Eternal Love


                                            Just a short story, greatly inspired by certain concepts of getmeouttahere's legendary "Exchange".


                                            -------


                                            >You would greatly prefer to sneak into the Castle relatively undetected. The main gate into Canterlot was of course off limits. Too many ponies, and too many guards. No, it had to be one of the side-gates.

                                            >So far, you have managed to avoid being seen by sneaking through the patches of wood flanking the winding mountain roads to the city. You were currently hiding behind a tree, one of the very last ones before everything turned into the open road that led into the gate.

                                            >This path into the city saw much less activity than any of the other entrances. Only those approaching Canterlot mountain from the north would have any reason to ever come here.

                                            >Like yourself.

                                            >Currently, there was no traffic through the gate whatsoever. A single bored-looking pegasus guard was leaning against the wall, staring at nothing.

                                            >You spend a minute watching the road, but you can't see anyone else approaching. A quick look the other direction confirms that no one is currently exiting the city either.

                                            >You won't get a better chance than this.

                                            >You slip out from behind the tree and start to jog across the road, towards the gate. Hopefully your good luck will hold for just a little while longer.

                                            >The last thing you needed now was the inevitable public spectacle if you were spotted. This was something that was between you and her, and no one else.

                                            >But of course all of that was wishful thinking. It's really hard to be anonymous if you're the only one of your species, and you tower above most other inhabitants of the land. A bit ironic, since your name literally is...

                                            >"P-prince Anonymous!"

                                            "Keep it down!"

                                            >You come to a stop before the now bewildered stallion. You're pretty sure you've seen this particular guard before, but you can't remember his name. Despite your efforts to familiarize yourself with the inner workings of the crown, there were just so many ponies and things to keep track of.

                                            >"Your Highness, are you alright?! W-where have you been?" The poor guy looks like he's about to freak out, his boring shift turned upside down in a second.

                                            "I'm fine, okay? Look, please just keep it down, and don't shout." You kneel next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

                                            "I know what this looks like. I know that probably everyone is looking for me, but please, pretty please, just calm down and listen to me. Okay?", you speak in a calm tone.

                                            >You look the stallion in the eyes and smile, hoping that he will calm down. It doesn't work in the slightest.

                                            >"E-everyone is "probably" looking for you!? Sir, the entire COUNTRY has spent day and night searching for you for over a month! Where have you been?! Are you alright?!"

                                            >The poor stallion is almost hyperventilating by now.

                                            >"I-I-I need to report this! Right now! The Princess w-were very clear with that. ANY information about your whereabouts were to be directly delivered to..."

                                            >You quickly grab his other shoulder, holding him in place.

                                            "Alright alright, I get it. Things have been chaotic, and I've made a lot of ponies worried. And I'm sorry about that, I really am. But please, just listen to me, please calm down."

                                            >The stallion looks around wildly, trying to get out of your hold.

                                            >"B-but... I need to report this! Right now, to the Princess! She's been out of her mind with worry!"

                                            "I understand that, and you are a great soldier for wanting to do your duty, but please listen to me." You gently grab his face with your hands, holding his shaking head still and forcing him to look directly at you.

                                            "I know that the Princess is worried, and that everyone else has been worried too, but I'm fine. I promise. Look here!"

                                            >You turn around a bit and show him your backpack.

                                            "I have something very important in this backpack, okay? And I need to be really, really careful with it. So I would very much prefer if I could just sneak into the castle, no one the wiser, and drop this off in a safe place, alright? And THEN we can do the whole bit with me coming back and you following your orders and everyone rejoicing and questioning me and calling me a moron for disappearing. Sounds good, right?"

                                            >But despite you trying your best to calm him down, the guard will have none of it.

                                            >"B-but I need to... The orders... The Princess... The Princess! She needs to know! Right now!"


                                            >And with that the almost panicking stallion wrestles himself loose from you, jumps into the air, and soars off towards the Castle.

                                            "...Dammit."

                                            >...

                                            >Oh well, you tried. It's not the end of the world, and you're still glad you made it all the way to the city before someone found out. That in itself is vastly preferable to someone spotting you days ago.

