A sweet smell wafted up from where the long grasses of the Everfree had been cut away. A city was coming back to life. A few weeks ago, stone ruins had been strewn across the soggy land, hidden by weeds which had long ago reclaimed the ancient city. High, proud towers carved from alabaster had long surrendered to the forces of entropy and decay. All that remained of them was white dust mixed with the soil which would be revealed when some lumbering beast pawed at the ground or-more recently-when a work Pony dug it up.

The trees blotted out the sun with their many twisting arms, still surrounding the ruins of the city. The clanging of hammers had joined the melodies of the birds and growls of the beasts. Foundation stones replaced the older ruins. Work Ponies laid the first stones of the city, first one layer and then another. Wooden frames stabilized the young structures. The workers carried heavy stones on their backs, depositing them into the furrows the other workers had dug. More workers plunged shovels into the ground, throwing up dirt into high piles behind them. Once the foundations were laid, masons busied themselves with smearing plaster onto the stones and laying more stones atop the layer.

One building stood in the center of the activity. By design, it was clearly a castle, created in the old style from grey rock, with turrets to deter invading armies. The powerful looking edifice arose from the forests, a monument to another age. Two high, purple spear like points stabbed at the sky from twin towers. The roof had caved in during the tribulations of another age. Trees and vegetation spilled over what was left, vines clinging to the walls and probably being the only thing keeping it together.

Deep within, the wreck was shrouded in shadow. An Earth Pony guard, Strong Hoof and his Pegasus companion, Bladed Edge walked into the darkness. Their golden helmets and armor were a glow in the darkness. Princess Luna trailed behind them. "So, you say there's a strong hint of evil magic in this place?"

Strong Hoof nodded. "A few of the workers brought it to our attention. Something moving in here. Strange noises. One or two were attacked."

Luna paused. That aura...impossible! "What sort of injuries did the attacked bear?" With a single spell, hundreds of sconces along the wall flared into life. The orange flames flickered, casting light all along the hallway.

Bladed Edge strode along her left flank. "Claw marks and they were drained of magic."

Luna took in a sharp inhale. "I see."

With the guards following along after her, Luna stalked into the hallway. While the torchlight had chased away the shadows, there were places the shadows lingered. Flickering flames danced over gossamer threads that tarantulas had built. The builders of those threads scurried away from the hooved ones that had invaded their home.

Luna called on her power and her eyes became slitted as they switched to night vision. She scanned the darkness seeking for what she could not believe she would find. The clink of metal shoes striking stone echoed behind her, broke the stillness that had reigned here for one-thousand years. The guards were surrounding her in a standard formation, though perhaps they were closer to her than what standard procedure would normally call for.

Their ears flicked at every sound, their tails snapped the air behind them. Luna turned a corner, they hastened to keep up with her. The hall was lined with rusted suits of armor, some of them having fallen onto their side. Others had dissolved into rust long ago, only a few scraps of metal to hint at the proud uniforms ancient warriors had once worn in service to their Princesses.

In service to her.

Luna righted them with a burst of her magic. She touched one, even slipping off her shoe in order to feel the chill of the cold iron beneath her hooves. The guards, stopped, uncertain. Her touch lingered on the relic of the world only she and her sister could recall. Even the descendants of these warriors would have been long dead, some of their lines having vanished from the face of Equus long, long ago.

The armor had been well-forged to have survived these long centuries. She closed her eyes and heard the clang of hammers, the explosion of crackling fires in the forge, the heat. Those noble blacksmiths had made this bardin for those warriors who had borne the banner of empire-yes, empire for expansion was the way of the world in those days-to distant lands, even to the sea itself.

Not to profit on the backs of starving laborers, but to bring about a nation united and at peace. Her sister's vision, but she had led the armies. Most surrendered when they'd seen her coming. They had put an end to the ceaseless blood letting of tribal warfare, stopped the strange cults of Pony sacrifice, brought civilization and glory.

