Golden Note could hardly keep her hooves from shaking. Seated on the wooden bench outside Princess Celestia’s personal quarters, she was tempted to sit on them just to stop them from moving. Once the mental image of the silly deed entered her mind, Golden Note had to stifle a small giggle.

This wasn’t like her. Really, it wasn’t. But when the Princess of the Sun invites you over for a personal chat complete with a hoofwritten invitation, one finds the art of sitting still and keeping quiet the hardest to do.

Through the shut set of double doors, she could hear the tall Princess leisurely pacing back and forth. To keep her mind occupied, Note gently tossed around a ball of lint on the floor with her magic. After one of the palace guards stationed by the doors noticed her odd display, she set it down in an instant and became tempted to sit on her hooves again.

One of the double doors opened and Celestia exited. “Golden Note?”

Note’s face flushed. The Princess had actually said her name. To her and everything.

It was a lot to process.

“Golden Note?” she repeated, staring at her directly.

Finding words suddenly missing from the world, Note nodded and soon entered her quarters.

It took some time, but through the course of warm tea and small sandwiches, Celestia was able to pry a few simple sentences from the mare. The room behind the set of double doors was larger than Note’s entire house and filled with shelf upon shelf of old texts. A large ornate desk sat before a wide bay window and a cushy chair had been set up for her. Two closed doors were at opposite ends of the room—the one Note passed by during their hurried tour emanating an eerie, machine-like hum. Perhaps the generator for the palace, she’d thought at the time.

Princess Celestia was everything Golden Note had dreamed she would be. Ever since she was a filly, she’d looked up to her alongside her accomplishments. Of course, the well-known fact that she personally tutored Twilight Sparkle during her ascension certainly helped in her glowing opinion of the Princess.

It must have been close to a thousand years since Twilight had discovered the bottomless depths of her talents and transformed into an alicorn—allowing her to share her wisdom, passion, and love with all until the end of time. Note could still remember all the times her family had gone to one of her speeches about tolerance and friendship and how good would always prevail over the tyranny of evil. Golden Note would always wear her favorite Twilight Sparkle shirt and a single time her father even allowed her to die her mane the same colors as her favorite Princess. Note rarely mentions to others her Twilight Sparkle bed sheets and matching pillowcases.

Speaking before thousands, Twilight Sparkle would wave to the populace and Golden Note would do the same in return. To her, it was like glimpsing a fairy-tale come to life. A talented unicorn became a real Princess not from being born that way, but by something else entirely. She deserved who she became, and no one could argue against it.

What young filly never dreamed of becoming a Princess when they got older?

Liars, that’s who.

In her personal quarters, Celestia sipped her tea, a gentle smile on her face. Although her skin never showed the slightest blemish or wrinkle, Note could see a hint of weariness in her gaze. It was to be expected though, having the weight of the world on one’s shoulders.

“I’m glad you accepted my invitation, Golden Note. It’s hard to fit in these little get-togethers with citizens, but I find it helps me get to know ponies on a more personal level.”

Note nodded and smiled, forcing the hoof holding her tea cup to remain perfectly poised. “It’s a pleasure, Princess, truly it is.”

“Please, call me Celestia.”

Her cheeks turned red again. “Okay… Celestia.” All at once, Note was tempted to fall back in her chair and laugh until tears rolled down her cheeks. It was too much, she thought. Only those closest to the Princess got to call her just Celestia.

Celestia set down her cup. “I hope I’m not making you nervous, Golden Note. I try to make myself as approachable as possible, even if a lot of ponies say differently.”

“I’m not nervous, Prin… Celestia. It’s only seeing you so close and actually speaking with you that’s got me a little tongue tied at the moment. It’s not everyday I get an invitation from Canterlot. Or a chariot ride. Or the best tea I’ve ever drank.”

Celestia nodded. “I’m glad to hear that it’s good.” She paused. “From what I am told, you work at a bakery, true?”

“Yes, for a few years now. I mostly serve customers and spend a little time in the back. I enjoy it; meeting ponies bright and early, before their day even begins.”

“Do you plan on staying there for some time?”

Golden Note wanted to burst into giggles again. The Princess of the Sun actually asking about her job. “As long as I can, I think. It pays well and it covers my rent and expenses. I can’t buy everything I want, but I manage.”

