Spike asks Twilight one day if she thinks she's immortal. Twilight doesn't know how to respond to Spike's question, so she goes out in search of answers. Unfortunately, nopony is willing to tell her the truth...is she immortal?
Spike asks Twilight one day if she thinks she's immortal. Twilight doesn't know how to respond to Spike's question, so she goes out in search of answers. Unfortunately, nopony is willing to tell her the truth...is she immortal? Well, is she?
What is it like, one thinks, to be immortal? To live forever, and watch others pass as you go onward. No one here in this world has experiences of that nature...but our pastel friends in another place do. Twilight does, at least.
---
Twilight was sitting in her bedroom in her castle, warm rays of light flooding through the windows onto the book she was enthralled in. She turned the page, a look of excitement on her face as she read what must have been one of the best stories she had ever read. She didn't even notice Spike, who threw the door open with a dramatic posture.
"Ok, Twilight, I know you told me that there was no cake left," Spike began, waving a fork splattered with cake bits towards Twilight, "but when I looked in the kitchen, I noticed it in the oven!" Spike waited for a moment for Twilight to react.
Page flip.
"Well, you could've told me you saved some of it! I was soooo hungry!" Spike watched in mild frustration as Twilight flipped another page, seemingly without hearing him. "Hey," he said, approaching Twilight and tapping her horn, "you in there?"
"Hmm?" she said, looking quickly at Spike before returning to the story. Spike considered her for a second before shrugging.
"Nothing," Spike said, sitting on the bed with Twilight. He tried to read the story, but Twilight flipped the page before he was even half way done. Frowning, his gaze dropped to Twilight's wings, which were folded. He reached out a examined one of the feathers.
"Yes?" Twilight asked in response to Spikes touch.
"Huh," Spike contemplated, his brow furrowed. "Twilight? Do you think you're going to live forever, or be immortal, or die like normal?" The question startled Twilight, and she closed the book part way with her magic so she could turn and focus on Spike.
"What?" she asked.
"Well, do you think you'll just live forever, never getting sick, looking flawlessly young?" Spike asked, raising a finger in the air, "Or do you think you'll live forever, but look older and get sick and have a sucky metabolism so you get fat?" Twilight stared at him, a look of slight curiosity and surprise on her face.
"Well...I guess I never really thought about it," she said slowly, stroking her chin with her hoof. "I mean, I sorta expected to become, you know, like the princesses...but I don't know..." She closed her book all the way and stared out in space in complete thought. Spike hopped off the bed, walking around her room and wagging his finger around as if he were some army sergeant instructing his soldiers before battle.
"Because I know what dragons are like," Spike said as he walked, "and I know that I'll probably live for, like, four to seven pony generations; maybe longer if I keep myself in shape. But you? We know the princesses are at least, maybe, two thousand years old? And that Luna's younger than Celestia, so maybe Celestia is like three thousand years old! Cadence...I dunno. And you, well, you're not even technically an adult, so who knows how much you've got to go!" Twilight took this all in with a look of calculation.
"Well, perhaps I'll-" she rubbed her head frustration "-oh, Spike, why didn't this occur to me sooner!" She hopped out of bed and straightened her hair. "I'm gonna go to Canterlot and get right down to the bottom of this!" She stomped her hoof a few times as she spoke, a look of happy determination shining on her face.
"Huh, I dunno," Spike said, scratching his back as he spoke. "What if the Princesses don't want to tell you anything?"
"Pfff!" Twilight pfffed, "Why would they not want to tell me about how long I'll live?"
Spike twiddled his fingers a little before he said, "Maybe you'll live very...shortly."
"'Shortly' isn't a word, Spike," Twilight chastised playfully, "and besides, I'm pretty sure I'll live longer than normal, at least." Spikes look of worry didn't leave his face. Twilight turned and walked out of the room, and Spike hurried after her, tugging on her tale.
"No, I'm serious Twilight!" he said, pulling back on her to prevent her from moving. "What if the Princesses didn't tell you anything because...the truth is too horrible!? What if...what if you've got an expiration date!? What if-"
“'You’re worried about what-ifs. Well, what if you stopped worrying?'” Twilight stopped and turned, eyes closed, as she recited the quote. "Spike, don't worry. I'm sure when I'll ask the Princess, she'll give me a completely sound, reasonable answer. Now I need you to stay here and watch the castle while I'm gone. We've already had one break in already." With that, she left the building, heading toward the Ponyville Train Station. Spike sat on the floor, thinking about Twilight.
I wonder if she thinks that she's gonna get a good answer, he thought to himself. I wonder if the Princess will talk. I wonder if she wouldn't mind if I...trail along sneakily...
Spike got up and went to one of the castle's higher windows. From there he could see a good chunk of Ponyville and the horizon with Canterlot off in the distance. He was able to see his lavender friend trotting to the train station. Smirking, he went out through the castle to prepare himself. After all, who said that a dragon's breath can transport only scrolls?