And they had fought for her. When enemies came, other empires excited by envy, they had spilled blood for their land. No, not just their land. For the Sisters. For her.

And what had she given them in exchange? "I'm sorry." It came out as the quietest of whispers. It hardly seemed adequate for the enormity of what she'd done. She knew they would forgive her. Such a thought did not ease her heart.

"Your Highness?" Strong Hoof asked.

She lifted her head. "Come."

Slants of murky light struggled through shattered windows. Clouds of dust sprang up at their approach and the guards were crowding her in a way she thought reminiscent of frightened foals. Herding instincts were taking over and they were being drawn to the dominant female. In battle, that could be an advantage or a disadvantage. The power of the herd continued to provide protection, but rationality was also important. Their breathing was coming in quick spurts. Luna recognized it. They were trying not to spook and bolt out the door. What had frightened them so?

She stopped and they stopped with her. The roots of a tree had jerked up the stone of the floor. Shattered rock lay all around it and the knotted branches of the oak jutted out the hole in the roof. The shadow of the oak covered them. For just the flash of a second she could have sworn she saw yellow eyes staring at her. The vision passed, but her front legs still twitched. She flared her wings and Bladed Edge did the same. Strong Hoof raised his chin. Hallways turned and twisted into caverns that had not seen the sun in more than a millennium. Luna lit her horn for the benefit of her guards. The guards, after much struggle, had gained control of their breathing and followed her in the silence that marked their profession.

The only sounds were the drumming of ironclad shoes and labored, deliberately controlled, breathing. Luna's spell found no sconces along the wall. She stopped and stared, at first thinking her mind was tricking her. The destroyed wrecks of the torch holders were scattered around the floor in twisted ruins.

Luna gaped. Something had ripped the sconces from where they had been for one-thousand years, reducing the walls to a wreck of spider web cracks. Bladed Edge's wings twitched. "Your Highness, what could have...?"

She shushed him and they turned a corner. There were sconces littered here and Strong Hoof tripped over one, letting out a loud curse. She steadied him with an outstretched wing. Although her enchantment cut through the darkness, the darkness still squeezed them in that tight space. It was unnatural, darker even than her night. It was almost a physical thing in the way that it bore down on them. She almost thought she felt the darkness pulsating, quivering, hungering. Her own light could barely pierce and it bore down on them as if to crush them.

Without realizing it, she had slipped further into her nightmare form. Blue armor, black fur and long fangs. A helmet protected her head. Why is my magic reacting this way? She felt neither anger nor envy. That was good, yet she needed to get out of this form very quickly. Negotiation was needed.

You may inhabit me until we leave this castle.

I agree to these terms. But you know I always inhabit you

Yes, and I have come to terms with you as an aspect of Myself. But you shall not inhabit me for longer than I wish. Is this clear?

Perfectly.

Luna briefly wondered if it was possible for an Aspect of the Self to lie to the primary Aspect. She'd need to discuss that with her sister later. She looked around at the destruction, carefully sidestepping sconces. What creature could have ripped metal from stone? She suspected, but she could not say it to herself. The sconces had been ripped, rather than being victims of time. It appeared rather recent. Nature had built an empire here. Tree roots grew into floors and the long limbs of beech trees intertwined with stone walls, fusing with it in a strange mixture of nature and art. The massive treetop burst through what had been the roof, flooding down light. Luna quickly reverted from her nightmare form and screwed her eyes shut against the bright onslaught.

Her guards blinked in an attempt to adjust to the light, recovering far more quickly than she did. Bladed Edge shouted out and she looked up too late, only catching the fluttering of a tattered robe and something with red skin.

It was him.

It was him.

Why hadn't they checked after Cerberus had gotten loose? Had they grown so over-confident, so arrogant? The nation she had helped to build had long rested on its laurels, ignoring the barbarians outside its gates. It had happened when Twilight's warnings had been ignored-and that had led to an argument with her sister that had nearly shook the roofs of the castle though it had mostly been the younger tearing into the elder-and now it had happened again.