                                            >The fragile cargo you're carrying is far too valuable for anyone else to handle, which is exactly what would've happened if you had announced your presence the moment you made it back inside Equestrias borders again. Someone, a guard probably, would've insisted on liberating you from your backpack, and thus liberating you from the treasure inside, and that would not have been acceptable.

                                            >You cannot trust it with anyone else. It is your burden to carry. Your curse to hold.  And maybe, just maybe, your blessing to give.

                                            >Besides, allowing your journey to end like this might be a good thing. If nothing else, you get to see her slightly earlier. This last month has really made it clear just how much you need her, and how much her absence hurts.


                                            >You sigh, and look towards the Castle. The tiny speck of glimmering metal that is the guard disappears at breakneck speeds into the Castle gates.

                                            >If you were to guess, you have maybe 10 seconds before the chaos begins.

                                            >...

                                            >Ten.

                                            >Nine.

                                            >Eight.

                                            >Seve-

                                            >Reality itself seems to hiccup as a surge of unfathomable magic explodes outwards from the castle. Clouds are whisked away, hundreds of terrified birds take to the skies, and confused shouting emerges from the city.

                                            >At the last seconds you remember to take off your backpack, and carefully place it against the wall.

                                            >Then she appears. A multicolored orb, brighter than the sun and loud as a jet plane, rips into existence in the middle of the road. The ground shakes, the trees across the road groan under the pressure, and if you were not yourself leaning against the wall of Canterlot you'd probably be blown off your feet.

                                            >Sometimes you wish teleportation spells were less violent. First time it happened you almost had a heart attack.

                                            >Your train of thought is abruptly interrupted when the beautiful figure of your wife tackles you to the ground.

                                            >"WHERE IN TARTARUS HAVE YOU BEEN!?"

                                            "Ouch."

                                            >Princess Celestia, the First of the Eternals, one half of the Equestrian diarchy, one of the most powerful beings to ever exist, is hugging you so hard you swear your ribs are gonna collapse.

                                            "Hey love. Did you miss me?" Your attempt at joking falls flat as she buries her muzzle in your neck, sobbing and crying her heart out.


                                            >The next few minutes passes in a blur. Celestia immediately teleports you to the medical wing, where a small army of doctors examine every square inch of you. The multitude of cuts and bruises, and the fairly deep and amateurishly bandaged laceration on your leg doesn't help to calm your wife down in the slightest. She has yet to let go of you for a second.

                                            >"Were you kidnapped? You were kidnapped, right?! Sunshine, I am so sorry, I should've protected you better, I'm so so sorry!" Celestia is hugging your arm with all her might, still sobbing.

                                            "No, I wasn't kidnapped, I just..."

                                            >"It was Chrysalis, wasn't it? Of course it would be her, again trying to destroy Equestria! My spies didn't find anything, but she must have held you deep within her Hive! She kidnapped you, holding you as ransom! S-she knows exactly how much I'd give up for..."

                                            "Celly please, I wasn't kidna..."

                                            >Your wife's eyes shoot open, now filled with such rages it scares you a bit.

                                            >"She will pay for this... She will pay for every cut on you..." Celestia's voice lowers into a growl. "I will rain down devastation upon her the likes which have never been seen..."

                                            "Celly!"

                                            >Your wife snaps back into reality, the anger draining from her face.

                                            "I wasn't kidnapped, I swear. Chrysalis had nothing to do with this whatsoever. No one else had. Not her, nor any of the other enemies of Equestria. I was not kidnapp- OW!"

                                            >You wince as one of the nurses douse your leg wound in disinfectant.

                                            "Was that really necessary?", you ask, grimacing through the pain.

                                            >I'm sorry, your Highness, but yes it was", one of the doctors replies. Her tone makes it clear that there would be no arguing about the severity of your injuries. "The bandaging - I assume it was your own doing? - helped to minimize further damage, but the wound is still infected".

                                            "Well, I suppose I did get quite a bit of dirt in it when I fell down the mountain." You jokingly say. But it seems that today is not the day where jokes diffuse difficult situations.

