//------------------------------//
// Ch. 2: Eternity past 
// Story: Remembrance 
// by GoldenOak KestrelFlight 
//------------------------------//

	Celestia sat in her throne room. Court had been cancelled for today, and the reason why would be released to the press soon, if it hadn’t already been leaked. Celestia slumped, thinking back to that day over three thousand years ago, when Applejack had taken her up on her offer. It had been a joyous day for her, one of few she had experienced in a long time. Each of Twilight’s friends had contributed a piece of themselves, though Spike had no need to do so. Even so, he had been glad to hear that something could be done to help his adoptive mother. She had been in mourning for an entire year after Applejack died, not leaving her castle except to go on friendship missions. But slowly, she began to rise out of her slum, only to come crashing down when she read the morning paper.

Rainbow Dash, Leader of the Wonderbolts, killed in fatal crash.

Twilight once again hid in her castle, though for not as long as before. No, she had begun to grow jaded to the deaths of her friends, and when the final funeral rolled around, Fluttershy’s, she said a few words, left the podium, and was seen the next day smiling as she walked through the market.
Celestia sighed. It was time to tell her. Princess Starlight was the only one Twilight ever talked to anymore, and since she was away making sure the essence of Nightmare Moon could never be used again, Twilight often wondered around the castle, lost in thought.
“You summoned me Celestia?” The white alicorn jumped, startled out of her thoughts by that very mare.
“Yes, I did Twilight.” Celestia stood, walking towards the back of the room. “It is time I showed you something…” She pushed a door open, breaking the magic seal with one hoof. “Something I should have shown you a long time ago.”
As they walked down the halls, Celestia saw Twilight tear up at the old, fragile stained glass windows. The few automaton guards stationed inside the hallway stood at attention as the two princesses passed. Celestia watched as the younger princess got a far-away look in her eyes, the same one that always appeared whenever she was thinking about her friends. Finally, they reached a door. Celestia looked at Twilight. “Do you know what is in here?”
Twilight shook her head, too choked up to speak.
“A long time ago, many, many years before you were born, I had three friends. A unicorn, a pegasus and an earth pony. Even though I was an alicorn, they never treated me as any different. We had many great adventures together.” Celestia paused for a moment, catching her breath. “But eventually, they grew old. Each one of them died, one by one, taken by the cruel creature that we know as time. But it would never take me, or my sister. So we watched as our friends left us again and again and again.”
Celestia’s lower lip began to quiver. “One day, I had grown sick of the death. All I wanted was to see my friends again.” She looked down, her eyes darkening. “So I created a spell. I became the world’s first necromancer and I brought back the dead.” Twilight stared, waiting for Celestia to continue. Finally, she did. “Catastrophe. The dead rose, and I ran towards my friends. Then I heard the moan, smelled the stinking scent of rot and decay and saw…”
Celestia stopped her tale, shaking. Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder, comforting her.
“I saw the faces of my friends, deformed and void of life. I froze in terror, and then foolishly tried to reason with them. If not for Luna… Equestria knows of zombies because I brought them into existence.” Celestia swung her head to face her former student, tears in her eyes. “I created monsters out of my best friends, and I knew then, that I would do anything to keep anyone else from doing the same.”
Twilight leaned forward. “What makes you think I would do something like that?”
“I’ve had spells placed on the books in the private section of our personal library, and every book on the subject of Necromancy has been checked out by one pony.”
Celestia looked straight into Twilight’s eyes. “You.”
Twilight held her gaze, not wavering in the slightest. “I’m only doing exactly what you did; only I know I can do it better.”
“That’s what I thought the second time around. And the third. And the fourth. But it wasn’t until the fifth that I went too far, and that was when I swore that none would ever do anything like this again. I outlawed necromancy, even though most ponies had no clue it was.”
“But-“
“Butts are for sitting. I knew you would try this, and so I knew I had to create a way for you to do so without turning Equestria into a ruin. So I did. Every hour I had free, for five years, I worked on this.” She gestured at the door. “But finally, I completed it.”
“So how did you…”
“I still don’t know absolutely if it works, but all the data has been consistent. I have the spell written down right here.” Twilight immediately moved for the book. “But.” Warned Celestia, freezing Twilight in her tracks. “Every spell requires equivalent exchange. Something given for something taken. With normal magic, we just deplete our energy reserves until they recharge or we have no more to give. But with this spell, it requires more powerful magic.”
“What kind of magic would be needed?” Twilight asked greedily.
“Unnatural magic. The kind that gave normal horses wings, horns or strength. The kind I gave to you the night of your transformation.”
“So what you’re saying is…”
“You have to choose. Friends, or forever.” She stared at Twilight’s tear-stained cheeks. “Which will you decide?”



The princess of the sun had provided Twilight with the book and the knowledge needed to complete the spell. She now sat on her throne, waiting to see what Twilight would choose. In her heart, she knew the answer. After all, she would do the exact same for her friends. As she closed her eyes, she thought of Luna, stuck on the moon for one thousand years, Cadence, her parents killed in the Crystal war and of herself, unable to save the life of even one of her friends.
Then and there, the regent of the sun decided that from this day forth, no more Alicorns were to be created. Those who were already such were to live out their lives, and dream of the day when they could finally be released from alicornhood. All who pursued the alicorn status would be warned, but not kept from it. They would soon gain their punishment.
The doors creaked behind her throne. Celestia could hear the bubbling laughter of Pinkie Pie, the boastful claims of Rainbow Dash and the whiny complaints of a mare stuck for three millennia without a trip to the spa. She watched as the six trotted from behind the fateful doors, and sat tall as they approached the front of her throne.
“Princess.” The purple unicorn bowed before her, and when she looked up, Celestia could see how truly grateful Twilight really was. “Thank you.”
“You are very welcome.” Celestia said, the pain she felt hidden from their eyes. “But just because you have given up your status as an alicorn does not mean you are no longer a princess. You have proven yourself time and time again to be worthy of that status and I will not steal it from you now. Indeed, you and your friends have many years of friendship to come, and I am sure that, in the end, you will all have lived peacefully and will be able to be with each other in eternity.” Celestia held steady, refusing to let them see what she truly felt at that moment. “Good luck, my little ponies. May your friendship last for eternity.”
All six ponies bowed before her, then left the room, but not before Pinkie Pie bounced up to Celestia, gave her a giant hug and a “Thank you”.
As the doors closed, Celestia slumped. She knew in her heart that she needed to get up and perform her royal duties as a Princess of Equestria, but she couldn’t. The day had been taxing to say the least, and all she wanted to do was sit on her throne and cry. She summoned a container of ice cream, a habit she had picked up before Rarity had passed away, and cried herself to sleep.