Chains Of Gold

by Dawn Leaper

As If It Were The Last

'Live every second, minute, hour,
As if it were your last.
Life is too short,
To sit there and dwell on the past.'

---

"Question number fourteen. In what era was the amniomorphic spell created?"

Luster Dawn furrowed her brow and bent her head over her parchment. The quill in her telekine aura hovered for a moment, before scribbling something down on the page.

Although the use of quill and parchment was long outdated- pens and sheets were much preferred now- Twilight still liked to use the classic method of wizardry notation, especially since little people knew that the material actually held quantifiable properties that allowed a user to think more clearly.

The lecture hall was half-filled with perhaps twenty students brave enough to take on her advanced level 'History Of Magic' class. This morning they were taking a quiz, and Twilight had just read out probably the easiest question on the entire mark scheme.

Which, judging by the complexity of it, was saying something.

Twilight felt a little bit evil. It was only their second week back in term, and she was already giving them one of the hardest exams on the syllabus... but on the other hand, if they really were the best of the best, this should be a piece of cake.

After the sound of nibs scratching on paper ceased, Twilight moved into the next question.

"And finally, question number fifteen. Who founded the Equestrian Society Of Ethereal Study?" She didn't expect any of them to know the true answer, but she was curious to know what they would put nonetheless. Gleamer Starshine or the Lady Rose, perhaps? Both were noticeable sorcery pioneers recent to the last half-century.

A small smile crept onto Luster's face, and while Twilight observed other pupils hesitating to record their answer, her personal tutee wrote down her response without a second of hesitation.

Hmm. Curious.

"Alright, scholars, that is enough for this morning. Please hand your tests in at the front on your way out."

She stood by and watched as they filed past her, slapping their sheets of parchment one by one. Luster was the last to leave the room, and Twilight held out a hoof to stop her.

"Luster, wait a minute."

"Yes, Princess?"

"I would like to speak with you. Come," she gestured into the now-empty hallways. "Walk with me."

They strolled down the hallway languidly, the plush red carpet soft beneath their hooves. On their left and right, large, gilded portraits of the greatest sorcerers ever to walk the soils of Equestria lined the walls.

Honestly, Luster felt a bit restless. Almost... unsatisfied, somehow. Her History of Magic class partner, Ashwin Godfrey, had asked her out earlier. His green eyes had sparkled with hope, and she had been so tempted so say yes. But as much as she liked him, she had rejected him for the sake of her studies. For the purpose of perhaps one day being on these walls they passed.

Luster's eyes wandered as they passed Star Swirl the Bearded, Clover the Clever, Sunburst, Gleamer Starshine, The Lady Rose, as well as some more recent magical pioneers, such as Golden Glaze, discoverer of pencillin, or Lilia le Blanc, who created the Bone-Mending Spell.

And finally, at the very end of the corridor, where the hallway split into two paths going west and east, a portrait hung facing all of the rest.

A unicorn stood in the centre, tall and willowy. There was a regality in her posture, the way her head was held high and proud, her long, navy mane curling gently past her shoulders, striped with streaks of gleaming cobalt. Against the darkness of the night sky behind her, penetrated only by the thin pinpricks of the white light of stars, her bright blue eyes seemed to glimmer just as brightly, the colour of cornflowers. The aura around the mare's horn was the same shade, and even from just the painting, one could imagine how it would oscillate ethereally around her horn.

Luster gazed up at the portrait with large eyes. There was something so familiar about the mare, something about the way she held herself, the relaxed yet powerful stance of her shoulders.

"Luster, do you know who this is?" Twilight asked her student, turning to face the little unicorn.

"Star Sentry," Luster nodded, reading the golden plaque next to the painting, "founder of the ESES. One of the smartest ponies in the field."

Twilight nodded, a slight smile on her face. "Indeed. I'm curious... not many people know of the Equestrian Society Of Ethereal Study. I wonder... how did you come across it?"

Luster's face darkened sheepishly. "I may have... read about it in your library..."

Twilight felt a chuckle bubble to her throat. "Well, I have always said you were more than welcome to utilise my private library for your academic needs. Within reason, of course."

"Yes, Princess."

"But what I was more curious about is how you know about Miss Sentry? Not many scholars nowadays are interested in Etherea, much less those who studied it."

