The morning sun had barely begun to crest above the hills that lay just past the street in front of my apartment. I was gazing out the window absentmindedly, looking at the quaint little shops and buildings that lay on my street, and thinking about the pony, sleeping peacefully just one room over, that was supposedly responsible for raising the celestial body now rising in my world back in her home in Equestria. I wondered if her big sister, Luna, was now responsible for both the day and night. What a burden it must have been on her, to not only live with her decision, but to have to raise both the sun and the moon each day.
I was reminding myself that now wasn’t the time to let my mind wander when I heard stirring from beneath the covers in the room, meaning Celestia was finally awakening from her peaceful slumber. I picked up the cake I had gotten on my way home from work the night before, stopping in the kitchen to light the five candles that were placed on the cake. On it was written “Happy 5 years Celest!”. I had figured that would be much easier for the baker to swallow than “Celestia”.
Doing my best to be quiet about it, I crept down the hallway and pushed the door open with my right hip. Sure enough, there was Tia, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with her hooves.
Despite it being 5 years, Celestia appeared to have not changed at all. She was as small and adorable as ever, although she had gotten past replacing her R’s and L’s with W’s, so I suppose that was a start. I figured what with her being a magical being, she didn’t age quite the same as humans did. Although, I had to admit, ever since Tia had come around, I’d felt more lively and chipper than I had when I was only 17. I couldn’t tell if that was because of having an adorable pony in the house with me, or because of her latent magical abilities.
All of the sudden, I heard a loud gasp coming from the bed. I looked to see little Tia, her eyes all aglow, looking especially so in the morning sunlight.
“Is that for me?” she asked, looking up at me with a wide grin, obviously surprised I had done this for her.
“Mhmm. I figured I had to find some way to celebrate having you around for 5 years.” I said, smiling back at her.
She squealed like a schoolgirl, and, in one swift moment, her wings had flared open and she was flying to me.
“Wait, no Ti-“ I tried to say, before she successfully tackle hugged me, bringing me down to the ground. I fell flat on my back, and the cake flew up in the air. Tia, not realizing what she had done, remained surprisingly calm. Her horn lit up with a yellow glow, and then a yellow aura surrounded the cake just before it fell on top of us. She continued to hug me tightly as the cake floated without a sound onto the carpet.
“Wow, Tia, you really are getting better at controlling your magic.” I said, smiling at her. She smiled back, and kissed me on the cheek before getting off and me and walking over to her cake.
“Why does it say “Happy Birthday Celest?” she asked, looking back up at me.
I looked down at her, still smiling.
“We couldn’t fit it all in…”
…
About 30 minutes after, Celestia and I were both leaning against the couch, our mouths a mess from the pink frosting and rich, dark brown chocolate cake. We were both laughing heartily as we recalled a time when Tia’s magic had gotten out of control.
“And, and, remember how everything in the room was rearranged , and my magic tripped you when you got up to use the little colt’s room?” Celestia said, gasping and wheezing with tears nearly coming out of her eyes as she laughed and laughed.
“Man, you make it sound like I could ever forget.” I said, laughing pretty hard myself. That had certainly been an interesting night. “I just count myself lucky that your magic was under control the next morning, so I didn’t have to move everything back into place by myself.”
Tia started laughing again, her little hooves tapping against my floor.
“What is it now, you silly filly?” I said, having picked up on the terms she used to describe people- or, rather, ponies, back home in Equestria.
“Remember… the next morning... when I sat that dresser… down on your foot?” she said between breaths, pausing to guffaw to herself.
“I think my foot is still sore.” I said, chuckling warmly as I remembered all the time we had spent together. I looked over at the cake, which was completely destroyed, myself having eaten about a quarter of it and Tia eating the rest. I snickered at how comical it was, such a little thing eating so much, and looked over to her.
“Geez, Tia, I didn’t know you liked cake so much.”
She looked over at me with a sheepish grin. “Yeah, I guess I really do,” she said, chuckling. “It seems like whenever I get near cake, I end up eating way more than I should. It’s gonna get me in trouble one day.”
I chuckled softly, and laid my head back against the couch, enjoying the warmth of the sunshine on my skin and the full, content feeling in my stomach.
“Can I ask you something?” Tia said suddenly, waking me from my stupor.
I looked over at her. She was just sitting there, looking back at me with a rather somber expression. I couldn’t deny her, and besides, how bad could the question be?
“Sure,” I said, laying my head back where it was.
“How come you’ve never told me your name?”
My eyes popped open. I guess I spoke too soon when I asked myself “how bad could the question be?”. I swallowed nervously, looking up at the ceiling. I sat there for a moment, gathering my thoughts from the pile of mush they had formed into when I was first met with such a query. Finally, I cleared my throat, still not looking Tia directly in the eyes.
“I-… I guess I don’t really know why. I guess I never really got around to it, and there’s also…” I accidentally let that last part out before catching myself and stopping suddenly.
“Also what?” Tia said, suddenly having a pouty look over where there had been laughter and joy a few seconds ago.