Her lips twisted. It would not happen again.

She flared her wings and shot after him, barely giving the guards enough time to keep up with her. Catch up they did, dashing into the inky blackness of the halls after her. She catapulted down the passage and the guards struggled to keep up with her, galloping down the hallway leaping over more sconces. Bladed Edge took to the air, leaping over a knotted tree branch. The only shadows here were those cast by the branches of the trees which surrounded the castle and crisscrossed the empty space that had once been a roof.

Luna sailed through the air, high above them. They struggled to chase after her.

"Your Highness, do you know what that was?" Strong Hoof shouted.

She rocketed around the corner, plunging straight into shadows. Tendrils of shadow lashed at her. She dodged, but they surrounded her, grabbing at her legs, pulling at her horn. A furious battle cry ripped from her lips and she ripped away her horn, blasting out a wave of energy that bathed the halls in a flash of cerulean light.

The light revealed him for a single second, that red, scowling face, his curved horns.

Tirek. The centaur darted away and Luna propelled herself further, down twisting hallways, deep into the bowels of the castle. She turned a corner into darkness. The shadows clawed at her wings as if they were physical things. She flapped and sliced through the tendrils holding her down.

The guards shouted behind her and she spun. The shadows covered them. Bladed Edge madly beat at the shadows with his wings and tried to drive them back, but each time they managed to drive them back, the shadows would crawl back over them. Strong Hoof pounded at the ground and jabbed at the shadows with his spear, but they slid under his armor. He screamed, but the shadows stuffed his mouth.

Bladed Edge grabbed him in an attempt to pull him away, but instead the shadows washed over him. Luna rushed towards the darkness, desperately scrambling for an idea on how to retrieve them. An energy blast might vaporize her guards. She closed her eyes, reached for her connection with the moon.

This late in the day, the moon was nought but a distant pulse. The sun was overpowering and she didn't want to raise her moon and disrupt the balance of the world. She grit her teeth. The longer the guards were trapped, the more danger they were in.

At last, she latched onto the moon. Silvery light spiraled from her horn and flooded the room. The shadows writhed and twisted before dissolving away in the waves of light. Strong Hoof and Bladed Edge collapsed to the floor, both of them shivering. Luna landed and spread her wings over them and Bladed Edge curled against her, responding on Pegasus instincts. Strong Hoof panted. "Prin...Princess...I'm...s-so cold." He shook against her. "So cold."

Luna shook her head, nuzzling them and damning protocol. "This is above your pay grade, Gentlecolts. Return to the castle and report to my sister."

Both stood as one, edging away from her. Bladed Edge stamped his spear. "We can not do that."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you disobeying an order?"

"With all due respect, our charge is to serve Equestria. That thing is a threat. We can't let you meet it alone."

"That was Tirek."

Both flinched. Bladed Edge continued. "You may punish us later. We will follow you."

Luna laid her wings back by her sides. "You are pardoned. But you must understand this. In doing this, you are putting your life at risk and not in the way you are prepared for. Tirek may steal your soul, rob you of your essence."

Bladed Edge knelt. "We hereby offer our magic and our lives in the service of Equestria. That was the vow we took."

Strong Hood knelt beside his fellow. "It is a vow we shall keep."

Luna turned. "Very well." She stalked into the dark hallway and shouted as the floor gave way. A curse unheard in ten centuries burst from her lips and she just barely regained her hoofing. Her guards dived in after her. Suddenly, the trapdoors and other tools of merriment which had so pleased her and Celestia long ago took on a sinister look. She whirled around, searching for some flash of red or a tattered robe. "I should have told you about the trapdoors, built when Celestia and I were young...and foolish to an extent."

The guards said nothing and trailed after her in silence. It was possible Tirek was on the upper level, but her intuition told her otherwise. If she were going to hide, this was the place she would choose. Yet, no doubt, that's what Tirek would expect her to expect.