Celestia sat at her podium, reading a report on Basel production. She yawned as she read it; she was really hungry, and this was the last document. She stole a glance across the throne room at a waiters cart filled with the days lunch. Delicious, royal pastries and chocolate dipped apples and the cake. Oh, how her stomach rumbled when she gazed upon the frosted concoction of pure genius. She felt her mouth water and relished in it. Soon,the cake would be hers!
Looking around real quick, she looked back at the report and hummed a tune while she read.
"The Basel factory is suffering from a correction...A scarlet confection made to tasty perfection for your mouth’s inspection. The tip of the toppings, the vanilla flavored frosting, is so tempting to you. The taste bud’s elation in what you are facing is something like devil’s food cake. The tiled floor kitchen in the hours bewitching leaves your pulse a twitching from the caloric intake. And the hours you shorten by licking the shortening - they are a mistake. But they are your poisonous pleasure, made to bake and yours’ to take - it’s a sweet treat we call cake!"1 Celestia realized her forearms were raised in the air and she was shouting. Ponies were staring at her from ajar doors. No doubt her singing had been echoing around the whole castle...wait, she had been singing?
"Emm hmm," she coughed, fluffed the paper, and went back to reading the report, hiding her blush behind the document. One of the servants that had been about to deliver a message coughed and recomposed himself.
"Princess Celestia?" the servant asked, trying hard to hold back a smirk.
"Yes?" she said nonchalantly, thinking to herself the best way to erase the memories of a castle full of ponies.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle is here to see you, your Majesty," the servant bowed.
"Let her in," Celestia said, setting the reports down. Now why would her student be coming to see her? Perhaps she found out who had taken the How to Bake a Cake in 12 easy Steps!, or perhaps she wanted some friendship advice, or-
"Princess Twilight!" announced the servant loudly as the doors to the throne room opened majestically. Some trumpets sounded from the music room, and confetti canons shot as Twilight trotted in. She walked right up to Celestia's throne and bowed. Celestia smiled gently as Twilight stood up straight.
"Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked, a light of curiosity in her eyes. "I'd...like to ask you a question."
"Yes?" Celestia asked, wondering why Twilight didn't just send a letter.
"Am I immortal, or just undying, or something else entirely?"
---
Twilight watched Celestia's expression as she asked the question. She saw Celestia's face twitch slightly and the smile falter ever so slightly.
"Why, Twilight," Celestia looked around quickly and unusually nervously. "How about we discuss this over lunch?" She clopped her hooves and a cart that had been lying across the room was wheeled over by a servant. The cart was placed carefully between Celestia and Twilight, and another servant brought a padded seat for Twilight. Before the second servant left, they whispered into Twilight's ear, "Let her have the cake." Then every servant in the room left, and only the guards posted in their spots remained.
"I'm sure you must be hungry after your journey here," Celestia said as she levitated a piece of Red Velvet into her mouth. Twilight looked down at the fine food specimens, then looked at Celestia, a firm look in her eyes.
"Celestia, as an alicorn now, I'd like to know just what that means," Twilight crossed her hooves and stared right into Celestia's soul. "I'd like to know what things I can do, how long and, well, how I'll live." Celestia swallowed her piece of cake loudly, fidgeting uncomfortably under Twilight's gaze.
"Twilight," Celestia began, "Sometimes it is better...not to know things." She waited and stared into Twilight's unwavering eyes. "All you need to know is that the tree of Harmony chose you-"
"No," Twilight interjected, placing a hoof on the pastry cart. "You chose me. You're the one who cast the spell on me to turn me into an alicorn, and then I got a coronation and BAM! Princess Twilight!" Twilight threw her arms up on the last phrase.
"Well, I did the spell, but only because I felt prompt-" Celestia bit her lip. A bead of sweat condensated on her forehead and rolled slowly down her face. "Honestly, Twilight, why the sudden curiosity-"
"Don't try to change the subject on me!" Twilight leaned forward, their muzzles almost touching. "What prompted you to change me?" Celestia gulped again.
"I felt you were ready, of course," Celestia chuckled halfheartedly.
"Ready for what?" Twilight asked slowly.
"Well, the enormous responsibility of being a Princess and an alicorn."
"Alrighty tighty," Twilight said, leaning back slowly. Her expression had changed to one to close examination. "How long will I live?"
Silence.
"Celestia?" Twilight thought back to what Spike had said about her not wanting to know the answer. "Is it...bad?"
"No, of course not," Celestia reassured, taking a bite out of the hot fudge cake. "It's just that, I, ehm...don'twanttotellyousogonow!" Celestia clopped her hooves together again, and the throne room doors opened.
"Oh no," Twilight said, "I am NOT going until I get a straight answer from you." She put her hoof on Celestia's cake. "TELL me how long, you think, I'll live!" Twilight glared at Celestia, who crouched a little and looked up at Twilight with big eyes...but Celestia said nothing.