                                            >"You fell down a mountain!?" Celestia almost screams. "Which mountain? Canterlot mountain? Why were you up there? How did you fall down? Did you break anything?!" She turns to the group of doctors still inspecting you. "Do a full-body scan, right now! He might have serious internal injur..."

                                            >You reach up and gently grab her face, one hand starting to massage her ears. That always calms her down, and it seems to be working even now.

                                            "Honey please, nothing is broken. The fall was almost a week ago and if something was broken I would've felt it by now, don't you think?" You lean in and kiss her cheek, thankful for the sweet, but unnecessary concern. "Also, I didn't fall down Canterlot mountain. It was in the northern mountains."

                                            >"The northern mountains? In Gryphonia?" You can almost see Celestia's mind rushing to conclusions. You don't blame her in the slightest for her being a bit overprotecting at the moment. If it was her that had gone missing you would've reacted in the same way. But you feel like you should stop this before it begins again.

                                            "No, I was not kidnapped by the gryphons either, I promise! Our countries might not see eye to eye with everything, but I highly doubt they would ever try something as stupid as that. And also no, it wasn't in the Gryphonian mountains, although I passed through there. The nasty tumble I took was in the mountains far north of there, in the Edge Lands.


                                            >You just barely manage to cover your ears as Celestia instinctively turns on the Royal Canterlot Voice.

                                            >"IN THE WHAT?! HOW DID YOU GET THERE?!"

                                            >The unfortunate group of doctors standing next to you are not so lucky, and before you know it most of them are on the floor, holding their ears with a dizzy look on their faces. You think one of them might be bleeding. Good thing they're surrounded by other doctors.

                                            >Your previous efforts to calm your wife down are now nullified, as she jumps off the table and starts to pace around the room.

                                            >"Was it some sort of magic mishap? A teleportation spell gone wrong? Was it Twilight?!"

                                            >She stops for a moment to take a few deep breaths.

                                            >"I love that filly like my own daughter, but I swear if she screwed up some sort of experimental spell and it sent you across the entire world, she's in for a world of trouble..."

                                            >Oh boy, time to save Twilight's hide from undeserved wrath.

                                            >You climb down from the table, careful not to disturbed the newly applied bandages on your leg, and walk over to your wife. Most of the medical ponies in the room are currently ignoring you, and are busy helping their injured colleagues from the floor.

                                            >You walk in front of Celestia, kneeling down and putting your arms around her. Her anger quickly dissipates. The look on her face is one of pain and worry, and your heart breaks for her. You are the cause of all of her emotional outbursts, her sleepless nights, and all this anger and fear. From the very start, from the moment your plan began taking shape in your mind, you'd wished there was another way. Some way to do this that didn't cause your wife to suffer. But there wasn't.

                                            >It's time to come clean. You can't lie to yourself, you've been dreading this moment since the very start. But it had to be done. Whatever the consequences are, you will bear them.

                                            "Sunshine, Twilight had nothing to do with this. And there were no screwed up teleportation spells or anything else like that."

                                            >"Then how? Why did you just disappear? Why did you end up in the Edge Lands?"

                                            >Here we go.

                                            You caress her ear and sigh. "I ended up in those mountains because... I walked there. On my own."

                                            >...

                                            >"You... what?"

                                            "I walked there. I borrowed a tent from the armory, filled my backpack with food, and then I just started walking."

                                            >You can see on her face that she doesn't understand. Or maybe she doesn't want to understand.

                                            >"You... walked there. To the Edge Lands?"

                                            "Yeah."

                                            >"So... no kidnappings? No one forced you to walk there?"

                                            "I did it of my own free will."

                                            >Celestia pauses for a second, and when her voice returns you can hear the anger creeping back into it.

                                            >"So.... wait. Let me get this straight. You decided to one day just... what? Leave? Without telling me? You just left for a month without telling anyone?"

                                            You sigh again. "I know how it sounds. But believe me, I had a good reason. The best reason, actual..."

                                            >Celestia takes a step backwards, releasing her head from your hands. Her eyes are full of pain and anger.