Luster shrugged. "I mean I guess... I mean, I guess sometimes I just have questions, you know? Questions that none of the other professors at RAoAS could answer, and you aren't always here..."

"What sort of questions- if I may ask?"

"Oh," Luster seemed a bit surprised, "well, pretty silly ones, I guess."

"There's not such thing as-"

"- a silly question, yes I know," Luster finished for her mentor, and Twilight hid a smile. "Just things like... how do we know space is still expanding? How do we know how the Universe started- if not why? What's the nature of reality?"

"Those are some big questions," Twilight observed.

"And- and maybe the one I wanted to know the most was... where do alicorns to when they die? I mean, they're virtually immortal- no offence Princess-"

"None taken, my dear."

"And why is it that some pass on while others don't? Princess Cadenza passed on eventually but her daughter Flurry Heart didn't- but she didn't really pass on, she just- she just disappeared one day. And where did Cadence go? Where did Celestia and Luna go?"

The question shook something in the very centre of Twilight. It triggered a memory, a beautiful thing, which she had been so determined not to turn into a nightmare. Her heart sank.

Promise I can stay with you forever.

Her student must have detected a change in Twilight's face, because she asked "Princess? Are you alright?"

"Hmm?" Twilight snapped out of her reverie, "Oh yes, I'm fine, thank you. Those are some brilliant questions, Luster."

Her student smiled shyly.

Twilight stared at her for a moment, before turning back to the portrait. "I love questions. Something about them, the big ones and the little ones. The desire that ponykind has to discover, to innovate, to create. The yearn for knowledge..."

"Mmm." Luster hummed her agreement.

"Star was someone very close to me," Twilight smiled almost melancholically, reaching a purple hoof up to brush the plaque free of non-existent dust.

"Really?" Luster replied, turning to study her mentor intently.

"Yes. I knew her better than anyone ever did."

There was the same tone in her voice, that Luster had at first thought was the mourning of a friend, perhaps, or even a relative. But there was a striking tone to her voice, something more more intimate, a special kind of grief that seemed to render the heart strings themselves. As if the Princess had lost a part of herself.

Luster frowned, then gasped softly as she raised her head to meet her mentor's. The long navy mane... the purple coat... the exalted posture... it couldn't be...

"Wait- was she- you don't mean that Star Sentry was the same Starfall who was-"

"My daughter." Twilight finished for her, smiling. "She didn't like to work in the public eye, she found it too stressful and her work was too delicate."

"So that's why there aren't many pictures of her in the ESES manuscripts..."

"Exactly," Twilight nodded, "and she preferred to use her father's name, to keep the press away. It was a very covert study, only a few specialists- all trained by her- worked on the project."

"Why didn't you help her?"

"I did," Twilight smiled, "and working alongside her was one of the fondest memories I have. She amazed me. But having a country to run, I was naturally preoccupied."

"She had a lot of questions like you," Twilight exhaled, glancing up at the portrait with a maternal fondness. "And she decided to go answer them herself."

Twilight smiled sadly, and there was a taste of pride in the expression, marred with the tang of grief.

"I mean... is she still...?"

"She was mortal. She died half a century before you were born."

"I'm... I'm sorry..."

"Don't be." Twilight placed a hoof over Luster's shoulders. "Coriolis kept my spirit, Hestia my joy. But Star... she held my pride. And her mortal life only drove her further than I'd ever believed was possible, to discover things that I'd never disclosed."

Luster nodded in understanding. "But why do we know about the ESES now, if it was such a secret project?"

Twilight's smile faded ever so slightly. "After her... after she passed, I decided to publish papers in her pseudonym. It seemed the right thing to do, she would have wanted recognition for her work, in the end. And I couldn't... I couldn't let her go uncredited for what she had achieved. Did you know, she discovered fourteen new plant species that had existed in Etherea, raising the total to thirty-two? And she travelled to the Saddlian Deserts to uncover fossils and infrastructure buried deep in the ground."

"Woah..." Luster's eyes shimmered with the prospect of adventure.

Twilight nodded emphatically, before leading Luster away from the portrait and out of the lecture hall into the Palace.

"Come, my most faithful student. I think it is time for another lesson in Friendship."

---

Golden rivulets of light streamed through the shards of colourful glass in the stained windows, smattering the Hall of Friendship with pockets of vibrantly toned light.