"Security," Celestia eventually whispered. Immediately after she did, dozens of guards began spilling in from the random posts they had been standing in. Twilight flapped her wings and rose a dozen feet into the air.
Pointing at Celestia, Twilight said venomously, "Fine, whatever. I like Luna better than you anyway!" With that, Twilight flew out of the throne room. The guards milled about by the door, wondering whether they should chase after the lavender Princess.
"Princess Celestia," asked the Chief Guard, "do we have permission to obtain the fugitive?" He didn't seem sure, by the expression on his face, that Twilight was a fugitive by any means. Celestia herself was relaxing herself from that stressful encounter by indulging a bunch of cake.
"Celestia?" the guard asked again, somewhat dismally. Celestia looked up, crumbs streaking her maw, and nodded.
"Gaw ahehhd," she mumbled with her mouth full. The chief guard nodded, and yelled to his troops, "Ready yourselves! We are to chase down Twilight and apprehend her!" All the guards left the throne room and began to spread out halfheartedly throughout the castle. Celestia sat contempt in her seat, full of cake, when a sudden urge to cough overcame her. She hacked, looking very not Princess-like, until she belched. A surge of flame (it looked a lot like a solar flare) burst from her mouth and a singed Spike fell to the ground. He got up and shook his head, looking around, confused.
"Wait, where's Twilight?" he asked Celestia.
"I think she went after my sister," Celestia said grumpily, not having the best of mornings.
"Ah, great," Spike groaned, and prepared himself yet again to perform the quickest way from A to B.
Luna was sleeping peacefully on her bed, a little drool escaping from the edge of her mouth. If one could see inside her brain, they would see her in another people's dreams (on the opposite side of the world, of course, where it was mostly inhabited by monkeys). She had the covers pulled all the way to her chin, and the windows closed. Glow-in-the-dark star stickers hang on the ceiling, where they glowed their soft green color. Fancy Victorian decor was laid about, looking for the most part as it had a thousand years ago - except for the recent band and video game posters stuck to the wall, as well as a Rainbowtronic Alternative Telematic-visual System (RATS) connected to a EcksBocks gaming console (very expensive items in a world where electricity is barely starting up).
As Luna lay adrift in the world of dreams, a sneaky Twilight teleported through the walls to avoid the guards posted at Luna's door. She appeared in a flash of purple lightning in Luna's closet, where she carefully climbed out and levitated from off the ground a baseball bat. She strode over to the EcksBocks, and with her magic she threw open the curtains. Rays of sunlight beamed through, and Luna was instantly affected. She growled, and rolled over restlessly over in her sleep.
Now, everyone but Twilight knew never, EVER to disturb the Princess of the Night, especially when she was slumbering. The reasons there were guards at her door, the reason she slept everywhere she went, and the reason one never wakes her up forcibly is simple: if woken up suddenly enough, Luna could be trapped inside the person's mind she was dreaming with, letting the other person into her mind. And surely enough, that is what happened when Twilight woke up Luna.
"Luna," Twilight said monotonously, "Listen to me." Luna tossed the covers and sat up, blurry eyed.
"Entonces, ¿quién tiene el nervio para despertarme ?!" she said with an accent she shouldn't have. "¿Es usted, Franco?" Twilight stared confusedly for a second before recomposing herself.
"Luna, I need to ask you something your sister couldn't tell me: am I immortal?" Twilight said calmly, but not without an observing edge in her eyes. Luna looked around bewilderingly, before catching her reflection in the mirror. She gaped at it for a long time, eyes wide.
"Espera, espera, ya que cuando era yo un caballo púrpura gigante?" she eventually said, before looking, as if for the first time, at Twilight. "Y lo que es usted, uno alado? Usted es uno de los Los Equestrians, ¿no es así?" Twilight and Luna stared at each other, neither not sure what exactly was going on.
"Uh, Luna, could you just respond in Equestrian, not..." Twilight scrunched her face, "what is that language, German?" Luna looked at her and cocked her head a little, like a dog.
"You...hables...Equestrian?" Luna asked, thinking very hard of what she had to say. "You...understand...me?" Twilight nodded approvingly at Luna's ability to speak Equestrian.
"Great, so, could you tell me," Twilight began again, "about my immortality and such. I know you would never hold anything back from me." But just in case, Twilight thought, I'm not afraid to take your video game console as hostage.
"Me llamo is..." Luna focused, a look of concentration set on her face, "Me llama is Santiago. Si - er, yes, Santiago." She looked down at herself another time at touched her body. "Entonces, ¿cómo y por qué soy una chica?" Twilight shook her head, raising the bat in the air instinctively.
"Concentrate, Luna," Twilight said stiffly, her face one of impatience now. "Tell me, how long will I live!" She had to grit her teeth from shouting too loud, lest the guards outside the door hear her. Luna was content on feeling every part of her body with her hooves.