                                            >"A good reason? You just left! Do you have ANY idea how worried I was?! You didn't say anything, you left no notes, you told me nothing!"

                                            >Her voice is getting increasingly louder and more frantic.

                                            >"I was out of my mind with worry! I thought you were gone, or worse, dead! I turned this kingdom upside-down looking for you! I didn't sleep for weeks BECAUSE YOU DECIDED TO JUST LEAVE?!"

                                            >She's screaming straight in your face now, and you feel worse and worse by the second. Doubt floods your mind. Maybe this had all been a mistake. Maybe it was a bad idea, from the very start. Maybe you've now fucked up in such a way there will be no going back to what was before.

                                            >...

                                            >No. You cannot doubt yourself. You can't afford it. She's furious at what you did, and rightfully so. You deserve way worse than this for making her suffer. But you knew from the start that you had to do it. There was no other way.

                                            >You try to hug her again, but she dodges your arms.

                                            >"Don't... don't touch me!"

                                            >The anger on her face is now mixed with pain and fear, and her tears are flowing freely.

                                            >"How... how could you? How could y-you just leave like that? I-I thought y-you were g-gone..."

                                            >This time she doesn't shy away from your hug, and she burrows her muzzle in your chest as she cries. You feel worse than you ever felt in your life. You knew this would happen, you knew how much she would worry and suffer when you left, and yet you still went ahead with it.

                                            >...

                                            >It's time to fix this. Time to make this right. Time to make this last harrowing month worth it.

                                            >You look up to ask the doctors to give you some privacy, only to see the room empty. They apparently already felt the need to give you two some time alone, which you're grateful for.

                                            >You sit down on the floor, still embracing your princess. She's still crying against your chest, her body wracked by sobs.

                                            "Celly..." you start. "I'm so sorry for leaving you. And I wish it could've worked out differently, but I had to do this. I really had to."

                                            >You slowly stroke her mane, holding her tight against you.

                                            "I left because... I had to do something. And the reason I didn't tell you is because you would've stopped me."

                                            >She looks up at you, tears now silently falling down her cheeks.

                                            "You would've stopped me from doing it, because you love me. Because what I did was stupid, and reckless, and dangerous, and that's why you would've stopped me. Because you care about your stupid husband, and you don't want him to hurt himself doing something moronic."

                                            >You smile at your wife, and amidst the sobs you get a tiny smile back. You place your face against her neck, hugging her tight.

                                            "I did this for you. This whole mess, I did it for you. And I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you, and I'll never forgive myself for making you worry, but you would've stopped me from doing this."

                                            >Celestia is breathing slower now, and you feel her muscles starting to relax. Still, you hug her as hard as you can.

                                            >"D-do what? Why did you go north?"

                                            "Because far north of here, through Gryphonia and farther north still, in the Edge Lands, lies a mountain range. And just before those mountains there is a small forest. That's where I went. To that forest."

                                            >A-and why would you EVER go there? What possible reason for traveling there alone could..."

                                            "Because I found it."

                                            >"F-found what?"

                                            "I found a path in that forest that didn't look like any other."


                                            >You feel Celestia freeze in your arms. Her nuzzling stops and her limbs go completely rigid. It was like she'd turned to stone. She even stopped breathing.

                                            "I found a path in the forest that looked... strange. It felt strange, walking it. It was like déjà vu, like I had walked it a thousand times before."

                                            >You know where this story is going, and now she knows it too. You continue.

                                            "It was just like you told me. Honestly, of all the things I saw up there, what amazed me the most was how spot-on your memories of it were. Three thousand years and every detail you told me was correct."

                                            "And I understand why so very few have ever walked it. There was the feeling of déjà vu, but also something else. Dread, or something close to dread. The longer I walked on that forest path, the more I felt like I didn't belong. Like I was trespassing on something very very old.

                                            >Celestia is still locked in this frozen hug of yours, but you can hear her taking slow, deep breaths.

                                            "But I pushed on, and ignored every voice in my head that told me to turn around and flee, and I followed the road. And it led me out of the forest. The mountains were gone, and there was nothing but moors, as far as the eye could see."