Her gentle smile never left the Princess’s lips. “Do you have any hobbies, besides baking, Golden Note? With a name such as that, I’d be surprised if you didn’t have a talent for music.”

Note almost glanced at her cutie-mark—the one of a music note crossed with a violin bow.

Note’s original giddiness dropped away. “I like to sing sometimes, but usually just to myself around the house. I like listening to music, of course, but then again so does everyone. Instruments I always had trouble concentrating on, so I never fully learned one.”

“That is a shame,” Celestia said softly, “to deny the world your talents should you have them. But, I will admit, it is hard to stay committed to a craft, even the ones we love. We can’t all be like Twilight Sparkle, can we?”

Golden Note chuckled. It felt like the polite thing to do. “I haven’t seen Princess Twilight around Ponyville for some time. I’m starting to miss her public appearances—I rarely miss a single one.”

Celestia turned away from her. “I’m sure many have been missing her. And perhaps now is as good a time as any to tell you something rather important.”

Golden Note’s stomach shriveled and went cold. “Princess?”

Celestia contemplated for some time before speaking. “I need you to help me, young one. I need you to bring light back into Equestria and keep it there, for as long as you can.”

Note swallowed dryly. “Princess?”

Celestia stood and went to the door on the other side of the room, the hum of machinery continuing to whirl around inside. “Perhaps it would be best if I showed you.”

Twilight Sparkle was splayed out on a thin hospital bed, the covers pulled up her chest. A series of tubes and wires were connected to various spots along her body; an oxygen mask hooked up to her muzzle. Her eyes were closed. Her tri-colored mane spread out along her pillow.

Golden Note counted ten bleeps from the loud heart monitor before the first tear left her eye.

“Is she… is she dying?”

Note couldn’t see a single thing wrong with the unconscious mare. No wounds or punctures or blood spotted her coat and her body and face looked the same as they’d always been—no gauntness due to illness or disease.

“I’m afraid she is,” Celestia answered tenderly. “In time, Twilight Sparkle will perish, and Equestria will lose the greatest alicorn its ever known. She may look the same age as when she became a Princess, but on the inside she is much older than she should be. It is not some spell that is killing her, but rather the natural effects of age. A few months more is the most she’ll have.”

Golden Note’s original nervousness was no where to be found as she placed both hooves on Celestia’s chest. “Then you need to do something! You need to save her! How can you be so calm about all this?”

Celestia regarded the hospital bed coldly. “Because this is not the first time I’ve faced such a thing. And it will not be the last.”

Note fell away from her and wiped at her face. “I don’t understand, Princess. Twilight’s immortal. Age shouldn’t matter. Why are you showing me this?”

Celestia spoke as if reading off a card. “Twilight Sparkle was never meant to be an alicorn or live forever. True immortals are born that way. It is not something that can be given or wished for, no matter how hard they may try.”

“But she earned it, didn’t she? Because of her—”

“No,” Celestia cut in. “When I thought the time to be right, I made Twilight an alicorn myself. I thought I’d had enough power to do so and for a time, I thought I’d succeeded. Then, a great many years later, Twilight Sparkle grew ill and I knew her youthful exterior must’ve only be masking what was happening inside.”

Celestia placed a hoof on the bed. “The Twilight Sparkle that lies before you is the one-hundredth and fourth Twilight that’s existed. Time and age have claimed her many times before, and so has the darkness that exists in all corners of Equestria. She’s been drowned, strangled, burned, stabbed, torn to bits, and even worse fates than those. And each time, I find what is left, and I extract that small part of her that makes her the mare that everyone loves and cherishes deep in their hearts. I do not do this for myself. I do it for the betterment of everyone. Twilight Sparkle must not die.”

Golden Note’s breathing hurried. The warmth that’d radiated off the Princess of the Sun’s gentle smile was all but stripped from her, leaving in its place something cold and hard. She mumbled out, “That’s doesn’t sound possible. You can’t just bring her back, again and again like that.”

“That’s because I don’t,” Celestia said. “When Twilight’s body expires, it becomes a hollow shell, same as all mortals. What I take from it is her very essence—her memories and love, her hopes and ideals; all the things that make her who she is. Then I find unicorns like you, around the same age as Twilight when I changed her, and into them I put her essence, creating a new Twilight, well away from the reaches of deaths.”