"Así que puedo llegar a ser una chica ahora?" Luna asked herself, ignoring Twilight completely. "Porque, esto es un poco raro. Quiero decir, ¿cuál sería mi esposa pensar en esto?" Her eyes widened, realizing the meaning of what he had just said. "¡Mi esposa! ¿Cómo funciona esta relación ?! Porque ella quería otro hijo, pero en este estado ..."
"Grrr!" Twilight grrred, fury in her eyes now. "Ok, Luna, I can't understand a flippin' word you're saying." She took a deep breath and whirled the bat with her magic above the EcksBocks. "Listen, you will answer me, or you can say goodbye to your precious video game thingy!" She raised her voice unintentionally at the end, and Luna focused on her, legs crossed together as if Twilight were about to attack Luna.
"Okay, okay!" Luna said, scooting up against the head of her bed. "Me hear now your tongue!" Luna paused, trying to piece together the words in her mind before saying them. She was almost sweating by how much force her face was exerting when it scrunched together. "What...is it...you...w-want? Si?" Twilight breathed slowly out, her expression stony.
"I want you to tell me...how long will I live?" Twilight asked slowly. Luna stared at her for a little bit before shrugging.
"I no know," Luna said, scratching her head. "What is...horse life...time? Si, horse life time es...seis y cero anos. Uhm, 6 and O...years?" Twilight stared at Luna, her face showing her confusion.
"Are you saying that I'll live...only 60 years?" Twilight asked as she let the bat drop to the floor. "That I'm not...immortal?" Twilight stared at Luna for confirmation, and Luna raised her arms up in exasperation.
"See me, horse," Luna said, rubbing her head, "I know not your...span. I am...sencillo...person. I know...nada." Twilight squinted at Luna, trying to make sense of what she had said.
"You're saying..." Twilight contemplated, "that you don't know?" Luna was quite for a moment before nodding her head in confirmation.
"What?" Twilight burst, suddenly and irrationally enraged, "You could've just told me in the beginning!" She picked up the bat and smashed it into the RATS, and its fragile screen shattered. Luna curled up in a ball as Twilight went and attacked the RATS. Generally, with the Princess of Friendship, none survive.
"¡Eso es!" Luna yelled, getting out of the bed and levitating up a bat of her own. "Usted, caballo loco, necesitas calmarte!" She walked slowly to the door while Twilight beat upon the now pile of debris. "Dejar de atacar a esa cosa, o tal vez siga adelante; No me importa!"
At that moment, all the guards burst through the door and quickly filled the room. The Chief Guard yelled loudly, "Halt, Imperial Scum!" It was a saying he loved to, well, say, and it was basically his trademark. Twilight didn't know that, neither would she have cared . Instead, she bolted out of the room, through the balcony, and through the open sky, flapping her wings into the sky.
"Darned it," the Chief Guard muttered, sulking. "Alright, everyone back to your posts. She's out of our hooves now." He turned and bowed quickly at Luna's feet. "I'm sorry, your Majesty, for our slowness-to-act. Have you been hurt at all?" Luna stared at him, taking in his deep bronze armor. Eventually, she sighed.
"Mira, caballo, he sido asaltado por un caballo mágico hoy," Luna sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Se me ha convertido en una niña, y encima de eso estoy ahora un caballo también. No estoy en mi país de origen, y todo el mundo aquí es una locura. Así que vaya y me deje en paz." She finished her tyrant with a not of finality. the Chief Guard stared at her for a moment, before swallowing loudly.
"Well," he said, backing out of the door, "Princess, I have no idea what you said, but I'm sure that, uh, your wisdom will inspire me. Or something." He left the room, easing the door until it closed silently. Luna sat down on the floor, staring vacantly about the room.
---
Santiago was confused now. He felt scared, and unnatural in the form he was in. Not long after, however, the armored-horse had left the room he was in, a sudden urge to fart overwhelmed him. Grunting, he let the biggest stinker ever in his life. Out of the almost visible fog that resulted from his gas came a figure.
"Gah!" Santiago gasped, before gagging a little on the stench. Pointing at the green-purple figure, he squeaked, "Dragón!" The dragon waved his way forward to Santiago, plugging his nose and scrunching his face.
"Holy cow, Luna, you stink!" Spike said nasally as he plugged his nose. "That's another reason I never travel this way." Snorting, he looked around. "Wait, where's Twilight?" Spike looked at Santiago, but unfortunately Santiago didn't speak Equestrian.
"Bueno, demonio dragón," Santiago said, pointing his super long forearms at himself. "No soy un caballo, a pesar de que me parezco a una. Está bien; Yo estaba confundido por un poco también. Sólo tienes que ir en su camino y déjame en paz." Santiago and the dragon stared at each other, the dragon seeming to not grasp what he had heard.
"Oh, so, you're not Luna?" Spike eventually asked, eyes wide open like dish saucers. Santiago, not really understanding that much, just shrugged. Spike's brow furrowed, and he stroked his imaginary beard.