                                            >You bury your face deeper into her tuft.

                                            "I did what you and Luna did, and I just started walking. Took me four days to get across, although it was hard to tell since the sun never set. It was... beautiful, in it's own way. An infinite expanse of hills and plains, and the sun locked in eternal twilight. I understand why the gods left it the way they did."

                                            "And on the other side of the moors, I saw it. The same thing you and Luna saw, all those millenia ago."

                                            >You can feel your wife shudder in your arms.

                                            "Those endless fields... they gave way for the ocean. I've never seen anything like it before. Perfectly blue and still, not a single ripple on the surface. If I didn't know any better I would've thought it was made of glass. And at the shore, that perfect shore that stretched infinitely in both directions, I found the bones."

                                            >Celestia suddenly hugs you harder, and almost shoves your face against her chest. You can feel her heartbeat, shallow and fast, behind her ribs.

                                            "Do you... know what they used to look like? It was hard to tell from the bones alone."


                                            >Celestia is quiet for a long time, and you take the opportunity to gently stroke her back. Finally she speaks, in a small and frail voice.

                                            >"No I don't... no one knows what they looked like. When we got here, when me and my sister founded Equestria, they were already long gone. They created the world, or atleast parts of it, and then they left... or died. We've only ever seen the bones."

                                            "And you took some with you. One for you and one for Luna. Did you know what they would do before you..."

                                            >"No. Or, maybe. We knew they were powerful. We knew they belonged to something... else, something outside of this world. And we heard them calling. That's how we found the road in that forest in the first place. But no, we didn't know exactly what would happen."

                                            >Both of you sit quietly for several minutes. Celestia is softly nuzzling the side of your head, and you keep stroking her mane.

                                            >...

                                            >Celestia is the first one to speak again. Her voice feels drained, as if she has no more emotions left to feel right now.

                                            >"I guess... that you didn't travel to that divine place just for sight-seeing?"

                                            >You snort. "No, I did not."

                                            >Looking around the room, you spot your backpack leaning against the wall.

                                            "Could you bring my backpack over? Careful, please."

                                            >Her horn lights up and your backpack slowly floats over to you.

                                            >Celestia speaks up again.

                                            >"I still don't understand why you couldn't tell me about it."

                                            "Because I did this for you. Celestia, sweetheart, my life is already complete." You smile at your beautiful wife, feeling your own tears starting to form. "I got to meet you, and know you, and love you. We're married, and I get to wake up at your side every morning. I could ask nothing more from life. And one day I'll die in your arms."

                                            >You feel her go stiff against you.

                                            "If that happens in fifty years or ten thousand years, I don't really care. I mean, I would prefer to be with you for as long as possible, but my point is this: I get to spend the rest of my life with you."

                                            "However, as things are right now, you can't say the same. As things are right now, what we have together is just a small flicker of love and passion in your very long life. And I wanted to give you the ability to choose. That's why I did this."

                                            >You carefully open your backpack. Wrapped in several layers of cloth, one of them being your t-shirt, is your price. As you remove the layers, you feel your wife starting to slightly shake. Finally, you remove the last piece and place the bone against her chest.

                                            "You would've never agreed to let me go there. And you told me yourself, it's a personal one-time deal. You and Luna could never find the way back once you left. And you can't take the bones for someone else, you tried that too. If you want to get your hooves, or in my case hands, on one of these, you have to do it yourself."

                                            >You gently press the old bone against her chest. It starts to glow, ever so softly. Maybe it's resonating with what's already inside Celestia?

                                            "And as I said, at the end of the day it doesn't matter all that much to me. Fifty years or millennia doesn't mean that much when everyday I spend with you is bliss. And you care way too much about me to ever let me go on such a reckless adventure alone. Which is why I kept quiet about it."

                                            >You're both crying now, tears falling on the floor.

                                            "And that is why I did this whole stupid thing. To give you a choice."

                                            >Celestia lets go of you, and carefully puts her hooves on the bone, pressing it towards her chest.

                                            >"That choice... is yours to make. Eternal life is just as much of a curse as it is a blessing." Her voice is weak, and she almost sounds scared.

