Immortality Bites

>"And once more, happy birthday to Princess Twilight Sparkle!" The hostpony said, leading the cheer.

>Birthday number Three Hundred and sixty-four, if she remembered right.

>She always did.

>Twilight kept the serene, practiced smile on her face, as the ponies of Ponyville cheered and partied.

>Celestia and Luna had managed to make it as well.

>Celestia was a given. She wouldn't miss her student's birthday for anything.

>Never had.

>Luna's arrival was a small shock, but one the lavender alicorn recovered from quickly enough.

>Spike was here as well, though he was observing from...outside the party hall.

>He had grown quite large, with wide, room-spanning wings.

>Dragons had lifespans measuring upwards of three thousand years.

>Despite being an adult, Spike still had plenty of life left in him.

>He was still always eager to make Twilight happy.

>The dragon would occasionally bring back a new book for her to read and catalog.

>Over the years, Twilight had gotten quite adept at reading Dragon.

>She could even speak a little, choppy as it was.

>Cadence...hadn't made it to the party.

>Even two hundred and eighty-six years later, she was still in mourning over Shining's passing.

>She wouldn't even leave her room, and had appointed an elected committee to rule in her stead as her last act in power.

>Twilight understood initially, as it was hard to cope for her as well.

>At least Cadence had two foals, a stallion and a mare.

>They had been on the committee as well, and in fact, her bloodline had at least two seats reserved for Royal Family to weigh in on.

>After twenty years, Twilight had managed to look back and laugh about the memories.

>No, the hardest part was watching her friends grow old...and eventually pass on as well.

>First to go was Rainbow Dash.

>Fitting, now that she thought about it.

>Always wanted to be the fastest...and was the first to leave the six of them.

>At the relatively young age of forty-five, her last Sonic Rainboom saved a filly's life.

>Her exhausted body simply gave up on her moments after touchdown.

>An old life for a young one, Twilight liked to think she would say.

>A little deep for the brash pegasus, but fitting.

>Fluttershy was next, passing away quietly in her cottage.

>Nopony knew about it for a week, not until after Twilight had seen her animals mourning a grave they had dug.

>Discord had vanished entirely after Fluttershy passed...and Twilight simply didn't care enough to find him.

>Pinkie Pie was third, sudden heart attack after the old mare finished her third party that day.

>Rarity was next, passing away quietly like Fluttershy.

>Her son let everyone know how sad and devastated he was.

>For the next year and a half.

>Even inherited her fainting couch for each and every instance his mother was brought up.

>Twilight had no idea where it was now, somepony in that family had it.

>Last was the hearty Applejack.

>She passed like her granny did: Shouting at her kids about making a racket, then turning in for sleep eternal.

>The platinum-plated necklace the lavender alicorn was wearing bore five gems, each in the shape and color of a previous Element bearer's cutie mark.

>Even after all this time, Twilight still hated the jewelry that Celestia and Luna wore.

>Hence the lighter and thinner items she wore...and immediately removed when she wasn't being formal.

>Twilight sighed almost imperceptibly.

>Celestia caught it, but said nothing at the moment.

>Instead, she smiled and brought over a glass of wine for the lavender mare.

>"Been thinking about finding a new apprentice. I hope my previous one doesn't mind." The sun princess said with a hint of a giggle.

"We both know you stopped taking students after me." Twilight replied with a smug grin. "You can't find one better than I am."

>Both mares laughed, Twilight taking the glass and sipping on it.

>Not too fast, not too slow.

>Anon had taught her that...

>Twilight froze for less than a second at that train of thought, one she immediately derailed and set ablaze in her mind.

>She didn't want to think about him.

>Not right now.

>Twilight and Celestia shot the breeze for a bit.

>What was going on around Canterlot, conditions abroad, things like that.

>The Griffons were in the midst of a civil war, one that every other race was staying well clear of.

>Aside from giving asylum to those that didn't want to fight, Equestria as a whole merely observed.

>They both wandered outside, where Spike happily trailed after.

>Wordlessly, all three of them knew exactly where they were going.

>Spike's smile diminished a bit, but not entirely.

>A quiet grove at the top of a hill, with a modest memorial to the five friends.

>"To the Saviors of Equestria, time and again." It read simply, bearing all five cutie marks.

>They were exactly as they appeared on her friends. Twilight made sure of it.

>The stoneworker got a very, very angry Princess of Friendship at his door when she found out he screwed up Fluttershy's cutie mark.