I cleared my throat again, avoiding her gaze. “Well… I mean, you don’t seem to have aged a day since you arrived on my doorstep 5 years ago. I mean, sure, you’ve learned plenty of things and even dropped the whole “R’s and L’s are W’s” routine. It’s just that… You look the exact same as you did that night, with that little red bow and the letter attached to your head. At first, it was because I didn’t want you to grow too attached to me, in case Luna would ever return to bring you back to Equestria. Now, it’s more like I don’t want you to grow too attached because I’ll be dead and gone one day.” I said solemnly.
“Well, it’s only been 5 years.” She said matter-of-factly. “I mean, it’s going to take me a while to grow into a big, strong, full sized pony. How old are you?”
“Well… my birthday was a few months and days before you showed up on my doorstep. I was 22 then, so I guess I’m 27 now.”
“Oh…” she said, in the saddest voice I’d ever heard her use.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her, stroking the fur on the back of her neck like I knew she liked. It always comforted her and calmed her down.
“Well… I’ve forgotten exactly when my birthday is. The calendars here aren’t the same as in Equestria. But… I was around 498 years old when Luna sent me to Earth.”. She looked down at the ground, her eyes shut tightly with despair.
I was shocked. 498 years? How could any mortal being hope to ever reach such an age and still be so young?
“How is that even possible?” I asked Tia.
“It’s alicorn magic. We’re the most powerful beings in Equestria. Big sister Luna was 3,006 years old when she sent me to Earth. Our magic keeps us alive for many, many years.”
“So… what happens to you when I die?” I said, my voice quivering.
“I sincerely doubt that, if we remain as close as we are now, you will age enough for dying to be possible. In fact, since you still aren’t fully adjusted to my magic, you’re growing YOUNGER at the moment. I can sense it.”
“So that’s why I’ve been feeling so… energetic and young as of late?” I asked her, finally willing myself to catch her gaze.
“Yes.” She simply said.
I looked around for a few minutes, absorbing everything I had just heard. Was my little Tia saying that, back home, she was basically a God? I didn’t know what to make of it. It was so hard to believe, even if the little alicorn filly had long ago earned my trust.
I heard the sounds of tears falling to the ground through all of the silence, and immediately after I heard Tia whimpering and catching her breath every few seconds. It hurt me down to my very soul to see her in such despair, so I did the only thing I could think to do: I picked her up, and draped her across my shoulder. I held the little alicorn close, patting her back with one hand and stroking her coat with the other. My shirt’s shoulder was eventually soaked with her tears, and, for a little while, neither of us said anything. Eventually, the tears and the whimpers stopped, and I set her down on the couch, and took a seat next to her.
“Are you ready to talk about it?” I asked her, a look of concern flashing across my face before I could even consider holding it back.
“It’s just that… Well, my whole life, I knew was going to be alive a long time. But I never knew that humans lived so few years less than alicorns.”
“So what’s the problem?” I asked her, still focused on her quivering little body.
“I… I didn’t know that it would affect you so dramatically to have me around. That, if I continue to stay here, you’ll continue to grow younger and eventually age much slower. I wouldn’t blame you if you kicked me out. I don’t imagine you’re comfortable with living for that long…” She said, her voice trailing off.
I leaned back against the couch, letting the true weight of her words settle on me. She was right. For too long now, humans had philosophized about the fickle nature of long life, about how humans had a limited amount of time, and how they should embrace it, rather than beg for more time. What reason did I have to reduce myself to such a fate as a nearly unlimited lifespan?
I sat there for a minute, thinking of the right words to say to my sensitive little Tia. But the longer I looked, the more I could not help but think about the time we’d spent together. All of the smiles, the tears, the fights and the hugs and the bad dreams. Everything she’d ever done for me, and I for her. What good was living with myself after I’d turned such an innocent creature away? Finally, I looked up at her purple eyes, giving her a small smile.
“Tia, if living for a little while longer than I expected is the price I have to pay to make certain you’re safe and happy, then it’s more than worth it to me.” I told her.
“R… Really?” she asked shakily, not expecting that sort of response.
“Of course.” I said matter-of-factly, continuing to smile for her.
She jumped on me again, wrapping me up in another hug. I obliged her and put my arms around her furry little body.
“You can always count on me, my little Tia.” I whispered to her. And it was true; she could. She had grown on me over the last 5 years, as any child is able to do for any caregiver. I loved her like my own daughter. Everything we’d been through together had only solidified my feelings as her caregiver and only friend.
“By the way, it’s David.” I said to her.
“What?” she asked, her voice muffled from her muzzle being buried in my shoulder.
“My name. It’s David.” I said to her.
She snuggled herself closer to me, getting comfortable, and mumbled sleepily “I like that name…”. A few seconds later, she was asleep, happily napping against my shoulder. I looked at the clock. 12:30. That was her usual naptime, so I forced myself up and brought her down the hallway, laying her down in my bed and tucking her in. I kissed her cheek, and drew the blinds closed and the curtains together.
I walked back out into the living room, pausing outside the bedroom door to look at her sleeping peacefully for a moment. I smiled to myself, before cracking the door, knowing she had trouble with doorknobs.
“Sleep tight, my little Tia.”.