"So that means Twilight couldn't have gotten an answer from-" Spike looked up at Santiago, who had just realized that the pony he was had shiny shoes "-you...so that means that there is only one person left in the world who Twilight could go to..." Perking up, he looked at Santiago directly in the eye and said very slowly, "You...fly...with...me...I...lead...way." Santiago pieced the words together in his mind, his eyes, fixed on Spike's nose.
"I...fly...con you?" Santiago repeated, making sure he was right. "I...follow...you?" Spike nodded approvingly, offering a smile an gesturing to the balcony.
An elder pony was traveling on a ragged mountain trail, a cold wind blowing by him that was almost strong enough to knock him over. He was pulling a cart with a grey tarp over it, trotting slowly across the icy ground with a steep mountain to his left and a deep ravine to his right. As he walked, his cart started slipping over the edge of the cliff, and his aged eyes widened. Letting out an elderly moan, he fumbled around, grasping on different loose objects as the cart's weight began to pull him off the cliff.
A million different thoughts was flashing in his mind in the seconds before he toppled over. He thought about what his family would do after his death, he thought about how everyone he knew would react, but most importantly, he thought about what his wife had said to him about undertaking this journey: "Don't do it; you'll fall off the mountain and die!" When his wife had said that, he scoffed and said he'd be fine. Now, as the cold wind blew, and the cart pulled him over the edge, he regretted not heeding his wife's advice.
---
Twilight was flying at a low altitude, cruising speed. Her tank was almost empty, since she hadn't eaten much when she had "lunch" with Celestia, and she shivered. She hadn't expected the Crystal Mountains to be this cold this time of year. She shook her head as she flew, determined to talk to the one pony she hoped she could count on: Cadence. Perhaps she, her old foal sitter and best friend, could tell Twilight about her immortality.
She was brought abruptly out of her thoughts when she noticed a pony pulling a cart along a narrow trail on the side of a steep mountain. She examined the situation, thinking that it probably wasn't a wise idea to do travel anywhere right now; it was cold enough to freeze water. Just as she was flying closest to the pony pulling the cart, the cart hit an icy spot and slid part-ways over the edge. Gasping, Twilight stopped abruptly as she watched the pony desperately grabbing on things to prevent the cart from going in farther, although his attempts were mostly all in vain. The cart began pulling him off the cliff, and Twilight raced forward.
Twilight grabbed the cart just as it began falling, flying upward, but it was heavy and Twilight did little to prevent the speed of descent. Grunting, she wrapped the whole cart and the pony, who was spinning around in confusion, in her magic. They levitated there in the air, inches from sheer cliff and dozens of hundreds of feet from the bottom of the ravine. Grunting, she tried to move the cart back up, but it was taking a toll on her magic.
She felt her magic slipping, and she looked quickly for the rope that connected the pony to the cart. Finding it, she attempted to untie it, but it was a hard knot, and she could only hold on for a few seconds more. Grunting, she flapped one more time, grabbed the pony, and let go of the cart. At that same moment, she blasted the rope with her attack magic, and it snapped.
Twilight and the elderly pony hovered there, Twilight carrying him in a hug, as they watched the cart tumbled down and crash into some rocks at the bottom. Twilight sighed, feeling very warm for such a cold environment, and flew back up to the path. She dropped the elder pony there, and panted for a little, rubbing the sweat off her forehead.
"Are you okay?" Twilight said, her breath frosting before her eyes. The old pony sighed, looking older than he was. He wobbly stood up, and walked over to the edge to see his cart in pieces 1000 feet below.
"I'm fine," he said with a deep voice, "but I can't say the same for the cart." Twilight took this time to examine him: he looked to be in his mid-50's, with light grey hair and light blue skin. His eyes were warm colored, and he smiled as he examined Twilight in turn. "Thank you for saving me." He frowned, and looked closer at Twilight. "Wait...oh..." Immediately, his demeanor changed. Stiffening up, he looked over Twilight's head and gave a salute. "I'm sorry, Princess, I did not recognize you."
"Oh, that's not necessary," Twilight said, blushing a little. "I didn't know you were a guard."
"Are you sure, Princess?" the elderly pony said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sworn to protect any Princess by any means necessary."
"It's fine, completely fine," Twilight reassured. "You don't have to protect me by acting...guard-like." The elder pony hesitated, then lowered his hoof. A hawk cawed somewhere, its sound echoing through the silent mountains.
"I'm Twilight," Twilight finally said, sticking her hoof out. The old pony shook it. "Although you probably knew that already." The old pony gave a small smile.
"I'm Arc," he said. "Radial Arc. But I prefer to be called Aims. 'Cause I'm good at projectile...things..." He coughed, rubbing his temple as he did so. "Again, thank you, Twilight. It is perhaps by pure chance that you found me, and when I needed you most, it seems."
"It's nothing; I'm used to saving ponies," Twilight said, crossing one leg over the other.