>She made him redo the entire thing.

>From scratch.

>There, the trio sat.

>Twilight had stopped crying over it fifty years ago.

>Now it merely brought about a melancholy feeling.

>Celestia draped a wing over Twilight's shoulder.

>Twilight merely smiled a sad smile as Spike left a small bouquet underneath the memorial.

>Twilight did this every year.

>The stonework had been enchanted by the mare herself to never wear down, and to be practically indestructible.

>A permanent monument to her greatest friends.

>"Twilight, I will be back at the party. When you are ready to rejoin us, please do." Celestia said, giving her student a tender nuzzle on the cheek, like she used to when Twilight was only a filly.

"I will."

>Twilight merely stood there at that point, reflecting.

>If she had known she would outlive her friends, would she still have become Celestia's protege?

>The answer was a resounding yes.

>Without that, she never would have met them in the first place.

"I used to wonder what friendship could be...until you shared its magic with me..." The alicorn sung softly.

"Thank you all, for the best memories of my life."

>Twilight then turned, heading back to the party.

---

>Night had eventually fallen, and the festivities were winding down.

>Spike had to leave, but he promised he'd be back within a month.

>With a nod and a smile, Twilight gave him a motherly kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you next month then, Spike. Take care of yourself!"

>"I will, I will! You'd swear I'm clumsy or something!" He shot back with a laugh.

>Celestia and Luna had also left, Luna on her usual night patrol and Celestia for bed.

>The sun princess had gotten a little *too* into the festivities, buzzed but not quite drunk.

>Luna had rolled her eyes with a chuckle, and the sisters' personal carriage took them back to Canterlot.

>Waving goodbye for now, Twilight turned towards Golden Oak Library.

>Unlike everything else in the area, it was completely unchanged.

>Even still had her lab underground.

>The only thing that had changed was that it was a museum now.

>Closed, at the moment.

>Twilight still had a 'permanent access anytime pass', though.

>She merely teleported inside.

>Like she had many a time before, she simply browsed the shelves for books she had read a thousand times. Each.

>The hatch to her lab was open, allowing public access when the place was open to the public.

>The mare went down the stairs, looking at the various machines that were horribly outdated by now.

>She was, if anything, a mare that kept with the times.

>A brief self-tour, and she teleported outside.

>Her contingent of guards were patrolling the Ponyville streets, or heading back to the castle in the Everfree for shift changing.

>The forest had been mostly tamed, and the Tree of Harmony tenderly cared for by the mare herself.

>Teleporting into her room, she immediately removed her jewelry and the uncomfortable shoes.

>Even now, she had no idea how Luna and Celestia enjoyed wearing them.

>She then opened the window and flew out, going to one special spot that only she knew of.

>Touching down moments later, she folded her wings and put on a small smile.

"Hey Anon. How are you doing?"

>The wind blew lightly.

"I know, I should visit more. Today was my birthday, not that you'd ever forget."

"Yes, Anon, three hundred something."

>Twilight giggled, before sighing.

>Her head drooped towards the ground.

"...I miss you. Every day."

>Twilight laughed mirthlessly.

"Heh, you were right. Immortality sucks."

>In front of her was a simple headstone.

>"Anonymous: Wonderful, Loving Husband. Never forgotten, Always missed."

>He was...the absolute last to go.

>Stubborn human.

>He had even joked, on his death bed, that he'd outlive Spike at this rate.

>He was one hundred and two, she was ninety-seven.

>Twilight had sobbed her heart out when he passed on, had nearly ended herself in a bout of loss-induced madness.

>She only stopped herself when she realized that's not what he would want.

"When everyone else was gone, I still had you. Now..."

>Twilight heaved a heavy sigh.

>She wouldn't cry anymore. The mare had stopped crying over him fifty-five years ago.

>Twilight had no more tears to give.

>Instead, she did what she did every year on her birthday.

>Curl around his headstone, and pretend he was still holding her close.

>Her magic had gotten quite good at simulating his touch.

>If she closed her eyes, Twilight almost couldn't tell the difference...

>...aside from the small amount of power she felt coursing through her horn.

>After he had passed, she had no other suitors or mates.

>Twilight wouldn't take any.

>Like Luna and Celestia, she had no children.

>Sighing as 'Anon' stroked her mane, she quickly fell into a deep slumber.

>Sometimes, she wished she wouldn't wake up.