They needed to get back up to the surface. She flared her wings and spun upwards through the door, Bladed Edge following her. Strong Hood lept, relying on powerful Earth Pony back legs. He landed beside his companion. Luna scanned the long hallway. It branched into two corridors.

An abnormal darkness cloaked the halls. It was Tirek's presence and it was everywhere, drenching the very stones. The fur on Luna's neck bristled. This had been her home once and how dare he?

"Where do you think he is?" Strong Hoof's voice might as well have been a magiblast in the silence. His voice was distorted, strangely low. Luna increased her luminescence spell. Even Nightmare Moon had trouble seeing in darkness this deep. Part of her wanted to let loose, level the whole damned castle and explain that to Celestia.

The sheer pervasiveness of Tirek's presence clouded her senses, but the aura emanating from the left corridor was stronger. She turned and tread through the hall. Yellow eyes suddenly flashed and she let a blast of energy fly. Stone exploded where it struck and her guards charged in the direction they had seen him. Bladed Edge took to the air and struck out blindly. The spear struck and Tirek screamed.

Bladed Edge had a few seconds to enjoy his victory before Tirek grabbed his spear, yanked it from his shoulder and tossed the Pegasus through the air. Strong Hoof slammed into Tirek's side and Tirek raked his horn against Strong Hoof. Strong Hoof drew back, blood dripping down his forehead. It splattered into his eyes, blinding him as Tirek charged. Luna joined the fray, barreling towards Tirek just as Bladed Edge lunged at him.

Tirek batted aside Bladed Edge's spear and slammed into Luna who spun out of control and slammed into the wall. She heard the sickening crunch of a wing-and it took her a second to realize it wasn't her wing. Bladed Edge screamed. Tirek grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up.

Luna fired a shot of light that struck Tirek's arm and he shouted in pain, dropping Bladed Edge. Strong Hoof thrust out and struck home against Tirek's neck. The blade of his spear snapped off when Tirek turned his head and snorted. "Equines. Pathetic."

He jerked out his arm and grabbed Strong Hoof who trembled in his grasp, energy flowing into Tirek.

"No!" Luna screamed, bolting from the wall and slamming into Tirek who fell. They crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

No mercy! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Luna plunged her electrified horn deep into his throat and Tirek thrashed beneath her, bucking her into the air. Luna steadied her flight. Her guards fell onto him, trampling him into the ground. "Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!" She didn't recognize her own voice, twisted by rage. Tirek knocked both of the guards off of him and jumped to his hooves, bucking behind him. Strong Hoof dodged to the side and landed a hoof into the centaur's face while Bladed Edge slashed his unbroken wing against Tirek's leg. The force of the blow unbalanced Tirek long enough for Strong Hoof to sweep his backleg. Tirek fell over and Luna pounced onto him. "Know this. The blood that flows in my veins is greater than you can conceive."

He spat in her face and she brought her hoof down on his chest, only to find that he had vanished. "Damn it."

She screamed in outrage as she felt a hoof slam into her helmet. Both guards tackled him. He spun and threw them off himself. She caught them in her magic and set them down. They jumped in front of her, their spears aimed at Tirek's chest. Tirek panted. Luna cast a glance at Bladed Edge's wing which he was holding at an odd angle. Dislocated.

How was he still standing?

Tirek stampeded towards the battle herd. Bladed Edge and Strong Hoof dived out of the way, Bladed Edge spinning his spear and twisting it towards Tirek. Tirek had to jump out of the way of the blade. Luna charged again, releasing a stream of energy that Tirek caught in his hand. She cut off the stream immediately, cursing her stupidity now that the much larger Tirek barreled towards her.

Strong Hoof jumped up and threw his hooves around Tirek's neck. Tirek bucked and thrashed. Luna drove forward, horn alive with arcane energy and pierced Tirek's heart. Blood spurted down his chest, erupted in a geyser. Tirek gasped, gurgled, fell.

