Moments in time


                                            "Can I ask you something Tia?"

                                            > "Sure, ask away my love."

                                            "Well, …you are immortal right?"

                                            > "Hmh… honestly I have no clue. Why do you ask?"

                                            "Wait, y-you don’t know? Is Miss ‘trust-me-I’m-over-a-thousand-years-old-I -know-what-I’m-doing’ in reality not as old as she keeps claiming?"

                                            > "Ha, I wish. No, I’m actually thaaaat old. Which is why you should trust me more when it comes to important stuff."

                                            "Putting scrambled egg on cheesecake does not make it a breakfast no matter how old you are Tia. Your diet should be proof enough of your immortality. No lesser being would survive it."

                                            > "As your immortal sun goddess I’m above such petty restrictive things as ‘diets’ and ‘recipes’. Besides, I work off all these extra calories every night when we do all these ‘exercises’ together. So what are you complaining about?"

                                            "Now you just called yourself immortal again. But didn’t you just say you wer- ugh forget it. Can we be serious for a moment? You… you will outlive me, right? What will you do after I’m gone?"

                                            > "Hmh… even an immortal sun goddess like me doesn’t plan 60 years into the future my love. I don’t know that yet."

                                            "Argh. Damn it, Tia! You know what I mean!"

                                            > "*Sigh* – yeah I guess so. You want to know if I will be sad after your death? If I will mourn? Of course I will sweety! I love you that’s why I keep saying it."

                                            "And I love you too. More than anything else. I don’t think I could be happy living life without you anymore. Do you feel the same way, or will you find happiness after me? How much do I matter to you? Will you –"

                                            Celestia puts up a hoof to silence you.

                                            > "Stop… please. Where is this going? Do you want me to be sad forever after your death? Would that make you happy? Do you wish to measure my love for you by the number of days I will be sad after your death? To establish some sort of sick high score of who can make Celestia sad the longest after they leave her?"

                                            "N-n-no. I didn’t mean it like that!"

                                            > "Well do tell what did you mean?"

                                            "I… I just couldn’t imagine living without you anymore. But you will have to because you are immortal and I’m not. Of course I want you to be happy even when I’m not around. But does our time together even matter? With time you will move on from me, forget about me. It feels like I will inevitably lose you to time… I don’t want to lose you."

                                            > Celestia eyes glaze over you as if looking at something far away.

                                            > Hopefully you have explained your concerns better this time.

                                            > After a few moments Celestia returns her attention to you.

                                            > "I’m sorry my love. I know you mean well. You have a good heart, that’s why I fell in love with you. I want to show you something to help you understand. Please follow me."

                                            > You follow Celestia into a part of the castle that you have never been to before.

                                            > At the end of a corridor, Celestia opens a heavy looking door with her magic revealing a spiral staircase leading downwards.

                                            > Every step on your decent leaves footprints in the thick layer of dust on the steps.

                                            > After about ten minutes of monotonous walking, you reach the bottom step and find yourself in a spherical room illuminated by blue shimmering fungi.

                                            > A kind you have never seen before.

                                            > Celestia walks to the other side of the room and flicks a lever.

                                            > Runes start to glow on the ground. Suddenly bright white light blinds your unadjusted eyes.

                                            > Multiple holograms have activated in a semi-circle in front of you.

                                            > As your eyes readjust you realize that each hologram depicts Celestia.

                                            > Some Celestia’s stand alone, others are accompanied by one or more other ponies, none of which you recognize.

                                            > "These are snapshots of the lifes I’ve lived so far before I meet you. I keep them so that no matter how many years pass I can always remind myself of where I came from."

                                            > Celestia speaks from somewhere behind the holograms hidden to your eyes.

                                            > On closer inspection you notice subtle differences between each of the Celestias.

                                            > There is one wearing earrings.

                                            > Another has cut her hair short.

                                            > A third one wears silver horseshoes instead of the usual golden ones.

                                            > There is even one wearing glasses.

                                            > On the far left however stands the most visually different Celestia.

                                            > Its Celestia as a filly accompanied by a pony you actually recognize – her sister.

                                            > "You see I may be immortal, but time does not leave me untouched."

                                            > She points at her filly self.

                                            > "I've come from far away. Child-me grew up and slowly transformed into current me, but in the process ceased to exist. The same is true for all these past versions of me."

                                            > Celestia steps through the hologram in the center.

                                            > "You must understand, the me that I am right now, the one that loves you over everything else is not immortal. I will never forget you. I will always love you. You ask how I will continue after your death? I will by changing. A new me shaped by my experiences will continue in my place. Shaped also by my time with you."

                                            "I see… Or no, maybe I don’t see. Tia all of these holograms just depict you. You talk of them as if they were different persons sharing one body. They aren’t though, they are all just you. When you forget about me, it won’t be because some other personality will replace you. It will be because you let it happen. Just don’t let it happen! Please…"

                                            > Celestia walks the remaining distance towards you.

                                            > "Is a sapling the same as a tree? No, but one emerges from the other. We are all Celestia."

                                            > She makes an arc motion to point at all the Celestia holograms.

                                            > "But no one of us is the same as any other of us. I’m not sure if that me–"

                                            > She points at the hologram with the silver shoes.

                                            > "-would even like you. I kinda went through a phase there."

                                            > She smirks.

                                            > "The Celestia you know and love won’t be around forever and there is nothing I can do about it. Even the hardest rock can’t withstand the tides of time. Wind and water will change its shape irreversibly, no matter how much the rock wishes to remain the same. All I can promise you is my full undivided love in this moment of time. And I hope with all my heart that this is somehow enough for you."

                                            > With her wings Celestia pulls you into a hug.

                                            > "I love you."

                                            "I don’t want this moment to end."

                                            > "Me neither…"