with an old friend?"
"Sure." Gothic grinned. "Anything for you, pal. Let go."
"Not too fast, though." Onyx joked. "I'm not as spry as I used to be. Hope this old codger doesn't slow you down too much, Mr Forever-young!"
Gothic laughed along with Onyx as they made their way to the coffee shop. But inwardly, he was thinking some less-than-amusing thoughts.
'Beryl's really gone...' He said to himself. 'And Onyx is getting old. It won't be long before he's gone, too. And all the others. All my old friends will die of old age sooner or later. And I'll be the last member of the club...'
The Present...
"It really hit me, you know?" Gothic told Shine. "All my friends, neighbours, the ponies I grew up with... they'll all die, and I won't be able to do anything about it. And what if I forget them? My body may be immortal, but my mind might not be. I could forget all my old friends in a century of so. Just I like I feared that Celestia and Luna would for us back then."
"You don't know that for sure." Shine told him. "Maybe you will remember them."
"Yeah, because that'll be so much better." Gothic scowled. "Having nothing but memories of the ponies I used to know, while they and everything they had simply rot away."
Blue returned with their drinks.
"Here you go, Princes." He smiled, placing them on the table. "Enjoy."
Shine took a healthy gulp of his drink before speaking.
"Look Gothic, I know what you're going through." He declared. "I've been through it myself."
"Really?" Gothic frowned.
"Of course." Shine nodded. "You think I haven't thought about Big Red, or Cherry, or Mist, or any of my new brothers dying some day? Because I have!"
"Of course you have." Gothic lowered his head, suddenly realising how foolish it was of him to assume he was the only one to have such thoughts. "But how are you not languishing in sadness like I am? Do you simply not care about your non-immortal loved ones as much as I do?"
"Ordinarily, I'd smack you upside the head for saying that." Shine frowned. "But I know you're not yourself right now, so I'll let it pass."
"Answer the question, please." Gothic urged. "How did you come to accept that inevitability?"
"To be honest, I don't think I have." Shine shrugged. "Not completely, at least. I can't say for sure that I'll be able to take the death of any of them well."
"Then why are you so nonchalant about it?" Gothic asked.
"Because I know, when all is said and done, that I'll always have my memories of them in my heart." Shine smiled. "As long as I keep those memories alive, they'll never really be gone."
"I never looked at it like that before." Gothic admitted.
"Just so long as you remember the good times you had with those friends of yours, they'll always live inside your heart. And furthermore, we are bound to make new friends for the ages to come." Shine declared. "And besides, you could always go to that Garden of Souls I told you about, and talk to their spirits directly."
"You think Osiris would go for it?" Gothic frowned, bringing up the Serpent Deity of Death, who was currently living in the caves under the castle. "I mean, does he even know that you took Celestia and Miracle that one time?"
"Of course he does." Shine nodded. "I did ask him for permission first. Common courtesy, you know, since the island the garden was on did use to his home... But I'm sure he'd be okay with you going there, if you asked him nicely enough."
"Ask a giant death Serpent if I can looking around the ruins of his former home?" Gothic scowled. "Yeah, I'm sure he'll really go for that."
"He might." Shine shrugged. "He can be a reasonable kind of guy, once you get to know him. That, and he's actually kind of mellowed out some since he came to the surface."
"I'll take your word for it." Gothic declared.
"Besides, isn't it worth risking ticking off a Deity in order to get some closure?" Shine pointed out. "Those guys were your friends, after all. Going to the Garden would give you the chance to see them all again. As often as you like, in fact. You should go for it, Gothic."
"Yeah, I guess I should..." Gothic admitted. "It'd be better than just sitting around, mourning them for the rest of my eternal life."
"That's the way." Shine patted him on the shoulder. "Things are never as bad as you think. There's always an upside."
"I guess there is..." Gothic nodded. "Sorry I've been so down, Shine. This is a special day. I shouldn't be morose about it."
"No big deal." Shine shrugged. "Every major decision leaves you with a little regret about what could have happened if you took the other path. The trick is not to let those regrets consume you."
"I'll try and remember that." Gothic nodded.
"With our wives and daughters at our sides throughout eternity, it shouldn't be too hard." Shine declared. "Now, let's quit with all the worrying and self-pity. This is a day for celebrating, and remembrance."
"And what a remembrance." Gothic smiled. "The memory of the night our quest started."
"Who'd have thought Discord, of all beings would offer an answer to our problem." Shine shrugged, "Although, we also have Isis to thank as well. She made the Phoenix."
"Yes, of course." Gothic nodded. "Before then, I thought Discord was just an annoying trickster."
"Me too." Shine agreed. "But he gave us a way of being with our wives forever."
"And we ended up with an unexpected guest." Gothic recalled. "We dragged poor Caboose along for the ride, rather than risk him spilling the beans."
"Yeah, I felt pretty bad about that at the time." Shine nodded. "Of course, if we hadn't done that, he wouldn't have met Daring, and they wouldn't have fallen in love, gotten married, and had those adorably quirky kids of theirs."
"Though Caboose had a hard time gaining Daring's affections back then." Gothic chuckled. "I still wince at the thought of all the misfortunes he went through trying to impress her..."
"The tree, the lightning, the cheesy poem, the freakin' cragadile..." Shine shuddered. "Whoever said 'love hurts' wasn't kidding."