The deed was done.

Strong Hoof let go of him. Luna knelt her head to the two. "I swear to you, I will personally pay for your medical treatments and you are both hereby promoted."

Both warriors bowed to her. Bladed Edge glanced up. "We have done our duty."

Strong Hood cracked a grin. "The promotion sounds nice though."

Luna chuckled. The chuckle turned into a belly laugh which the guards shared in. Strong Hoof wiped at his eyes. "So, what do we do with him now?"

Luna summoned enchanted chains to wrap around the fallen enemy. "Drag him to Tartarus before he recovers."

Strong Hoof blinked. "You mean he's not dead?"

"Megan and her companions would not have needed the Rainbow of Light if he could be taken down by mundane means nor would We have required the elements. Be grateful he is in his weakened state."

She stamped her hoof and chains sprang up from the ground and wrapped around the fallen foe. The floor gave way to a swirling vortex of crackling dark energy and Tirek vanished.

Luna nodded. "The deed is done. Let us return. I have a report for my sister."

...
Celestia jerked when she felt the flow of time shift. Potentialities and carefully crafted plans shattered and dissolved as the universes split, righted itself upon a new path.

The petitioner, Bronze Buckler, a blonde Pegasus guard raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright, Your Highness?"

"I...I'm fine. Your petition is granted. I hadn't realized how out of date our military technology was."

He smiled. "Thank you, Your Highness." He saluted, bowed and left the room. Celestia rose and strode towards the window. The blue light of the window enveloped her. The sun was linked to time, was a physical manifestation of it in a way.

Time had changed just then. Time had been altering itself since her and Twilight's courtship began. She fully expected it when Luna-when Nightmare Moon-marched into the room. Luna transformed back into her base form. "Shadow alters can be quite annoying."

"Indeed."

"You have experience with one?"

Celestia turned. "We all do. Nightmare Moon didn't want to let go?"

"Nope. I put her back in her place though."

"Good."

Luna joined her at the window. "You already know, don't you?"

"Yes. Tirek is defeated and back in Tartarus where he belongs." A shudder ran through her. "I wish I had known sooner. My visions do not always aid me when they are most needed. I need to contact Twilight."

Luna's eyes widened. "Then..."

"I am ready. To offer the gift in perfect freedom, not cruel necessity."

Luna patted Celestia's shoulder with her wing. "She may reject the gift if she considers the full ramifications."

Celestia cast a glance at her. "Indeed she might. Tis her own choice. That's what I want to give her. Choice. Love-love such as we immortals can give-is something which must be given in freedom."

"I agree. Good luck, Sister."

...
Twilight hurried up the hill. The letter had told her to meet Celestia here. The day was warm, a cool breeze coming from the north and stirring the grass. Celestia was sitting atop the hill and rose at Twilight's approach. Twilight nuzzled her in greeting, enjoying the soft feel of her fur against her cheek.

"What's all this about? You said you had something to talk to me about?"

Celestia lingered against her, breathed her in, keeping her muzzle buried in Twilight's neck. "Twilight, I..." She gulped. Her throat felt dry. She wrapped Twilight up in her wings and Twilight nestled close to the embrace. It was alright this way wasn't it? They could stay like this forever. She drew back, lifted her chin. "Twilight, I have a surprise for you."

Twilight's face broke into a smile. "A surprise? I always love those from you."

"Yes, but here's the thing. You don't have to accept this gift. That's important." She clasped Twilight's face. "It's alright to say no."

Twilight stared at her. "Alright. I trust you."

"Good."

Celestia wrapped a wing around her and they started their trek towards the brown and green gates that led into the vast Everfree. They stepped onto the soggy grass, drenched from the wild rains of centuries past. Twilight huddled close to Celestia, safe beneath her wing.