"Might I inquire what you are doing out here?" Aims asked. "It is an hours journey to the Crystal Empire, and there are other roads which are easier. And there's a train." Twilight shrugged, the cold beginning to seep back into her body.
"I'm trying to take the most direct route from Canterlot to the Crystal Empire...I may have rushed the decision, but I was a little stressed out at the time, and a bunch of guards were after me, and Luna was speaking either German or Portuguese; I'm no good with languages, but I'm pretty sure that something was wrong with-"
"Hold up, hold up," Aims said, raising a hoof in the air. "What? I'm old, so slow it down for me a bit, please."
"Oh, sorry," Twilight said, shivering a little. "I'm trying to ask the Princesses about my immortality, but none of them will tell me anything. I'm on my way to Cadence right now. Or was." Aims, stared at her for a little bit, an expression that Twilight couldn't quite place.
"Why would you want to know?" he asked quietly.
"Well, isn't it obvious?" Twilight said. "I'm an alicorn, and I have the right to know what that does to my lifespan! For goodness sakes, it's not that hard to understand! All I want to know is how long I live! Is that so hard to ask for?" Twilight ended her rant with a hoof stomp. Aims watched her with an expression of professional concealment.
"Perhaps," he said in his old, deep voice, "It is better to leave some stones unturned. Because under some stones are critters that could unravel your life." Twilight stared at him, and he continued. "If you find an answer to that question, what would you do? You'd most certainly change your lifestyle, perhaps even try to prevent your death. It's better to not know, and expect to die someday." Twilight watched him, modding slowly.
"I understand what you're saying," Twilight said slowly, "but I have the right to know, coupled with the desire. So I will find out." She stared at him a little longer. "I know you just lost whatever was in your cart-"
"Supplies, for my brother," Aims interjected.
"-yes, I'm sorry. But I need to know. And something tells me you know more about the subject." Aims sighed, rubbing his forehead. He looked left and right, and stared directly at Twilight.
"Listen, I know a mare who...who's special," Aims said in a low tone, "It's not my place to tell her to you, but I can take you to her." Twilight watched him for a second before nodding her head.
"Take me to her," Twilight asked. Aims nodded back, and looked back over the edge.
"I don't suppose...you could salvage some items for me, than?" he asked meekly. Twilight nodded again, willing to do anything if it got her closer to discovering an answer.
"You got it," she said before turning and jumping over the edge. Aims watched as she fell, fell...and spread her wings close to the bottom. He watched as she, a small purple dot, looked around other miscellaneous dots for anything that survived the fall and crash.
"She mustn't find out," Aims said to himself, before calling on his magic. He removed a slender bow and arrow from a pack that was lashed to his side. Taking out a quill and a parchment, he wrote a message and attached it the the arrow. Putting it in the bow, he aimed directly up. Feeling the wind through his old hair, he adjusted slightly. The chord was taunt, and he spotted a flicker in the clouds. He pulled back as far as he could sharply, let go, and the arrow whizzed far, far up in the sky.
As he put the bow away, Twilight flew up with a armful of bread, some shovels, and a hoe.
"This is what I could carry," she said, landing on the narrow path, "I'm sorry I couldn't get more. No wonder that cart was so heavy." Aims nodded, smiling warmly.
"It's alright," he said calmly. "We can split it among us. Come, follow me." Picking up the bread and the hoe, Aims resumed his trek down the path. Twilight followed behind, carrying the shovels with her magic. She noticed, right then, the elegant bow that was sticking out of the pack he wore.
"Nice bow," she said, "Ebony?"
"No, it's Yew mashed with Oak," he replied. Then he smiled, a smile Twilight didn't see. "It has a luck enchantment on it. Supposedly, it increases my chances of hitting the thing I need. And going where I need it to go." Twilight nodded, her eyes drifting to the not-too-distant mountain peaks as they walked.
"You know, I heard that enchantments like those are actually quite easy to produce now," she began, her voice echoing faintly with the hawk's shrill.
---
The arrow whizzed up vertically until it entered the cloud layer. The wind had blown it slightly west, just as Aims had predicted. It lost momentum and reached the apex of its journey, and for a split second it hang there. Just as it began its decent, a Pegasus Mail Delivery vehicle whizzed through the clouds and right into the arrow. The flyer didn't see the arrow fall into the box-shaped vehicle as she pulled it along. She was following the most direct path from Canterlot to the Crystal Empire, and the company she worked for guaranteed speed and efficiency. Even with her impaired vision, she could travel faster than average as her cruising speed.
The arrow lay in the mail delivery vehicle all the way to the Crystal Empire. The flyer headed directly for the massive palace that sat in the center of the city. Flying up to the delivery zone, she landed in the ornate Crystal Mountain Mail Service for Palace Ponies zone of the palace. As she unhooked herself from the mail vehicle, one of the guards approached her, a checklist levitating next to him.
"Mrs. Hooves, Delivery 29?" he asked her.