                                            "No Sunshine, it's not my choice.", you gently say. "It's your choice to make, and I'm fine with both outcomes. You've lived for millenia without me, and it is not my place to barge in, make myself immortal, and permanently change your life."

                                            >You put your hands on her hooves, feeling the faint heat of the bone through them.

                                            "You are older than I can even fathom, and there will always be some parts of you and your life that I will never fully grasp. If you wish for things to one day return to how they were before me, I fully understand that. But if you want what we have to become permanent, in every sense of the word, then you know what to do. I've given you nothing more than the ability to choose."

                                            >You kiss your wife on the muzzle, and lean your forehead against hers.

                                            "Whatever you want, I want it too. I love you."

                                            >...

                                            >Celestia is quiet for a long time. You keep your forehead against hers, hearing her slow and steady breaths, feeling the heat of that divine relic against your hands.

                                            >After several minutes, you feel like you should say something.

                                            "... You don't have to choose now, of course. There is no hurry, and we don't have to do this today. We got all the time in the world."

                                            >A thought comes to you and you laugh softly.

                                            "Well, I say that we have all the time in the world, but I mean, it would be great if you could make the choice within the next ten years. If we're gonna make me ageless we might wanna preserve my youthful vigor. Trust me, if we're gonna spend a few millennia in bed together you'll probably prefer the younger me. Especially if..."

                                            >"Anonymous?"

                                            "Yes love?"

                                            >"I've made my choice."

                                            >Your chest tightens and fills with ice. You knew this moment was coming, and you know you're fine with anything she decides, but suddenly you can't help but dread the answer.

                                            >"... I'm sorry."


                                            >Despite telling yourself, over and over, on the whole journey there and back, that it was her choice to make and that you'd be happy with whatever she chooses, you can't stop a small whimper from escaping you. You know who your wife is. You know how unfathomably old she is, and how much she has seen and done. You know she loves you with all her heart, and it's simply logical for her to not want to permanently change her life like this. Still, your emotions betray that cold, calculating part of you, and you can feel your heart hurting.

                                            "Alright.", you say, trying to sound as neutral as you can. "As I said, the choice is yours, and I'll still treasure every single day I get to spend with..."

                                            >She silences you with a quick kiss. Her face betrays nothing of her emotions. Still, you're sure that, for just a second, she gives the tiniest of smiles.

                                            >"I'm sorry... because if memory serves me right, this is going to be very unpleasant."

                                            >Before you can say anything, she pushes the bone against your chest, rears back, and strikes it with her hoof, shattering it against your skin.


                                            >The whole world is instantly ablaze. A kaleidoscope of a million colors spins in front of you. Your skin crackles with electricity, every muscle cramping. Your screams are drowned out by the sound of your own heartbeat, impossibly loud. One second there is bliss, endless pleasure, a hundred orgasms going off at once. The next moment you beg all the gods you can think of to put you out of your misery as every nerve is flayed and burnt. The cycle does not stop. It goes on for a lifetime, until all you've ever known is the roaring madness that's consuming you. Somewhere, far away, you hear a voice calling your name. You hear the shattering of glass, and a thousand things slamming into walls. Somewhere, far away, her voice calls your name.

                                            >As quickly as it started it suddenly ended. You fall forward, straight into Celestia's open arms.

                                            >You can barely breathe. Your body feels like it was hit by a comet.

                                            >You're distantly aware that Celestia is whispering your name. Stroking your head.

                                            >It's with great effort that you manage to speak.

                                            "That... sucked."

                                            >You feel her chest heave with laughter. Somewhere behind you, you hear more voices, shouting in confusion.

                                            "Tell those nurses... I'm sorry we probably wrecked the room."

                                            >Your wife laughs again, the most beautiful sound your tired ears have ever heard.

                                            >You feel yourself rapidly losing consciousness. Some sleep would probably do you good. And what better place to sleep than in Celestia's embrace?

                                            >As you fade into darkness, you feel like you can't wait until you wake up again.

                                            >After all, it will be another day to spend together with Celestia.

                                            >Your first day of many


                                            >The End