Speckles of sunlight glittered on the wide canopy of trees that surrounded them. Vines twisted around oaks which towered over the two. All the trees dwarfed the ponies with wide trunks and massive branches that nearly blotted out her sun. Spears of light, like the arrows of an invading army, spilled over the tops of the trees, reached the ground in pools of warmth that illuminated dried, long dead leaves and pine needles.

They crunched the needles and leaves beneath their hooves and kept a slow pace through the woods. A manticore howled in the distance and a rival howled back. Celestia and Twilight inched closer to each other.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

The clang of hammers from the new city sounded through the forest and joined with the symphony of birds and growls of predators. Twilight shied away from the approach of a black-and-yellow serpent. Celestia frowned at waves of tall grass and took several steps around it. The fur on the back of Twilight's neck stood straight up. Celestia kissed her neck. "You're not running. There's improvement."

Twilight snorted. "I once helped take down the God of Chaos. A snake's got nothing on tha-ah!" She jumped back. Celestia tightened her grip on her. The cobra's neck flared out. Celestia stared it down. It made way for them, darting into a burrow. Twilight brushed against Celestia. "Then there's the fact that I feel perfectly safe right here."

Celestia scanned the wilderness. "I don't think we need to worry about any predators if we take this path."

Twilight shook her head and gestured with her horn. "Manticore droppings. Let's take another path to...wherever it is we're going."

Celestia blinked. "How do you know?"

"Fluttershy taught me."

Celestia stared at a section of the forest and built a spell which cascaded from her horn and revealed a path of broken stones. "I thought I remembered where it was."

She cast a second spell and a golden shield flared up along the stones. They stepped onto the path. "Twilight, how has your magic been? Test it for me."

Twilight lit up her horn and lifted a pine cone on the road. With a flare of violet energy it transformed into a daisy that she threaded into Celestia's mane.

Celestia grinned. "Show-off. I am quite impressed though. Perhaps I could have a second one?"

"Of course, my lady."

Twilight lifted another pine cone and just as effortlessly changed it into a daisy which went on the other side of her mane. She grinned and levitated up several cones, changing each one. The daisies formed a crown on the sun goddess's head.

"Lovely. You've fully recovered haven't you?"

"The doctor's say it's a miracle."

"It's not."

"What do you mean?"

A blue jay sang a cheerful tune overhead. Thick branches leaned over them, covered in dark leaves, leaving them in a comfortingly cool shadow. The sun's light guided their steps over the cracked cobblestone.

"Where are we going?"

Moss stretched along the broken stone. Grass forced its way through the marble time had worn away.

"Celestia?"

"Lost in another age, love. Happens at my age. Twilight, we are walking the first road."

"The first road?"

"The Moochik himself built it, First Son of the Creator."

Twilight stopped and took another look at the road. She was still for a few minutes. Looking again with her magical senses, she saw the currents of mystical energy, powerful and strong, resplendent as starlight. "How has it lasted this long?"

"The Moochik maintains it. He lives in these woods, somewhere."

Twilight started walking again. The branches of the towering oaks embraced one another, forming a canopy. Ancientness emanated from the knotted trunks.

"He built it during the morning of the world, to lead all creatures from the creation place."

Twilight, hoof trembling, touched one of the oaks. "Here. It was here in this place...I should just start putting my books of fairy tales in the history section."

Celestia chuckled and brushed her back along her withers. "Perhaps. Those stories have been somewhat exaggerated. Unicorns, for example, did not lead the other tribes. Changelings were not a result of Grogar's magic and Donkeys were not Earth Ponies that were cursed."

Twilight leaned into her. "Thank you for showing this to me." She suddenly affected a parody of a noble's accent. "So, how did our most noble tribe become leader of the Pony race?"

Celestia snorted. "Never did. The other tribes just let you think you are."

"I've always suspected as such."

The overgrowth had gotten to the point that hedges covered in pink and purple flowers completely blocked their passage. Celestia lowered herself and Twilight scrambled aboard. Celestia soared over the hedges. "He really doesn't like visitors coming this way."