"Mmm hmm!" she nodded, her expression cheery. The guard simply nodded, checked a box on his list, and went on his way. Mrs. Hooves turned and unpacked the mail. Sifting through the boxes and the letters, she came across an arrow with a letter attached. Not knowing what it was, she shrugged and tossed it out the floor she was on. The arrow fell for a bit before landing in the Princess's Balcony. The sound of it landing next to her startled Cadence.
"What the...?" she said aloud as she picked it up with her magic. She took off the letter and unfurled it open. Her eyes scanned over it quickly, and she sighed. "The time has come, I suppose."
---
After a few hours of steady travel, Twilight and Aims reached their destination: the quaint mountain village of Snowcap. It was hidden in between four mountains, in a valley where I river was forced to run through. The homes were lined up all the mountains, and puffs of homey smoke were being emitted from their smokestacks.
"Wow!" Twilight exclaimed, marveling at the beauty of the humble village. "This is so picturesque! Why haven't I ever have heard of this place before?"
"Well, this place isn't really important to anyone," Aims said, a little tired from his hike. "It doesn't have a train running through here, but we're pretty self-sufficient. Became even more less unknown when the Crystal Empire came back. I was perfect for being a guard."
"Really? Why?" Twilight asked, curious.
"Well, see, I was born here," Aims said, reminiscing his life. "And I became a guard. Eventually became an elite. Then, when Cadence and Shining became the rulers here, they figured I would be a personal guard, because I knew the layout and stuff of the land." He sighed, then chuckled a little. "That's my life in a bottle for you."
They continued on down into the little village. They passed through a pass and bridged a bridge before they came to Aims' brother's house. Once there, Aims introduces his family to Twilight, and Twilight to his family. Then they ate a dinner together, seeing as it was beginning to get dark, and offered a room for the night to Twilight.
"Thanks," Twilight said, "but I'll be back late. Aims said he show me someone." They understood, but they became more conservative. That's why she's here. That's why Aims won't tell us anything.
Later, Aims wrapped into a heavy cloak and handed one to Twilight.
"You'll want to keep warm; it gets pretty cold around here," he said to Twilight. She took the coat, put it on, and traveled outside. It was snowing lightly, which made sense because of how far north they were. They trotted out a different way than they way they had entered the village, and trotted through a pine forest with snow filtering in through the needles. The moon poked halfway out of the clouds, allowing adequate vision for normal ponies.
"How far do we have to go?" Twilight asked, her voice slightly muffled by the deep red scarf she wore.
"Not to far, maybe ten minutes at the most," Aims said, trotting quietly beside her. And indeed, not long after, they came across the cave in which this mysterious person lived. It was set off the path, and it's entrance was very steep and slippery. Aime and Twilight walked down into it, and not to far in there was the sound of a cracking fire. Turning a corner, Twilight and Aims came upon a lonely campfire, with some gear set up around the cave. However, Twilight couldn't find the mysterious pony Aims had told her about. Feeling suddenly on edge, she turned to Aims.
"Aims?" she asked, firelight reflecting in her eyes, "Where is this pony your talking about?" Aims looked at Twilight, shrugging.
"She always returns here," Aims said, sitting down on a frayed mat. "She's probably out collecting firewood."
"Oh," Twilight said, sitting down as well. "Why does she live all the way out here?" Aims shrugged, fiddling with his zipper.
"That's the way she is," he said, brushing the light snow off his winter coat. "If she wants to tell you more about herself, so be it."
---
Spike and Luna/Santiago flew through the light snow. They had arrived at the Crystal Empire, only to find out that the Cadence had gone out to meet Twilight at this village called Snowcap. So they were heading that way now, swooping through the majestic mountains. Luna, who had eventually told Spike that he wasn't Luna but actually a dude named Santiago, was cold now, and Spike had to blow fire every once and a while to heat each other up.
"Geez," Spike said, rubbing his palms together. "It's only October! I could never live way up here."
"Si, Spíke," Santiago said, thinking about the balmy ocean where he lived. "Es...frío...here." They flew in silence for a few more minutes until Spike straightened up, straining his eyes.
"I think I see it!" he yelped, pointing to soft glow one valley over. "I see the glow of the city lights!" And sure enough, as Santiago flew in between two jagged mountains, a quaint little village lit with torches came into view. They swooped low enough for Spike to see something startling.
"Santiago!" Spike gasped, "Hide!" Stopping immediately, Santiago flipped over and landed in a pine tree. it wasn't comfortable, but it was necessary. Spike peered through the needles to watch certain events unfold.
"Lo que está mal, pequeño dragón?" Santiago asked Spike. Spike gulped, staring out with wide eyes.