"And O'Malley really didn't help matters..." Gothic frowned. "I am so glad he's gone for good."
"Speaking of not helping, those troublemakers Ahuitzotl and Caballeron gave us quite the challenge." Shine remembered. "They almost had us, and the Phoenix..."
"I know." Gothic nodded grimly. "Even with Celestia and Luna's surprise appearance, it was a tough battle."
"If things weren't as rough as were, I'd have still been pretty ticked at Discord for ratting us out." Shine declared. "But we needed all the help we could get at that point."
"But it wasn't quite enough." Gothic said grimly, recalling the moment Ahuitzotl broke his back. "I was nearly crippled that day."
"But at least that gorilla-cat thing got what was coming to him." Shine snorted, the memory of the Phoenix annihilating Ahuitzotl in a burst of energy etched into his mind. "And everything worked out in the end. The Phoenix fixed you up, and we both became immortal."
"And Daring and Caboose hooked up." Gothic smiled. "Once Caboose proved the depth of his love for Daring by putting himself in harm's way to save her, she couldn't help but return his feelings."
"Making it a happy ending all around." Shine chuckled.
"So true." Gothic nodded. "Even with my recent doubts, knowing that I can always stay by Luna's side, no matter."
"And I can always be with Celestia." Shine grinned. "Not bad for our first real quest, huh?"
"It was a quest I couldn't have gone on alone... brother." Gothic declared.
"You said it... brother." Shine nodded. "I gotta say, having you along for the ride of immortality is a pretty good fringe benefit."
"It sure is." Gothic nodded. "No matter what happens, I'll always have at least one friend to talk with and stand by throughout the centuries."
"You got it, pal." Shine finished his drink. "We became immortal together. We're two of a kind now. That creates a special kind of bond. One that can never be broken." He chuckled lightly. "I never really thanked you for convincing me to go on that crazy quest in the first place, did I?"
"Don't mention it." Gothic smiled. "I saw you could have the same predicament I would, and figured you needed immortality as much as I did."
"And boy, am I glad you talked me into it." Shine grinned. "If I hadn't, we wouldn't even be here right now, celebrating our immortality."
"I'll drink to that." Gothic slugged back his own drink. He examined his empty glass. "Shall we get some more drinks in?"
"Why not?" Shine smirked. "The night is still young. Not to mention Celestia and Luna are still at that conference with the Thestrals. They won't be back for at least another hour."
"That suits me fine." Gothic grinned. He called over to Blue. "Same again, please!"
"You got it!" Blue smiled.
After Blue brought over their next round of drinks, both Shine and Gothic raised their glasses in a toast.
"Here's to eternity." Shine declared. "Not just with our wives, but with each other."
"I couldn't have put it better myself, old friend." Gothic smiled, as they clinked their glasses together.
After sharing a few more drinks, Shine and Gothic returned to the castle. Celestia and Luna were waiting, having returned from their conference moments earlier. Constell and Miracle were also there.
"There you two are." Celestia smiled.
"Hey, dad." Constell nodded.
"Connie." Gothic grinned.
"Hi, daddy." Miracle beamed.
"Hi, sweetheart." Shine smiled.
"Back from your little anniversary celebration, are we?" Luna asked knowingly.
"That's right." Gothic nodded, embracing Luna. "And I couldn't be happier to see you, my love."
"Oh, Gothic." Luna chuckled. "We weren't apart all that long. And besides, we have an eternity to spend together, remember?"
"Maybe so, but I hate to lose even a single second." Gothic kissed her.
"Neither do I." Luna grinned. "After spending a thousand years alone, I find I much prefer being in the company of those I love."
"So do I." Gothic beamed.
"They're not the only ones, cherryblossom." Shine told Celestia. "Every day, I count my lucky stars for all the wonderful times we've spent together, and all the times yet to come."
"My thoughts exactly." Celestia kissed Shine.
"Speaking of wonderful times, I think it's time for bed." Luna said coquettishly. "Come along, dear."
"Right behind you." Gothic chuckled.
"We should be... retiring too." Celestia smirked at Shine.
"You read my mind." Shine grinned.
"Okay, I'm outta here." Constell shook her head. "Got a feeling I'm gonna need the earplugs tonight..."
"What does that mean?" Miracle asked.
"I'll tell you when you're older." Constell declared.
A short time later, Gothic lay in bed, his wife snuggled against him. The doubts that once plagued his mind were all but gone. Now, thoughts of being able to wake up beside Luna's beautiful face every day for an eternity flowed through his head, making him content. Though he would still mourn the loss of his friends when the time came, he pledged to follow Shine's advice, and kept their memories alive in his heart.
That was the price of eternal life. To lose those with far shorter lifespans. But the rewards were far greater. Gothic would live his immortal life alongside his wife, his daughter, and his best friend. Not many immortals could say that, and he was grateful to be among that small number.
'And like Shine said, if I ever start to really miss my own friends, I can always take a trip to that Garden of Souls and talk to them face to face.' Gothic thought. 'I really should pencil in a trip to see Beryl sometime. It's the least I can do, since I wasn't there before she died...'
Luna stirred in her sleep, snuggling closer to Gothic. Gothic wrapped a hoof around her in response.
'And in the meantime, I have everything I need right here...' Gothic thought fondly.
The mortal-turned-immortal Prince held his wife's snoozing form closely. As long as he had Luna, he could handle eternity just fine...