"Is there some reason for that?" Twilight wrapped her forelegs around Celestia's neck.

"There is a power in this place. Something many have sought. Some might say it is the fulfillment of all mortal desires. Others, a terrible curse."

The hedges continued onward for many miles, obscuring the road entirely. Marble shone where the hedges disappeared, marble that looked so fresh that it could have been laid the day before. No cracks covered it. For a single instant, she thought she saw a strange, bearded creature hobbling along, carrying a stick. He looked up, smiled at her, vanished.

She rested her head in Celestia's mane. "What is it?"

Celestia struggled with her words before lapsing into silence. "We won't be together forever, you know. W-what if we could be?"

Having gotten it out she seemed to not know what to say next.

Twilight dismounted from her when she landed. "You know I'd love that."

They were standing at a grove of flowering almond trees that formed a perfect ring. At Celestia's urging, Twilight entered. The wind stirred a wave of pink blossoms. The blossoms dropped into a clear pool, fell onto them. One dropped on Twilight's nose.

The pool was glowing. At first, Twilight thought it was the sun, but the pool had its own light. She would have loved to study it. It was warm to her touch. Celestia gently patted her hoof with her wing, like she had when Twilight was a filly and touched something dangerous. Twilight looked up at her. Celestia lifted her hoof, kissed it.

That was something Celestia never did when she was a filly.

"This pool can be dangerous to mortals. Even a touch if you let your hoof linger too long...."

Twilight turned to face her. "Celestia, what is this place?"

"This is the Pool of Potential. Anyone who drinks from it achieves their potential. A musician might find themselves writing songs far above what they were once able to. A blank flank would obtain their cutie mark. But, for some, they would join the ranks of the immortals."

She touched Twilight's chest. "Ponies like you. There is one like you in every generation. Nine out of ten never reach the goal. But, due to the way your soul has evolved through your many lifetimes, you have the potential. One day...perhaps not this lifetime, but one day...you will be an alicorn."

Twilight turned back to look at the pool. "So, if I drink from that pool...."

"We will have an eternity." She shook her mane. "No. I promised myself I wouldn't sugarcoat it. Death hurts, Twilight. I've lived longer than most. Trust me on that."

"I'm a necromancer. I've contemplated death and...I've spoken to the souls of the dead. The soul lives on."

Celestia took Twilight's hooves in her own. "Not the same, my love. You know how dangerous necromancy is, how seductive it is. Because no one likes letting go when they find a way around death. Because watching it hurts. So many have sought a cure for it. And down that path lies madness."

Twilight nestled against her. "Every time you lose somepony...I don't want to leave you Celestia."

Celestia cupped Twilight's chin. "I'm not sure if that level of selflessness is healthy."

Twilight pressed her lips against hers in a deep kiss. "Alright. I can't bear the thought of being a memory to you. Having a...a successor in your affections."

Celestia laid both wings on her shoulders. Their muzzles met and they shared breath. "Your friends. Your family..."

Twilight hesitated. "You said it was inevitable, didn't you? One day, I will be an immortal."

"Yes." She looked away. "I need to ask your pardon for something."

"What?"

"I sensed a threat coming. Tirek. In order to counter it, I would have pushed you onto the path of ascension. Robbed you of choice. Please forgive me."

Twilight pecked her nose. "I don't know if giving someone godhood is cause to ask forgiveness."

"I believe in choice, Twilight. The freedom of each soul to live their own path. This is your choice, Twilight."

"As you said, it is inevitable. And I'm happy here. With my life as it is."

Celestia tapped her chest, caressed it. "Make this decision with your heart, not your mind."

"The two are surprisingly close."

She took a step towards the pool.

"Are you sure?"

Twilight knelt her head. "I am sure."

And then she drank.

Author's Notes:

Luna doesn't fuck around.

Luna gets shit done.

Don't mess with Luna, kids.