Luster had always loved the Council's meeting room: the pillars were tall and crystalline, soaring upwards into the voussoirs and blending seamlessly into the translucent ceiling. The reflective nature of the quartz ceiling seemed to sing of the boundless glories of scientific and artistic triumphs, the ceiling seemingly stretching up endlessly into the sky in a celestial epistrophe.

Closing the double gilded doors behind them, Twilight nodded to the Royal Guards who were manning their posts diligently, and they bowed stiffly and exited the room.

In the centre of the room, there lay a large, round marble table. Upon the table lay a map, so detailed and pedantic that Luster thought if Equestria were to be destroyed, and only the map remained, then it could surely be built back again to a striking likeness.

Around the table sat six, large marble thrones. There was a solemnity about them, a tenor embedded in the intricate carvings of the handles or the marks etched into the heads of them, that spoke of a great, monumental power more ancient than time itself.

The Elements of Harmony.

Luster knew what they were, of course. The whole of Equestria did. Their Bearers had been some of the most reknown historical figures in the History of ponykind: Applejack represented Honesty, Fluttershy was Kindness. Pinkie Pie embodied Laughter, Rarity was Generosity, and Rainbow Dash depicted Loyalty. And of course, her own mentor, Princess Twilight Sparkle, represented the Element of Magic.

For years they had governed the Council, not always present, but meeting biannually. And when the mortal Bearers had passed away, others stood up. Sometimes it was their descendants, other times it would be others, of all types of shape and form and size and species- but all with something to prove, and all with something that was worth it.

Yet, the cutie marks of the Elements had remained the same. Over time, they had become known simply as the symbols for the Elements. Behind each chair was a window, portraying each of the original Bearers forever captured in the coloured glass.

Twilight walked round the table, and sat in her chair at the head. Luster, unsure of what to do, hovered near the other end.

Twilight, sensing her uncertainty, smiled and waved her hoof. Suddenly, another chair had appeared besides her, less grandiose than the Thrones of the Bearers, but comfortable nonetheless.

Luster smiled shyly and sat down next to her mentor, in front of the table, which was laden with books and various other maps. Using her telekinesis to ring a small, golden bell, Twilight shifted the books off the table and pulled out a larger, sturdier one.

A pretty, white unicorn popped her head through a door to the side of the Hall, her black mane scraped back into a tight but efficient bun.

"You called, Princess?" She asked, and her accent was foreign- Prench, maybe?

"Hi, yes Feather," Twilight lifted her head and smiled at the unicorn, "could we get some tea, please?"

The unicorn- Feather- nodded, seemingly pleased to be of service. "Right away, Princess."

Luster has always been a little in awe of her mentor and the prestige that came with ruling a country. Sometimes she found it hard to believe that the actual Princess of Equestria was her own personal mentor. Her- a rather unimportant filly from a trivial background. Even the chairs were gilded and stately-

"These chairs appear so stately, Luster," Twilight explained, "because really, it is not I who rules the people. It's the values these Elements represent."

Oops, Luster thought. Had she said that last part out loud?

Twilight chuckled at the surprised look on her face and continued. "The ponies of Equestria are dictated by their sense of kindness, their generosity. Honesty is key to a functioning economy, Loyalty to healthy relationships. And really, can you imagine what the world would be without Laughter?"

Luster raised her eyebrows as Feather offered her a cup of tea. It was dark and bitter, with a hint of creamy sweetness bleeding through. Just the way she liked it. Her eyes flickered up to the glass windows, fascinated by the way the light glimmered just by the eyes of each of the portraits of the window, almost like tears. Tears of sepulchral, majestic, joyous beauty.

"What were they like?" Luster asked suddenly, surprising Twilight. "The original Element Bearers? I mean obviously you knew them, but..."

"They were my best friends." Twilight's face curved instinctively up into a smile. "They were the ponies who knew me best in the whole world. I didn't chose them to be Bearers, Gods, they didn't even choose themselves. But without them, with their faith and love and support, I wouldn't have ever been here, standing where I am right now."

"They sound great..." Luster smiled.

"They truly were. Dash was so brave, Fluttershy genuinely the kindest pony I'd ever met. Rarity may have appeared superficial on the surface, but once you got to know her, her generosity astounds you. Applejack took care of us all, and Pinkie Pie... Celestia, I don't have enough words to describe Pinkie."

"Why weren't they immortal as well?"

