A Long Life

by pertelote345

A cold day in tartarus...

Slice

They locked me in a cage when I got here, and covered me in runes...

They hadn't lasted a day. The voices made sure of that.

The guard that brought me food had a husband who beat her every night. She considered herself strong, and was afraid of hurting him, even by leaving him... Mostly she was just afraid.

After I ended her pain I was accosted by a patrol. One had a son dying of cancer. The other was an earth pony... and thus cursed to build up pain for centuries... Ending him was more pre-emptive.

I felt jealous of them honestly. Their pain was over while I languished here, suffering and taking on the suffering of others...

I put one shaking foot in front of the other and pushed the thought away. I couldn't be selfish. The world needed peace, and no one else could put it to rest.

Apple Jack

I sat there on my... Kind of ex-son in law's...?

Oh I had no idea what in the hay to call Pauldron Sparkle, it didn't matter who he was, he had a couch and me and my old friend were on it.

"So... any more horror stories?" she asked.

I sighed. "Oh so many... lots of good ones too, but... I dunno I've had a long life."

Twilight sighed. "Sorry I missed it..."

I chuckled. "I ain't dead yet sugar cube."

"Too bad so many others are..." The princess said, defeated. "It's nice to have family though, Security Blanket's really nice!"

"So long as you're paying her..." I muttered.

"Huh?"

"Nevermind Twi, we can talk about that one later. Compared to a lot of stuff in my life it just don't matter."

Twilight buried her head in a cushion. "What am I supposed to do?"

I sighed. "Twi... I dunno."

She raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Twi, I don't have the answer for everything... Never let anyone in the briefing room know that."

"You have a briefing room?"

I groaned. "Twi, we had a briefing room. Remember? In your tree castle?"

She smiled, faintly. "I think the Apple Building tops it."

I snorted, "Yes, my soulless paramilitary corporation's headquarters is so much better than the magical tree that symbolizes all of my friend's love."

Twilight blinked, "AJ, you got really dark... Like, seriously I think you could use a counselor."

I looked away. "Twi..."

"I'm not trying to be mean! I'm serious Apple Jack... Shining talked about ponies like you."

I got up. "Ponies like me? Seriously? What in Equestria is that supposed to mean?"

She bit her lip, and hugged a cushion. "You have PTSD Apple Jack."

I narrowed my eyes. "I am not some shell shocked-"

"You hurt me AJ!"

I stopped.

"You were trying to keep me safe, I get that, and you were miserable about what happened to Fluttershy, I get that too... And I know you, I know you've got some crazy vault inside of you where you keep stuff like that, but there's 200 years of... Old Gods... Military service in there. You need to talk to someone about it."

I opened my mouth... Then closed it. "Okay." I said.

I sat back down on the couch. Twilight put her head on my shoulder. "You have no idea how glad I am you're here..." She said. "I really... I really could have died with that spell. It was really dumb to try it... Even on a stupid acorn."

I let out a rueful laugh. "You know we planted that thing in the cemetery... It grew nice and tall over our old friends... Spike put it there when Flutters..."

I shook my head. "Anyway, he spent years doing research before that... He tried everything he could think of... Heck, I wonder if something he tried had some kind of weird delayed reaction that brought you back."

I sniffed. "But there's some good stuff too. Applebloom's kids have kids. It's the same with Sweetie and Scoots, though they're not around anymore..."

"What about the others?" Twilight asked. "Did they have any kids?"

I shook my head. "No... Flutters never quite managed to get the nerve to ask someone out. Dash... Well, heck you think she'd be all over the place, but deep down I think she was scared. Girl had a heart of solid gold and she was afraid of loss."

I smiled. "Rarity and Spike though... Oh man they tried. When he grew up they finally broke down and got together. But they'd waited too long. She was past menopause. Oh they tried so hard... Spells, fertility treatments, Zehavan alchemy... It didn't work, but they tried. And they were truly happy."

She hugged me. "What about Pinkie? You?"

I smiled. "Pinkie had some eggs frozen. There's still hope for her."

Twi tilted her head. "Eggs frozen?"

I shot her a smirk. "It's a neat little medical trick that came up while you were out, I'll tell you later. As for me..."

I though back to a certain terrified teenage unicorn...

You are not her mom! I told myself. Her mom died a long time ago. I'd never earned the right to that title.

"No," I said simply. "I never had any."

She buried her face in my mane. "I'm sorry."

I smiled. "Don't be... I've got something amazing."

She blinked. "What?"

"You sugarcube... You."

Comments

[Da Fennec]

Maybe its necessary for the story but why in the heck do you have normal ponies guarding Tartarus. I mean Cerberus is guarding the gate and you have prisoners like Tirek. This is the place for prisoners that pose a serious threat to all of Equestria

[pertelote345]

6159893 It's a matter of throwing everything, but the kitchen sink at the problem. Those guards were meant to keep the place maintained and provide warning...

Those were front line soldiers. They new the risks... Heaven help any more that get in Slice's way.

[pertelote345]

6361382

Glad you're enjoying it!

[moonlit scribe]

Is that TwiJack I sense?

*Squeezes eyes and hopes for the best*

Please, please, please let it be TwiJack