"This is bad," Spike muttered, "real bad." Santiago shifted and pressed his face into a branch of pine needles, which hurt but allowed him to see a most disturbing sight. There was a pink pony with wings and a horn tied to a cross. Around the pink pony were multiple black, holy creatures. It appeared that they had everyone in the village tied up together. There were hundreds of ponies all together, and several of the black, holy creatures were coating a green goo over them. The black creatures themselves wore assorted, mashed-together armor, and there were a few running around collecting items from the village and gathering it in a separate pile away from the villagers.
"What...es...happening?" Santiago asked Spike quietly, bringing his face back out from the bushes. Spike looked back at Santiago, a look of worry on Spikes face that troubled Santiago deeply.
"They are Changelings," Spike said soberly, "and it looks like they are taking over this village."
"They...have...already," Santiago pointed out. Spike peered back out and raised an eyebrow.
"There's a lot gathering together..." Spike trailed off, watching events unfold outside the safe pine tree. "There's a separate group going off down a trail...they look ready for a fight." He gazed over the multitude of tied up ponies, but saw no Twilight Sparkle. "So Twilight's okay...geez, this is crazy! I wonder if Twilight knows..." Spike stepped back from his perch and resat on Santiago's back. "Alright, fly quietly out, and go to the north. There's this party of them going somewhere, and I want to see if they're after Twilight. But follow them stealthily." Santiago nodded, and, with his alicorn body, leaped out of the tree and took off just before he hit the ground. He smiled to himself.
I could get used to being this magic flying horse, he thought. But I can't get used to being female. Or a horse, for that matter. So what am I to do?
---
Twilight and Aims chatted for an indiscernible amount of time before they heard soft footsteps trotting slowly into the cave. Turning, they saw a very, very old mare trot in unsteadily, a stack of firewood tied to her back. Aims got up and helped unload her burden.
"Thank you, my boy," she said very quietly, and very eerily. To Twilight, her voice was like a needle poking through hard fabric, magnified a few times to become barely audible. Twilight looked at her; most of the ancient mare was covered by a long, burlap cloak. She had the hood up, so Twilight couldn't see her eyes.
The old mare offered a veiny green hoof, a light green as if her skin was rotting. Twilight took it and shook it, trying her best to be friendly.
"Hello," Twilight said, giving a stressed smile. "Who are you? Or, sorry - I mean how are you?" The old mare sat down slowly, her breath a quick rasp.
"I am Tribulatione Animæ Tuæ," the old mare said shakily, "but you can call me Praecipua."
"Oh, okay," Twilight said, not sure how to respond to that. "Praecipua. Got it. Now, I have a question..." Twilight trailed off as Praecipua began to twitch a little. Weird.
"Praecipua knows about your question," Praecipua said suddenly. Aims took a step closer to her, a look of worry and something else on his face as he stared at the old mare.
"Are you okay?" he asked her, placing a tender hoof on her shoulder. She looked up, and Twilight could finally see a pair of green insect-like eyes.
"The answer is you'll never escape alive," Praecipua said, in a voice that changed rapidly from old mare to deep male throttle. Moving with uncanny speed, the changeling un-morphed and struck Aims in the temple. He collapsed, and the changeling struck him in the head. Aims responded with a grunt, then laid still. The changeling then jumped over Aims and attacked Twilight.
After a moments shock, she conjured a spell and blasted the changeling with a burst of purple magic. The changeling fell backwards but landed, on its legs. It did a funky crab walk to Twilight and, faster than Twilight had anticipated, struck out its arm and whipped her off her feet. She fell, and the changeling's black, holy horn began to glow a sickly green. She felt goo begin to form around her, beginning with her hooves and slowly working up. She struggled and grabbed the changeling with her magic and hurled it against the cave wall. There was a yelp, followed by a thump, and all was quiet.
She got up, and found that the goo was still growing up her legs. She tried to cast a spell on it to remove it, but it wouldn't come off. She looked up and saw Aims still lying there.
"Aims!" Twilight said, stumbling toward him. The goo was to her knees now. She grabbed his face and looked into his eyes. There was a bruise forming on his neck, but he was still breathing. "Aims! Are you okay!?" The goo reached her torso as his eyes fluttered open slightly.
"Twilight..." he said, groaning. "My head really hurts..." He tried to move, but his face scrunched up painfully when he did, so he stayed still. "You...should get out." He said dimly.
"No, I can't..." Twilight said, the goo up to her neck now. "I...it was a trap!"
"Obviously."
"No, but I mean..." Twilight tried to move her neck, but the goo had already hardened and was on her cheeks. Aims blinked and saw it. His eyes slightly widened, and touched weakly her goo-encased forearm.
"Uh, Twilight," Aims slurred, beginning to slip away into unconsciousness. "You shoulddd...get that checked...ugh." His eyes closed and his head rotated back to the ground.
"Ya..." Twilight got out before the goo covered her mouth. Her whole body was encased now, and the changeling got back up wobbly.
"Oh," it said, rubbing its back. "I think I broke something." It went up to Twilight and levitated her onto his back. It took one glance at Aims, shrugged, and exited the cave. "Too bad she didn't find out that stupid answer.'"