Twilight sighed. "There are some things even I don't understand, Luster. Like, why was I chosen to succeed Celestia, why was I the only one to become a Princess? To be honest, I'm sure I could give you a lot of reasons. Perhaps it was because I was the most academically able, perhaps it was because I had the right mindfulness for it. Or, perhaps, it was because I had the biggest lesson to learn."

"What was that?"

Her mentor's voice was rueful. "The simplest lesson of all. I had to learn the value of Friendship."

"Wait- what?" Luster was confused. Wasn't Twilight the literal Princess of Friendship?

"Believe it or not, Luster," Twilight continued, "there was a time where I had no friends. Where I knew absolutely nothing about being a good friend, a reliable friend. It was I who had to fall and fall again before I finally started to climb."

"How did you know what to do?" Luster asked.

"I didn't. I had absolutely no idea what to do."

"Then how did you succeed?"

"How every great figure in ponykind's history did. I learnt from my mistakes. I'm still learning from my mistakes. And perhaps the beautiful thing about this world is that I'll never know everything. I'll never stop learning."

Luster nodded.

"And in truth, Luster," Twilight continued, turning he gaze up to the portraits of her friends, "questioning mortality has always been something I've been afraid to do."

There was a silence before it was filled with the inevitable question.

"Why?" Luster asked, genuinely curious.

"Because it's so... irrevocable. You cannot take back immortal life once you have given it. I may be powerful within nature, Luster, but I am not above it. I feel it would be... unnatural for me to go around giving immortality to ponies who- although who I care for dearly- weren't chosen by nature- or who weren't forced upon it.

And I know that can make me sound all sorts of horrible, but nature demands balance. It demands coherence. With the sacrifice of eternal life, you forfeit other qualities of life. Can you imagine if everyone was immortal? Overpopulation would be a huge issue- without the dead the make space for the living, where would people live? What would be achieved, without the pressures of knowing that we don't have forever? Without the limit of time, what would be discovered? Would time even be relevant? My daughter had a mortal life, and yet she got further than anybody else because of it."

Twilight's tea cup hovered by her lips. She took a sip, and then another, and then rested it gently back down on the saucer.

"All these big questions, Luster. These big, big questions. It's simply life. The circle of life. You are born. You live. You die. And once we break the cycle... can we ever go back? Even I am not audacious enough to change the very nature of existence."

Luster sat wide-eyed, drinking in her mentor's words, absorbing thoughts and concepts like a sponge- like she did with everything.

"Come," Twilight motioned at a page she had flipped to in the big book. "Have a look."

Peering over the Princess' shoulder, Luster frowned. "It's another picture of the Elements. But... they don't look much like their portraits."

It was a snapshot of Twilight and her friends before she had become an alicorn. Applejack had been holding the camera, holding up in front of all their faces, her stetson blocking half of the frame. In the background, Rarity was snapping at Dash, who seemed to be flipping in the background. Behind Applejack, Fluttershy peeked over the back, long pink mane concealing most of her mane. Twilight had a look of terror on her face as Pinkie Pie seemed to jump on her her behind, a maniacal grin on her face.

"No," Twilight laughed, "they don't."

"They look... normal." Luster said, her gaze flickering back to the windows at the top of the hall.

"They were. They were completely and utterly normal in most ways. In others, of course, they were extraordinary. But do not forget, they were ponies with flaws and emotions and desires and thoughts and weaknesses and questions. They were never perfect pagans of friendship- AJ was not always honest- that would be impossible- just like Pinkie wasn't always happy."

"Hmm," Luster murmured, thinking of her own friends. The original Bearers had always seemed so... idyllic in the history books.

As if reading her mind, Twilight said "I'm sure you've read countless books or articles or had classes on them. You may know them as having this or having that. You know them for their successes. But I know them for their flaws as well. Their strengths, of course, but for their failures as well. Their lowest points as well as their high. We had no idea what we were doing. None of us did. But sometimes, you just have to trust in each other, and trust in yourself. I believe in you."

"Thanks Princess," Luster smiled, and Twilight closed the book.

"I suppose the lesson I'm trying to teach you here, Luster, is to make the most of every opportunity that comes your way. Leave no path untrodded, no stone unturned. Push yourself to your limits, make the most of this life. Do what my daughter did, what my friends did, what countless others before them did. Discover things for yourself, and trust nobody's judgement but your own."