Golden Note’s jaw began to quiver. She eyed the set of double doors in the outer room.

Celestia added, “I know you are thinking of running and it’s perfectly understandable. If you choose to do so, you will not be stopped. All I ask is that you let me explain and, if you still wish to leave, that you speak not a word of what you’ve seen.”

Note tried to nod, but found even simple movements out of her control.

Celestia turned to her again, the tiredness in her eyes on clear display. “Haven’t you ever dreamed of becoming a Princess like Twilight? I’m sure many have. She’s led a life more extraordinary than any could imagine, and I need for it to continue. You could be the next Twilight Sparkle. Her memories, her thoughts, would be passed on to you—you would become her and continue the next chapter in her life.”

Twilight’s thin chest rose and fell with the machine. Her heart monitor clicked on noisily.

Note asked, “Does she even know she’s died before? That she isn’t immortal?”

Celestia shook her head. “No. That’s something I will not allow. Her spirit has always remained the same; it is only the body that needs to change.”

“Will I know what’s happened to me, if I agree?”

“Your memories would be erased once her essence becomes infused. You would be Twilight Sparkle, both in body and in mind.”

Another tear left her eye. “But I like being me. I’ve loved Twilight since I was a filly, but this is wrong, Princess. She should be dead. She should have died long ago. All you’re doing now is prolonging it. It’s wrong of you to deny her something like that. And the fact that she doesn’t even know…”

Celestia put her hoof on her shoulder, causing her to shudder. “There are some things much bigger than what we want. Equestria needs a hero like Twilight. They need hope, and she gives it to them. Two-thousand years ago there was darkness, but since Twilight came into this world, we have lived in a time of relative peace. Evil will always exist, and because of this, so must Twilight Sparkle.”

Golden Note looked at the floor, the sight of Celestia proving hard to take. “But why me? Why not somebody else? I’m not special. I’m nothing like Twilight.”

“Perhaps that’s exactly why you were brought here. Perhaps it’s because what I offer is grander than anything you could’ve hoped to accomplish in your lifetime. You work in a bakery serving customers. It is a position most ponies in Equestria could perform without fail. It’s clear your special talent lies in music, and yet you waste your gifts singing alone at home. Both of your parents died at an early age and you have no siblings to wonder where you’ve gone. You can start anew, young one, as the greatest mare the world has ever known. Or will ever know.”

Note said softly, “This isn’t right. You know this isn’t right.”

Celestia remained silent.

“What if I say no? What happens then?”

Celestia sighed. “Then I will move on to the next unicorn mare the same age as her. And just like the hundred and four times before, I will find someone willing to continue with her legacy. There are more willing to offer themselves than you’d believe, Golden Note. And now that same offer, I give to you.”

Note looked from the floor to the hospital bed; Twilight’s gently sleeping body controlled by a series of machines, the very air she breathes forced into her lungs. Whose body had Twilight’s essence consumed to get her this far? Number one-hundred and four? Did she have family that would miss her? Or was she the same as her, left alone in the world? Had she loved Princess Twilight as much as she had, or was that poor mare only coerced into housing the soul of Twilight Sparkle, fearing she had no other choice? Most disturbing of all, had her memories ever found their way into Twilight’s dreams, screaming to be remembered?

Four minutes after being asked, she gave the Princess her answer.

Princess Twilight Sparkle waved to the crowd and the ponies gathered around the stage stomped and yelled in approval. It had been close to four weeks since Twilight had been seen, but it was widely known she’d been away exploring locations unknown.

The small Princess smiled that same infectious smile that she was well known for, and on that day it became hard to find a pony without a grin from ear to ear. Her speech went on for a brief three-minutes, but those in attendance would claim it to be one of the best she’d ever given.

Small fillies and colts were hoisted atop their parent’s heads, holding onto small Twilight flags, some even donning fake purple-colored wigs. They all loved their Princess and were more than happy she was back. She was a constant light in their lives none wished to see expire. And luckily for them, she never would.

Golden Note watched the Princess from the back of the crowd, no smile or cheer waiting to burst forth. The Twilight Sparkle she knew died long ago.