"Make the most of life..." Luster murmured, thinking of Ash's face as she rejected him against her will.

"Find out things for yourself. Teach yourself. I can be here here guide you, but I can't make you understand. That desire, the drive to know can and does come only from yourself. Experience as much h as you can. Know as much as you can."

"Princess... I have a question."

"Well, that's a surprise," Twilight smiled. "Ask away."

"It's about a guy-"

Twilight's face lit up with a kind of youthful delight, one that would be hard to imagine on such a monumental figure. "Ooh, do tell. It's been ages since I've heard any sort of gossip. The Foreign Affairs ministers aren't very talkative, you know."

Luster chuckled. "It's about... well, what he did-"

Twilight raised her eyebrows playfully. "Did he do something wrong? Unfortunately I only have herbal tea in my study, not any bitter cups of cold revenge, but I'm sure I could-"

"No, no, Princess, he hasn't done anything wrong," Luster chuckled nervously.

"Well? Spill then."

"He asked me on a date," Luster said, "but I said no."

Twilight thought for a moment. "Is he a nice stallion?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, he's ever so nice. He's kind and smart- and he has the sharpest sense of humour," Luster began rambling, an odd smile on her face.

Twilight knew that smile. She had seen it many times before, on her own children as well as countless others. She remember the first time it had been on Starfall's face, after her seventeenth birthday when young Prism Dart had (by the courtesy of some prompting by his mother) had turned up with a bunch of mildy wilted roses at their doorstep.

It was the look of a first love.

"Why did you say no then?" Twilight asked.

"I was too busy..." Luster replied uncomfortably. "I had too much work to do."

Twilight's face grew serious. "Luster. Never, ever put work before your relationships. I did once, a long time ago. Before I had moved to Ponyville, even."

"What happened?"

"I never got them back. Not really." Twilight's face was sad, and earnest. "The whole experience everything thing, Luster... I'm not just speaking academically here. Work hard, love hard. I'm... you know what, don't worry about any of our reports or experiments or homework for this week. Have fun. Okay?"

"Thanks, Princess. I... thanks for being there."

Luster smiled, and Twilight pulled her in for a side hug. "You're dismissed."

And her student left the room with a newfound determination. Even if she only lived for another day, boy, was she was going to make the most of it.

Twilight smiled fondly as her student rushed out of the room in a whirlwind of youthful exuberance.

Live each day as if it were your last. Her smile faded slightly as the guilty hypocritical feeling she always had when giving that advice stole over her.

That was hard to do when you knew the days would never stop coming.

Author's Note:

Hii guys. Sorry its been ages since I've last updated. Not gonna lie, this chapter took me a while to write, because I had a bit of a writers block halfway through. I felt like it was a little bit flat and monotone. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.

Dawn x

Ps. Poetry credited to Tiffany Johnson

Comments

[Rawislon03]

Every moment she ever had with Princess Celestia has probably been given whole new meanings through that now shared context. I wonder how her relationship with Flurry Heart is going. At least there she has a fellow immortal to share her woes with, when they aren’t separated through sheer distance and individual duties.

[Crystalline Waters]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN MONOTONE?!
This successfully made me cry, and boy did the tears spring up fast as soon as I saw the last name Sentry.
The message was so upfront, but also found ways to dg themselves deeper into the story and just life in general.
This is so good!
:)

[Dawn Leaper]

11020324
Yeah, that's an interesting point. I'd like to explore the idea why some alicorns are immortal, and some aren't. And maybe we'll get to see a sort of Cadence/Celestia relationship with Flurry and Twilight, seeing as Twi is Flurry's aunt

[Dawn Leaper]

11020464
Awww thank you I'm glad you enjoyed it!!!

[Rawislon03]

11020731
That’d be interesting. Even politically it would be interesting to see if the Diarchy transitions into a sort of duel monarchy. Where instead of being two princesses ruling from the same city as a centralised state it begins to morph into something else entirely under two political centres. As ponies, local governments and maybe even metropolitan cities begin to determine which of Canterlot or the Crystal City are easier to travel to, to have disputes resolved and decisions made, there can form a bloc of the states and cities aligned closer to the Crystal City in the north and a bloc more closely aligned with Canterlot in the south. A gradual divide that Twilight might be entirely content with in the short term, but eventually starts to exasperate the eventual fracturing of Equestria.